Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)

Director:

Peter Bogdanovich

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Character Name In Title

Cast

Ron Blair	...	Himself
Mike Campbell	...	Himself
Johnny Cash	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Drakoulias	...	Himself
Bob Dylan	...	Himself
Howie Epstein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Steve Ferrone	...	Himself
Jimmy Iovine	...	Himself
Stan Lynch	...	Himself
Jeff Lynne	...	Himself
Stevie Nicks	...	Herself
Roy Orbison	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tom Petty	...	Himself
Rick Rubin	...	Himself
Ringo Starr	...	Himself
Benmont Tench	...	Himself
Scott Thurston	...	Himself

Also Known As:

Untitled Tom Petty Documentary (USA) (working title)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Company:

Levels Audio Post

Great Doc

Running Down a Dream (2007)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Peter Bogdanovich's mammoth documentary about the history of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers runs a few minutes short of four hours so needless to say there's a lot of information. I think the film's biggest problem is the fact that it runs so long because even the smallest detail of something will get too much attention and by the time the fourth hour was nearing it was really hurting me. Perhaps it would have been best to watch it in two parts as it is offered up this way. Even with that said, this is a very impressive look at the group, which covers their early bands all the way up to their most recent album. Petty and the group aren't shy about sharing their feelings and this leads to some great and sometimes sad stories. Their battle with their record label is covered in great detail as is their 1986-87 tour with Bob Dylan, The Traveling Wilburys days and even their brief work with Johnny Cash. Stevie Nicks, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne and various others are interviewed along the way. Another great thing is that Petty must have known they would take off one day because he videotaped all of his early stuff including his original drive to L.A. when they were searching for a record deal. All of this behind the scenes footage is terrific as is the concert footage.