DVD Review: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Runnin' Down A Dream

As mentioned in an earlier posting, I was determined to get hold of a copy of the Peter Bogdanovic movie called ‘Runnin’ Down A Dream’. This is a movie he made about the life and times of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

 

Well, I eventually bought it, risking my hard earned cash on the South African Postal service by ordering it from Amazon (I looked everywhere in South Africa and could not find the DVD). After two and a half weeks it arrived.

 

The version that I bought consists of the movie spanning two separate DVD’s, a live home-coming concert DVD, and a CD of some live rarities. The movie itself is about four hours long, the length of which has created a bit of controversy in itself.

 

The Movie

 

The movie is in fact a revelation. I had my doubts about a movie of this length, but as explained in the liner notes, so much footage from over the years existed that the actual material available was just too good to omit (we also have a theory on the KraKen Rock that Tom’s slow speaking style also dragged things on a bit). It seems that since the band started, there was always someone around with some form of video camera device. For me, living in South Africa all my life, who had only ever seen the video of ‘Don’t come around here no more’ in terms of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers visual offerings, the time spanning footage was the revelation. There are visuals of the band performing in their early years, interviews spanning all the years, and some shots of the band backing up Bob Dylan. For me this was a pure visual feast.

 

Then there is the actual story (a movie should have some kind of story to it). Narrated by various people involved with the band, including most members of the band, it is riveting. After sitting down and watching the first discs about two hours worth of the movie, we seriously considered putting the second disc in straight away. It is a really enjoyable, informative documentary. The only criticism that I had at the end was that of – ‘why didn’t they explain more about various points’, and of course the answer to that is that four hours was already too long.

 

The story spans the formation of the starting bands in Gainesville, the quick demise of Mudcrutch (including where the name came from), the early days and the fact that like so many other bands they had to first break it in the UK before their home country would even take notice. Then it tracks the change of band members over the years, their relationships with other prominent artists (Stevie Nicks and Bob Dylan for example), as well as Tom’s Traveling Wilburys experience. The message that I felt prevailed from this movie is that, often you are only given one chance to do something – at these times, do not mess up., and don’t forget that dogged determination. If you don’t have it – you will fail.

 

In amongst all of this there are some really great moments, and I think that every person will find their own, whether it be a shot of Dave Grohl hammering away at the drums in a rare live performance, or the expressions on various faces during a drug bust in a German airport.

 

I would say – well worth a watch.

 

The live DVD

 

The live DVD is of a concert at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2006. The guys are starting to look a bit old, and to me it seems to get off to a bit of a slow start. However, after about three songs in it picks up. My favourite parts are when Stevie Nicks joins them on stage. Viewers of the movie will understand her ongoing wish to be in the Heartbreakers, and with this in mind it is great to see her enthusiasm on stage.

 

Another thought that strikes me every time I watch Live Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers DVD’s is how astoundingly good Mike Campbell is. He is in every sense of the word a virtuoso (scary hairdo though).

 

The CD

 

The CD is only nine tracks long and offers live songs from the very early days to more recent times, mainly culled from live TV appearances such as Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle test and Saturday Night Live. The last track is a sound check of a Hank Williams song that they had never done before (apparently) – hard to believe. Dave Grohl appears on the drums for the SNL performance, and if you had watched the movie, you would know how much that meant to him.

 

Interestingly the old songs sound just as great today, and the new songs sound fresh and strong.

 

Conclusion

 

I am glad that I bought this package. It is quite literally hours of entertainment.

There are amazing insights into the recording industry, as well as insights into the band and their friends. A statement not to be taken lightly when you count people like Bob Dylan and George Harrison among your friends.

If you like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, buy it. If you don’t, borrow it, and you may find that you do like them afterwards.