Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Runnin' Down A Dream (4-Disc Set) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)"I feel pretty blessed really right now, when I see it, that most of us made it through that maze that is growing up in rock 'n' roll," he says. "And I think we've matured in a way that we're maybe better now, you know, maybe better musicians, and enjoying our craft more than we ever have. So I'm very lucky." Tom Petty
I found this four hour anthology of Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers on Sundance Channel. I immediately notified my best friend, and we watched unbelievably spellbound. This story of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was directed by Peter Bogdanovich. He begins with the start of Tom Petty's life in Gainesville, Florida and ends with a 2006 commemoration concert of his thirtieth anniversary in music.
The entire story is told through home movies, television shows and rememberances in narrative form. Tom Petty does much of the narrative and this is his profession and musical life, after all. The list of friends, colleagues and those in the know who knew or played with Tom Petty is remarkable. It is a time line of the history of rock and music. Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynn along with Tom Petty join to form 'The Traveling Wilburys'. This remarkable group, to a one, votes this time in their lives as one of the most rewarding musical experiences. Stevie Nicks wants to join Tom Petty and his heartbreakers, but she is a woman and "this is a men's club" says Tom Petty. The sheer sense of Tom's persuasive personality in pursing his career in music is pure genius. Once he set down this path he never looked back. This was his life and what a life it has been.
This movie is about the music. There is some mention of marriage and Tom Petty's daughter is interviewed. Little personal information is shared. What we do have is the music and it is glorious. From "Breakdown", "American Girl" "Even the Losers", "I Won't Back Down", "Learning to Fly", "Into the Great Wide Open", "Refugee", "Straight Into Darkness, "Don't Do Me Like That", and on and on. A homage to Tom Petty and his career.
"Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream remarkably chronicles a prolific career that's yielded dozens of instantly recognizable songs and countless good times for all who've cared to listen. It's an indispensable documentary on one of America's most successful rock and roll bands, whose leader never backed down in aspiring to his ambition." Donald Gibson
This may be one of the best made rock documentaries. A must see for all of Tom Petty fans and for those who love great rock n' roll.
Highly Recommended. prisrob 11-17-07
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
Traveling Wilburys (2CD/1DVD, Deluxe Edition)

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SynopsisRunnin' Down A Dream: Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersA Film by Peter Bogdanovich A 4 disc set, 3 DVDs with over 5 hours of video, 1 CD of rare and unreleased tracks2 DVD, four hour Director's cut of famed Peter Bogdanovich's Runnin' Down a DreamThis movie contains hours of never before seen footage and interviews with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers plus music from the storied rock band's entire career. The movie features interviews with George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Johnny Depp, Jackson Browne and more. Also 1 DVD of the celebrated 30th Anniversary Concert in Heartbreaker hometown, Gainesville Florida Disc 1:Gainesville 2006ElvisWhat's In A NameMikeBenmontB.Y.O.F (Build Your Own Festival)Fast ForwardDealsA Broken BondRon & StanTom Petty and the HeartbreakersThirdFuelHowiePoetDisc 2:Bob DylanStrange CoincidencesScottThe Bottom LineSteveJohnRound TripRock & Roll HeavenRunnin' Down a Dream (End credits)One 30th Anniversary ConcertDisc 3:Listen To Her HeartMary Jane's Last DanceI Won't Back DownFree Fallin'Saving GraceI'm A ManOh WellHandle With CareStop Draggin' My Heart Around (with Stevie Nicks)I Need To Know (with Stevie Nicks)It's Good To Be KingDown SouthSouthern AccentsInsider (with Stevie Nicks)Learning To FlyDon't Come Around Here No MoreRunnin' Down A DreamYou Wreck MeMystic EyesAmerican GirlBonus Soundtrack CDDisc 4:BreakdownAnything That's Rock and RollFooled Again (I Don't Like It)American GirlShadow of A Doubt (A Complex Kid)Stories We Could TellKeeping Me AliveHoney BeeLost Highway

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Shine a Light (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Set List:
1) Jumpin' Jack Flash
2) Shattered
3) She Was Hot
4) All Down the Line
5) Loving Cup (w/ Jack White)
6) As Tears Go By
7) Some Girls
8) Just My Imagination
9) Faraway Eyes
10) Champagne and Reefer (w/ Buddy Guy)
11) Tumbling Dice
12) You Got the Silver
13) Connection
14) Sympathy for the Devil
15) Live With Me (w/ Christina Aguilera)
16) Start Me Up
17) Brown Sugar
18) Satisfaction
Though the actual track 'Shine a Light' from Exile on Main Street is not played during the (film version of this) set, it is an excellent title for this rock documentary as Martin Scorcese is shining a light so to speak on the Stones themselves, and this light shines mighty bright and mighty close. But Scorcese is not as invasive as you might expect. And this documentary/concert film does not feel like an expose as much as a celebration of a band that still has some kick left in it. Instead of being overly reverent and even elegaic (as perhaps he was in The Last Waltz) Scorcese, takes a lighthearted & lighthanded approach. The first thing that Scorcese documents is the planning of the show itself and the miscommunications that took place between what the Stones wanted (a big venue) and what Martin wanted (an intimate one); miscommunications that could have been avoided had the band been available to actually meet face to face with Scorcese, but these and other miscommunications are treated more as running jokes than as genuine problems. Another running joke is that meticulous detail man Martin Scorcese (perhaps the only living director with a fame that rivals the Stones own) wants to know ahead of time what the set list will be or at least what the first song will be so that he can plan his first shot, but the Stones keep it a secret until seconds before the show begins. Its funny even though no one really thinks for a second that with his arsenal of cameras on and off stage there is any chance that Martin Scorcese will not get the exact shots he wants. But even while having some laughs with the band (at the bands and at his own expense), Scorcese is excellent at capturing what an immense task it is working with a band that is not used to surrendering control nor opening up on camera (and Scorcese inserts several old interviews into the concert footage to document Mick's ability to dodge questions with charm and Keith's utter refusal to play the q & a game at all). The irony is that the Stones have been public figures for over four decades now but we really still don't know them very well. Scorcese does a very good job at remedying this situation by peeling back the Stones mystique and allowing us to see the real personalities behind the public performances. As with his Dylan documentary, he does this by going though the immense Stones Interviews archive and coming up with some very rare interview footage (much of it from Asian and European tv programs). We get to hear the notoriously reticent Charlie discussing an alternative career as a painter, and Ron Wood discussing Keith and how he is nothing like his public image, "Keith's a very decent and very moral guy". The interviews are culled from all phases of their career and are very brief and very selectively inserted between the live songs. Most of them are humorous and/or ironic. Notably absent: any mention of Brian Jones or Mick Taylor or Bill Wyman.
No doubt there will be Stones fans who wish that Scorcese had teamed up with the '72 or '76 or '78 Stones, when the band was a bit more like Scorcese's screen outlaws, but better late than never.
For Stones fans the thrill (and it is immediate and lasts the entire show) is having the feeling of being onstage with the Stones. Jack White, Buddy Guy, and Christina Aguilera all do guest stints onstage but we as audience members feel like we are onstage as well and this is the truly brilliant thing about this film. The cameras are so close that we actually get to see the band play (and see who plays which guitar lines) and hear the between song banter between band members. Scorcese allows us to affirm or reaffirm that Mick is without a doubt the leader of this band and his relentless energy and seductive charms seem to wow his bandmates as much as they wow the crowd. Micks age shows in the close-ups but his real instruments, his voice & his body, seem completely immune from the ravages of time. Keith, at times, seems a bit lost (as when Christinsa Aguilera steps onstage) and he misses chords in a few places, but Scorcese's intimate style really serves Richards well. He is an intensely likable guy who loves what he does and still seems to feel adorably awkward when he takes center stage to sing "You Got the Silver" & "Connection." He is in many ways Mick's opposite. The chemistry of the band and especially the chemistry that exists between the Glimmer Twins is the thing that continues to fascinate and continues to evade documentation.
The show is intense and intimate and revealing. The guest appearances are well chosen. And the ending (which I will not reveal) is perfect.
Note on the soundtrack: The 2 cd edition of the Shine a Light soundtrack will contain four bonus tracks ("Paint it Black", "Little T & A", "I'm Free", & "Shine a Light").

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Widescreen Rated PG 13. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese and the world's greatest Rock'N' Roll band, The Rolling Stones, unite to bring audiences the year's most extraordinary film event, Shine A Light. With special appearances by Christina Aguilera, Jack White and Buddy Guy, and four Rolling Stones performances not seen in theaters, Shine A Light is a must-own forRock'N'Roll fans across generations. 5.1 Dolby Digital (English, Spanish, French), Behind the scenes featurette, plus four music videos (Undercover Of The Night, Paint It Black, Little T And A, I'm Free)

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