Pearl Jam Twenty

Great documentary. Who better to direct it than Cameron Crowe, Oscar-winning film-maker and former Rolling Stone rock journalist. Crowe also has a connection with Pearl Jam through them appearing in his second movie, Singles. Well structured. Doesn't sit still for a moment, yet covers all the detail you will need. Superb, and sometimes quite rare, live footage. Crowe's research is extensive, as he has unearthed behind-the-scenes footage that even the band members probably didn't realise existed. While some rock band documentaries fall flat because they feature celebrities going on about how great the band is, this dispenses with all that empty sucking up and concentrates on the band and its music. A definite must-see for all fans of the band.

To be fair, before seeing this film, I had grown up with Pearl Jam's music through my dad. And though I "liked," or "didn't mind," their music, I had always seen them as a "dad band." That is, until my dad and I watched this film together upon its release, and I realized for myself truly how amazing Eddie, Stone, Mike, Jeff, and Matt are. I was only 13, but the events and interviews shown in this documentary changed my opinion on the band (and possibly on music in general) forever. Since then, I have seen it countless times, and it has not loss its brilliance. I can't quite put it into words, but the way that Crowe portrays the humanity of the band and its members really makes you look at them and their music differently. It covers everything from the band Mother Love Bone, which spawned Pearl Jam (unfortunately due to the death of its lead singer), to Pearl Jam's massive popularity in the 90's, and to their continuing legacy today. This documentary/film is a must-watch for any fan of Pearl Jam, and for anyone who is at all interested in the band or likes any of their songs. I guarantee you will be a bigger fan coming out of it than you were going in.

As a Pearl Jam fan, I was delighted by this movie. I am not sure I would recommend it to other viewers. Still, for its documentary merits, and as a nostalgia piece, this is a fairly good work. It shows some faults, principally in the sound of the interviews. Though, since this is basically an ode to the lost innocence of the festival/live concert scene of the Twentieth century, it is only appropriate that not much was done to the archive footage used. The interviews and video taken from live performances offered a quite superficial, bird's view of the past twenty years of the band's work, occasionally interrupted by more recent interviews. The screening I went to, in a fairly generic multiplex, was very crowded. The emotional response of the audience really showed that this is a PJ fan film for PJ fans.

Being a Pearl Jam fan I guessed this is somewhat biased but I believe that Cameron Crowe has put together a work of art here, sure it's not like a Led Zeppelin documentary or some sort, but this retrospect over 20 years goes back to the beginning of Grunge. Seattle late 80's early 90's.. Pearl Jam, Nirvana,, Soundgarden Alice in chains and so forth. I found particularly interesting was when one of the band was asked about their main rival Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, apparently at first Kurt never liked Eddie Vedder or Pearl Jam,, mainly concert footage mixed in with personal stories, interviews with the band,, various other professionals from the music industry detailing the beginnings and rise of my favorite band on the planet,, Pearl Jam..

Pearl Jam Twenty gives you a respectable two hour overview that's meant to cover the group's history. Obviously, some things must be left out of the picture, and everything after about 2003 gets the short shrift here. That being said, it's still a tremendous documentary that shows the group at it's peak, and gives you a good clue as to why they are where they are today. If you were there from the beginning, it's hard to believe all this happened. Pearl Jam emerged from one of the wildest times in rock history, made it through, and have become a beloved institution by many. Everything is touched on that needs to be touched on, from the Mother Love Bone days on up. They do skim over the drummer situation, and it would've been nice to see a few of them interviewed for this piece. I think they may have shed some interesting light on the inner workings of the band. Those who are still waiting for the definitive multi-part documentary on the 1990's alternative rock scene will have to make due with films like this, until someone takes the time to make their way through all the film footage & put it all together. Luckily, this film does a great job of highlighting an essential band from an essential time in rock & roll.

Long time band confidante Cameron Crowe chooses a subject close to his heart to redeem for his iffy recent output and documents the history of Pearl Jam. As a summary of their career it covers all bases: Formation from Green River/Mother Love Bone, finding Vedder and their sound via Temple Of The Dog; massive instant success and the overexposure of both themselves and grunge as a whole and dealing with the fallout; battling Ticketmaster and falling record sales, and the tragedy of Rokslide and coming out of it as one of the most fan-revered stadium acts around. It's so busy scrambling to pack everything of note from twenty years into two hours it never really dwells on anything for a significant amount of time, and the band interviews are candid but never truly revealing. The early footage of a raging, furious live act are riveting and watching them work through all their troubles (interspersed with an amusing ironic nod to Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes simply wondering what the hell they're so miserable about) to come out the other side a euphoric success is pleasing, even if as a songwriting outfit they're a pale shadow of what they were on their first three albums. In summation, pleasing to the hardcore fan, but not really telling you anything you didn't already know; To the uninitiated you may appreciate the journey, but wonder what the hell all the fuss was about. 7.5/10

Unfortunately I cannot give a objective rating about this documentary, because I am a enormous Pearl Jam fan. So the positive feeling that I get when I think of Pearl Jam could influence my view on the documentary. But I do think that it is worth a watch! It is such an interesting and inspiring band that deserves the attention of the big public. The documentary takes you by the hand and shows you how the band started and which big events occurred in the career of the band. I surely contains a lot of footage that I haven't seen before. So that was a pleasant surprise. And when you already like Pearl Jam, I think you will appreciate the music even more in the future. So you should watch it definitely.