For the play by Eric Bogosian and its 1996 film adaptation, see subUrbia

SubUrbia

subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...

 and subUrbia (film)

SubUrbia (film)

subUrbia is a 1996 comedy-drama film written by Eric Bogosian, based on his play of the same name, and directed by Richard Linklater. It follows the relationships between a few young adults as they spend their time standing on "the corner" outside a local convenience store.Bogosian based the story...

, respectively.

Suburbia, also known as Rebel Streets and The Wild Side, is a 1984 film

1984 in film

-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.* Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....

 written and directed by Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...

  about suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

an punks who run away from home. The kids take up a minimalist

Minimalism

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...

, punk

Punk subculture

The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...

 lifestyle by squatting

Squatting

Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....

 in abandoned suburban tract homes. The punks are played by Chris Pedersen

Chris Pedersen (actor)

Chris Pedersen played the character "Jack Diddley" in the cult Penelope Spheeris produced film Suburbia about punk rockers in L.A. He also appeared in the Oliver Stone Oscar winning film Platoon, and in other cult films such as Night of the Comet and Point Break among others.Pedersen was never...

, Bill Coyne and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea

Flea (musician)

Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...

, amongst others.

With the exceptions of Bill Coyne , who was a professional actor, director Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris

Penelope Spheeris is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She is best known as a documentary film director whose works include the trilogy titled The Decline of Western Civilization...

 recruited street kids and punk rock musicians to play each role, rather than hire young actors to portray punk rockers.

Suburbia

SubUrbia

subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...

 was filmed in and around the cities of Downey

Downey, California

Downey is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city is best known as the birthplace of the Apollo space program, and is the city where folk singer Karen Carpenter lived and died...

 and Norwalk

Norwalk, California

Norwalk is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 census, up from 103,298 at the 2000 census, making it the 58th most populous city in California and the 255th nationally....

 in California . The abandoned housing tract was a former neighbourhood which was placed-along the west-side of I-605 , around the Alondra Bl offramp ; Firestone Bl CA 42 was to its north , with Alondra Bl to its south .
The entire area was Eminent Domain

Eminent domain

Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...

 starting in the late 1960's / early 1970's , wherein it sat mostly-vacant until its demolition in c.1990 ; some houses still had inhabitants up until c.1980 .
.
This was a gang-infested area ; many abandoned houses were "drug houses" , or , just as in the film , "crash houses" ( e.g. , the "T.R. House" ).

I-105 now occupies most of the property , and has since the early 90's .

Vincent Canby

Vincent Canby

Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...

 called it a "clear-eyed, compassionate melodrama about a bunch of young dropouts" and "probably the best teen-agers-in-revolt movie since Jonathan Kaplan

Jonathan Kaplan

Jonathan Kaplan is an American film producer and director.Kaplan was born in Paris, France. He is the son of film composer Sol Kaplan and actress Frances Heflin; the nephew of actor Van Heflin. He is the brother of actresses Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan...

's Over the Edge

Over the Edge (film)

Over the Edge is a drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan released in 1979. Due to the negative publicity surrounding a wave of recent youth gang films, Over the Edge had a limited theatrical release in late 1979...

."

The movie contains live footage of D.I. performing "Richard Hung Himself", TSOL

TSOL

TSOL is an American punk rock band which formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....

 performing "Wash Away" and "Darker My Love," and The Vandals

The Vandals

The Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...

 performing "The Legend of Pat Brown". In turn, the movie inspired the Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

 song "Suburbia

Suburbia (song)

"Suburbia" is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys. It was remixed and released as the fourth single from the album Please in 1986 and became the band's second UK Top 10 hit, peaking at #8.-Overview:...

."

The film is a part of Shout Factory's Roger Corman Cult Classics series, reissued on DVD in May 2010.