cormac_zoso there aren't many great rock and roll documentaries out and when considering the at-best inconsistent career of Bogdanovich combined with a four-hour running time, even the most devout fan should be apprehensive ... Tom Petty became great only after touring with Dylan and then working as his backup band ... somehow hanging around and playing behind Dylan night-after-night flipped a switch in Petty and suddenly he was writing albums filled with great material ...when Petty first started hitting the airwaves, he was nothing special, just part of the 'new wave' along with Blondie and The Pretenders and The Cars and they are really the only ones worth mentioning ... while they just sound like rock and roll these days back then it was a new path and a great change from the maelstrom that was punk ... but aside from 'American Girl' Petty really didn't have much to offer, just middle-of-the-road material and a Plain Jane band sound that was less-than-special especially next to the finely-honed chops of James Honeyman Scott, the standout 'new' guitarist in those years ... one could shrug one's shoulders, put 'American Girl' on a jam tape and be satisfied with covering Petty's contribution so far ... frankly, those years displayed so much mediocrity among 'top' bands that one could only think of the infamous 'payola years' and wonder if they indeed ever went away ... 1979's huge hit 'Damn the Torpedoes' was chock full of annoying little tunes that only seemed capable of reaching the Top Ten by virtue of a gram of coke in each album sleeve delivered daily to DJs across the country ... his 'tough guy' persona delivered in every other song was a joke ... but then following the now famous backup tour with Dylan (including dates with the Grateful Dead and probably plenty of jam sessions off stage with both), the 'Let Me Up' album surfaced and the lead track was 'Jammin' Me' co-written by Dylan and suddenly Petty jumps up a big rung on the quality ladder ... with several other quality tunes on the album Petty was becoming a consideration in music ... during the intervening four years he spent what was his most important post-Dylan tour time with the legends that made up the Travellin' Wilburys ... a result of which obviously was Jeff Lynne producing the long-time-coming follow-up, 'Full Moon Fever', and now Petty has a complete album of fine tunes, well written and perfectly presented ... Petty stood out as a serious tune-smith and you could see the need for him in the rock world ... you could also see the benefit of hanging out with legends as Petty obviously kept his eyes and ears open and absorbed what made them great talents and let it simmer in his soul until it was the boiled-down stew that finally provided a filling meal instead of the slapdash fast-food he'd been serving up before ... the early years sounded like he was trying to get into the Top 40; but after his 'school years', he sounded like he was trying to write great songs ... there's a big difference and one can hear it ... if not for the adenoid-laden vocals, you could chalk up the first decade of his recording career to most any major label top 40 production of the era ... but after taking the name 'Wilbury' he was intent on living up to the name and didn't settle for inane ditties that would turn a recently post-pubescent girl's head ...Bogdanovich takes all this and turns it into a fleeting four hour documentary ... fleeting in that it felt far more like an hour when it was all said and done and left me wanting more ... so i watched it twice in a day ... Bogdanovich is an occasionally great director who frankly has been wasting his time in TV for more than a decade including appearing in and directing episodes of the vastly overrated 'Sopranos' and other typically weak efforts, even on cable channels where you can use the 'f' word (ohmuhgosh) ... let's face it, TV weakens everything ... it waters it down and churns it into the least-offensive slop people can swallow night-after-night as part of their self-medication regimen ... this is Bogdanovich's best effort by far since his other documentary, 'directed by john ford' ... thus 'picture show' is the definitive film for Bogdanovich ... other efforts seem to be half-attentive work that either goes for the after-school-special feeling of 'mask' or the sitcom pap of 'noises off' ... for a 'great' director, he doesn't have many great efforts ... but this is one ... as good a rock and roll documentary as one will ever see

gary-444 A sprawling, glorious, epic documentary of one of American Rock's survivors and veterans which at almost four hours, is probably only about fifteen minutes too long. Commissioned by Petty, Director Bogdanovic has produced a classic in the genre. It's success is due to Petty's long and productive career, Petty's wry and lucid reminiscences , access to some excellent archive footage, and shrewd editing. The running time works out at about an hour per ten years of musical career which in that context is fair enough.It is particularly strong in covering the formative years pre-Heartbreakers.As a long standing fan from the Heartbreakers first album, it was a sweet trip down memory lane. Played out chronologically, there is abundant rehearsal, live and promotional footage from pretty much every era with thoughtful and insightful commentary from Petty and band members throughout. Yet this is a vanity project, albeit a very good one. And although as a testament to a fine career it is about "Best in Class", inevitably there are some critical holes in it.Their "break" in England, which launched their career is sketchily explained. The eponymous first album, launched as Punk/New Wave was about to overwhelm England, is a deeply conservative and derivative, traditional American Rock record. The only concession to the time was that no song was longer than four minutes, and four of the ten were under three. That they prospered was down to the fact that without those short songs, they would never have been played on the radio, that this was no "new band"- it was a road tested and honed unit with fine musicians, and that they had an "anchor song" in "American Girl" which is still played as the highlight of their set 34 years later.When "You're Gonna Get it" came out Punk/New wave ruled. Again Petty trimmed. This time six of the ten songs were under three minutes, the cover shot was a broody, moody menacing one, and single choices "You're Gonna get it" and "I Need to Know" were consistent with the musical zeitgeist. How much of this was down to Producer Denny Cordell, how much Petty and how much unknown figures at Shelter Records was unexplained, but it worked.The Knebworth appearance, which I saw, in 1978 is strangely missed out. It was the moment they came of age. Headliners were Genesis, they were third on the bill behind Jefferson Starship, but ahead of Devo, Brand X and the Atlanta Rhythm Section. In front of 120,000 fans they played a sharp convincing 45 minute set which demonstrated that they had the songs, and presence, to make it. How they got the gig and their recollections of it, would have been fascinating.As a fan, I am a huge admirer of Petty's music, but it is curious how few crossover great songs he has produced. Beyond "American Girl" you are struggling outside of the converted, and none of his albums really earns "classic" status. Is he a poor man's Southern Springsteen? Yet his pedigree and longevity are undisputed? Howcome? This is not explored. I believe it is down to Petty's ability to absorb and then reinvent familiar sounds. You get recognisable, clever well crafted songs, but never anything truly original. He is a synthesiser of musical styles not an originator.To Petty's credit, tensions within the band are laid bare. Jimmy Iovine's scarcely disguised contempt for Stan Lynch's drumming is starkly exposed as is bassist Howie Epsteins fatal drug addiction. The mystery of the arson attack on Petty's home remains just that. The mutual love-in between Stevie Nicks and Petty is another delight. Her obvious infatuation with the band is lavishly covered, and the soft focus shots of her in interview suggest that Petty was at the very least flattered.The Travelling Wilbury's era with Jeff Lynne gives the film a lift although it is a shame that Dylan could not have been persuaded to say a few words. That notwithstanding, Dave Stewart, George Harrison, Dave Grohl and Johnny Depp ensure that Petty is never light of celebrity endorsement.A delight, and essential viewing for fans, and an education for all music buffs interested in American Rock post 1970's.

brackenhe I recently saw Amazing Journey about The Who and thought that was a very good doc. I resisted this one because of the running time (nearly 4 hours) but I sat down this afternoon and watched it. I'm about the same age as Petty so I kind of "grew up" with his music but I forget sometimes how great he is--how profound yet simple his lyrics are. This doc shows his long journey from a kid who just played a little music with his friends to the giant Rock & Roll hall of famer he became. I'll agree with some here who said he appears to be a laid back, go with the flow type of guy. However, there is something just underneath the surface shows how dedicated and driven he is as an artist. Band members came and went but none of them seemed bitter--just grateful to have been part of the experience until separate interests drove them to pursue other things. Even though it's a long film, it moves along and engages the viewer (it probably would help if you're a fan of the music.) All I can say is that toward the end of the movie, I was willing to break my long standing POV that I would never go to another concert. I want to see them in concert now. I probably won't but it did bring back a lot of memories and good feelings about a really great man and his music.

MisterWhiplash Tom Petty is one of those 'institutions' if one could call it in rock and roll, though maybe that's too harsh a word to put on a man like Petty, who looks about as relaxed and laid back as a multi-millionaire rock star could get. Beneath a cool veneer lays a bit of harsh anger that really only comes out through his music (from time to time, re: early in career), and he and the Heartbreakers have crafted some of the most indelible, simple-but-complex rock songs of the past thirty years. And Peter Bogdanovich does just about his own version of Scorsese's No Direction Home: a portrait of the artist under the circumstances of those around him.Where Dylan (who is also featured in Running Down a Dream) had his story unfold as being praised/victimized by the audience and by critics, and his own inward and testy personality a part of his genius, Petty's story is much more related to the band and the nature of working with a group that is so tight and run so well that there is never any kind of break-up. We see how Mudcrutch- Petty's original Gainsville, Florida band- broke-up and soon after the Heartbreakers formed, and a sort of bond that grew not really out of anything overt except that a bunch of musicians who were good at what they could do recognized it in one another, and were friends otherwise because they enjoyed what they do. Sounds a little pat, but as it unfolds Boganovich gets into the mindset of the Heartbreakers, how it's not just about Tom and his songwriting (which is rather incredible at times), but what the other contribute, or don't as case may be.And it's also a great tour of rock and roll history, as if Petty went through the folds of the second half of the 20th century as if the real all-American kind of kid went along through adulthood. First met Elvis, listened to his records non-stop for years, then heard the Beatles and started a band, got into the hippie scene with his band, then went out more ambitiously into LA and got a record deal right away, became part of a music scene that was all his own amid a 'New Wave' that started in the late 70s into the early 80s, then MTV, heavy drugs, rehab with old friends (Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynn), superstar again with Full Moon Fever, and a kind of semi-comfortable semi-tense period in the 90s broken by divorce and a realization that America was going down a bad path of corporate and governmental control. Bogdanovich and his editors have done a masterful job of combining the footage of rarity (studio sets, rare concerts, European TV, personal photos and such) and pop kind (those music videos are some of the most entertaining).If there is something of a letdown it's maybe only subjective: a few of the performances from Gainsville filmed in 2006 (or 2007 I couldn't tell) didn't seem to have to same energy and pizazz of Petty at his best, with the film's title song being the biggest exception. One song in particular, forgetting the name, where Petty scats through most of it also sounds a little 'off'. But one must give credit where credit is always due: for a man like Petty, who could've retired years ago when the greatest hits were released and Last Dance with Mary Jane, a classic from 90s rock that is right up there with the best of Pearl Jam and STP as solid, standard alternative rock, to still be on the road is something inspirational. Just seeing little bits and pieces of how he works creatively, how it 'comes to him' without much effort, and how if there is a lot of effort it's almost a waste of time- and seeing the equal contributions of the band like the keyboardist and Mike the guitarist- are enough to make me want to rush out to get some of their lesser known, interesting albums.Bottom line, the best rock doc you're likely to see this year, least about a band with the longevity of the Heartbreakers.