Director Peter Bogadonovich, quickly became passionate about the band of the course of making this movie and it shows here. After getting to know the boys, Peter decided that only they could tell their own story. Therefore he left out the typical documentary narration and let the band tell the story themselves. While this is a departure from your typical rock and roll documentary, I have to admit, I did not notice the first time I watched this film. This is because nothing feels missing here and when the band talks, I was so interested in what they were saying I didn't care. The boys are just as passionate talking about their music as Peter was making this film. These are people whose lives have been moved and changed by rock and roll and when this movie was made, they hadn't lost any of the passion they had when they were kids hearing rock music for the first time. Though this movie is near four hours, you are still hanging on every word that they say when the film comes to a close. Not only that but I felt like I'd be willing to listen to them talk for another four hours. In fact this became a problem for Peter Bogadonovich, who had more material than could fit in one movie and all of it was high quality.
You may have noticed in this review, I have referred to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as a band throughout this review. One thing I love about this film is that it treats them as a band instead of like Tom Petty and his backing band. After I watched this movie for the first time, I never listened to their music quite the same. Before I had listened to it as if the Heartbreakers were a backing band, but afterwards I began to appreciate what each member brought to the table, every time I would listen to one of their albums or hear the music on the radio. We get to know and respect the Heartbreakers throughout this movie in the same way we do Tom Petty himself.
Of course in a rock and roll movie, audiences want to hear rock and roll music. This film puts the music at the center stage. To be honest we learn precious little about the lives Tom Petty or the Heartbreakers lead when they are not making music. With the length of this movie and the amount of great material that ended up on the cutting room floor, perhaps that was best. There simply wasn't time and we watch the movie because we love the music. Another great thing about this is that this movie doesn't just show small little clips of the band performing these but we watch them performing the song from beginning to end and who can complain about watching and listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers do what they do best.
This film is also a treasure trove of information for me and my fellow Tom Petty fans. You learn the stories about how each of their studio albums came about, how they ended up being Johnny Cash's backing band on his masterful album Unchained (maybe one of the finest albums of Johnny's career), as well as the backing band for Bob Dylan on a concert tour, how the Traveling Wilburys came to be, the creative differences in the band at various points and just how a song like Don't Come Around Here No More ends up on concept album called Southern Accents (I really like the song, but it seems a little out of place on that album).
This is a must watch for fans of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and a movie that will turn newcomers into fans.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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