kai ringler Being a Pearl Jam fan I guessed this is somewhat biased but I believe that Cameron Crowe has put together a work of art here, sure it's not like a Led Zeppelin documentary or some sort, but this retrospect over 20 years goes back to the beginning of Grunge. Seattle late 80's early 90's.. Pearl Jam, Nirvana,, Soundgarden Alice in chains and so forth. I found particularly interesting was when one of the band was asked about their main rival Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, apparently at first Kurt never liked Eddie Vedder or Pearl Jam,, mainly concert footage mixed in with personal stories, interviews with the band,, various other professionals from the music industry detailing the beginnings and rise of my favorite band on the planet,, Pearl Jam..

tomgillespie2002 Twenty years after Pearl Jam's debut album Ten took the music world by storm, Cameron Crowe directs this documentary that chronicles and celebrates the band's history, impact and longevity. Crowe starts way back in 1988 when guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were part of Mother Love Bone, a band that were popular due to singer Andy Wood's charismatic personality and song writing talent. After Wood's overdose and untimely death, Gossard and Ament founded Pearl Jam, along with the hugely talented singer Eddie Vedder and lead guitarist Mike McCready. The band went on to be one of the most successful bands of the 90's, and were seen as the natural rivals of fellow 'grunge' band Nirvana.Crowe's documentary is hugely detailed, combining the standard talking heads with old interview footage, home video, and concert footage. Crowe apparently worked his way through 12,000 hours of footage of the band for the film. It was well worth it, as we get to see rare, grainy footage of Wood's exciting performances with Mother Love Bone, as well as the extremely moving performances by Vedder and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell as part of Wood tribute group Temple of the Dog. The talking heads are no mere conduits that progress the film along, they are as informative and moving as the performances, as Vedder and Cornell, especially, open up and give tearful recollections.It also covers the band's battle with ticket giant Ticketmaster, and how they objected to the fact that their fans were getting ripped off just to see a live band. It shows Pearl Jam as one of the few bands that remember their roots and are a dying breed. It was strange for me to watch this film, viewing the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden as part of music history. I grew up with my old brother listening to the music, so I remember the whole 'grunge' craze quite well. I really only remember stripy shirts and long hair, but Pearl Jam Twenty reminded me of how good the music actually was. This is a must-see for fans of the band or the era, or for those enjoy an involving documentary. Crowe clearly knows his s**t (he was a journalist for Rolling Stone after all) and his passionate touch is all over it.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Shabber I am an avid Pearl Jam fan and this was such a pleasure to watch. My concern going in was that it would focus too much on Eddie and take a political twist. None of that happened...equal time spent on every band member and no political message, just a bit about what social concerns they have tried to address. Music was great. It was nice to hear and see footage from the early days in Seattle '89. You will get a great sense of what the band is like and their particular sense of humor. If you loved listening to Ten, go see this. Supposedly the DVD is going to have 4 hours of extra footage, so if you missed it last night, you might want to wait.

kevin_parks I'm a fan club member... and just a huge huge fan of the band. Been a fan for a very long time.This film is as good as it gets for Pearl Jam fans! I saw this at TIFF. And I can honestly say I was never disappointed about any part of this film.It captures the essence of the band perfectly with a very good and subtle amount of humour.I'm going to see this again in theatres.. and oh MY I cannot wait until this is released on Blu-Ray / DVD.A Must see for any Pearl Jam fan... and any fan of rock music for that matter. Cheers