Admirable film.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

If you were a teenager during the turbulent 60s and have even a passing interest in Petty's music, you should thoroughly enjoy this film. I'm about the same age as Petty and can totally relate to the influences that drove him to rock stardom. This movie was a real trip down memory lane and a huge eye opener in terms of the talents of Petty and his amazing band. Its a remarkable story really given Petty's very modest background and growing up in the somewhat rural Gainesville Florida. Fortunately, the University of Florida is there, which provided Petty's early band with an eager audience during the formative years. Even more amazing is how at one point, they simply decided to drive to California with some audition tapes and get a contract. And they did! Who knew it was so easy, although there were plenty of bumps along the way. The movie also provides pretty good insight into the ugly underbelly of the music industry and how they manipulate new artists to their own ends. If you are not a huge Petty fan, you will probably be surprised by how many hits this band had. It's pretty remarkable. All the more so that they can still play them all to perfection, despite their advancing age. Few groups of this age can make that claim. I wasn't a huge Petty fan until I saw this documentary. I was so impressed by Petty the person, and a realization that a lot of their songs were pretty easy to play (just from watching them play, I recognized the basic chords), that I took up guitar again after a 40 year hiatus. And I have actually become a much better guitar player than when I quit in frustration as a teenager. Its a fun ride with some intriguing personalities. Petty comes off as a pretty down to earth person, as does most of his band. A refreshing difference from the huge egos that dominate the rock world. Also be prepared to be surprised at how many huge artists Petty collaborated with, from George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash. He is a pretty remarkable fellow.

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

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.

I would like to thank Peter Bogdanovich for putting together a wonderful movie that really showcases the song writing talent of Tom Petty and the synergy of the Heartbreakers. I was riveted the entire 4 hours and wanted more so I anxiously perused the bonus material.The contributions of close friends such as Jeff Lynn and Rick Rubin helped to illustrate the talents of Petty. The interviews with Tom himself show that he a modest man but you see the impact of his music when you realize all the huge hits he had over the decades. The movie did not go into his personal like much, but it was interesting to learn that Tom was married to his first wife for over 20 years. It was sad to learn about the death of their bass player due to substance abuse.