Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich

Cast: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jeff Lynne, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl

Running time: 238 minutes

Runnin’ Down a Dream is an extensive and comprehensive documentary chronicling the ongoing career of the band known the world over as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Over the course of almost 4 hours, we are taken from Petty’s origins in Gainesville, Florida, to the formation of a band called Mudcrutch and to the access to the big time, through hard work, great songwriting and dedicated musicianship on stage. The movie ends on an anniversary concert, in 2006, in Petty’s hometown.

As a fan of documentaries about music and its creative process, I loved Runnin’ Down a Dream. It is very long, but it kept me interested all the way through. In that sense, Peter Bogdanovich did a great job pulling all of the important info together and presenting it on screen. Some people might find this film a bit too much to undertake, but I loved every minute of it.

This documentary offers interviews with actual and past members of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and with the likes of George Harrison, Stevie Nicks, Jeff Lynne, Dave Grohl, Johnny Depp and many more.

Through successes and hardships, with new members and departures, this film takes us on a rollercoaster through the life and career of a band and its members. What a great ride it is.

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