Last night 'Runnin' Down A Dream', a documentary on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from their early incarnations to the present day was premiered in Australian cinemas.
The film is four hours long, and with good reason. From the beginning of the film and Petty's early bands The Epics and Mudcrutch (the latter of which included Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell) to their 2006 American tour the film covers every tiny detail of the band's history.
Unlike some documentaries, however, this one has no dull moments. Even what may be considered low points in the band's career artistically, it is fascinating to see the tensions in the band and what caused these artistic rifts.
While my personal preference for rock docos leans towards those that capture a band at a particular point in their career (maybe a certain line up, or around a certain album), rather than the whole story up until whenever they felt like making a movie, the story here is simply one of a rock 'n' roll dream coming true and you don't have to be a Tom Petty fan to enjoy it, just a music fan.
Because it was directed by Peter Bogdanovich, who had little prior knowledge of Tom Petty, the story is the essence of the film, rather than the band.
'Runnin' Down A Dream' is available from November 24 in a four disc (three DVD and one CD) set. Make sure you own it!
