Starring: Pearl Jam
Director: Cameron Crowe
Vinyl Films/Tremolo Productions
MPAA Rating:
Running Time: 1 hr 49 minutes
Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
“Pearl Jam 20” directed by Cameron Crowe tells the story of one of rock more outspoken groups Pearl Jam. This documentary follows the band through its inception nearly 20 years ago. Through new interviews and archival footage you get to see and hear firsthand accounts of the trials and tribulations of one the most popular bands to come out of the 90’s grunge era of music.
Pearl Jam is a band I grew up listening to and I was quite intrigued to hear their complete story. The film does a great job leaving no stone unturned starting with Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament’s previous band Mother Love Bone. Gossard and Ament tell the story of how the passing of their singer led to Eddie Veder coming into the fold and forming a new band. There were a lot of great archival clips that I remember reading about or seeing when they initially happened. I found this very reminiscent. The film was very truthful and the expressions of those in the film proved that. Even when the topic of the controversial Ticketmaster incident was discussed no member shied away. In fact each person provided their perspective of those events based on where they are now. On a personal note I really enjoyed the stories and footage related to the Temple of the Dog album which featured both Pearl jam and members of Sound Garden.
Director Cameron Crowe definitely delivered with this film. The interviews were all very candid and again nothing seemed to be cut or left out. Seeing the members of the band in their natural environment during their interviews brought a real independent feel to this film which almost echoes the bands very being. “Pearl Jam 20” is a must see!