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Simply A Masterpiece

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Running Down a Dream is a great documentary for fans of the band. It has interviews with Petty and all of the key band members past and present, producers, family and others around the band. Great stories from them are mixed with past recordings of them when they were younger and lots of more recent live performances at various concerts.It covers the entire history of the band up until the time the documentary was made (2007). I loved the documentary as a big fan of the group.The only downside is that for non fans and even for more casual fans the doc has an incredibly long run time of about four hours. For me it flew by but the others got a bit bored. Maybe a version with less performances would have been a good idea to keep the great history and story in a more compact run time. They play almost entire songs during the doc so if you're not into that particular song you might be looking for the fast forward button.

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

When the golden age of rock (63-77) ended Tom Petty along with Bruce Springsteen (though he was clearly established at this point) were probably the only fresh newcomers to match and carry on the tradition of the genre with consistently good music for a generation. Unlike poser Springsteen and his crew Petty and the Heartbreakers seem to be a more down to earth self effacing lot and this translates well in Peter Bogdanovich's everything you wanted to know about Petty and the Heartbreakers four hour documentary. In spite of it's length Bogdanovich does an excellent job of keeping things flowing but the length and breath of Petty's discography is what makes Dream soar with live stage performances featuring the remarkable musical talents of lead guitarist Mike Campbell.Unlike rock doc impresario Martin Scorsese (The Last Waltz and a recent Imax doc featuring 30 foot Keith Richards) Bogdanovich approach is straight forward, the boys are forthcoming, genuinely modest and the music speaks for itself. They soberly discuss the problems of rock stardom, working as a team, losing and adding members the toll drugs took on the band as well as a David and Goliath contract dispute with MCA. Petty is both candid and unpretentious about his music, more a working stiff than the messiahs (ala Springsteen) who prattle on about their musics importance to preserving mankind.Fan or not (I happen to be a big one)Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream is a well made documentary featuring plenty of insight on a super group who avoided sensationalism and stage theatrics and simply and powerfully produced what they were on stage for - rock and roll without the sermonizing.

My wife and I didn't blink, except at the end when we were in tears. Honestly people, WATCH THIS DOCUMENTARY!!! I have seen them all, from The Tommy Dorsey Story to this, with Spinal Tap and The Ruttles in between. THIS IS THE BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY I HAVE EVER SEEN - BY A LONG WAYS. It is like one of those great songs that literally writes itself.Peter Bogdanovich deserves an Academy Award. The pacing, the entry and exit from each scene or topic, the feel that is captured, the very subtle nuances, well....they're perfect. Thank you for not detouring away from the core band and their music! Bogdanovich makes the four hours seem like minutes. We didn't want it to stop. It also helps to have great subject matter, and I now realize why Bogdanovich took on this project - Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers are the Real Deal. What they have given us is overwhelming. And what they went through and put up with in order to do it only adds to their reputation, and to the story itself. My wife and I keep going back to the DVR and rewinding to scenes or moments that are totally captivating. And, it's true, we were both in tears at the end. It really is that good. Thank you to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers for letting us into your intensely fascinating world, to Peter Bogdanovich for capturing it so perfectly, to Tom Petty for staying true to his spirit, to Mike Campbell for showing us that a brilliant lead guitarist can also be reverent and humble and to everyone else - your synergy is an inspiration. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.