Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)

A documentary on the band Pearl Jam that marks their 20th anniversary in the year 2011.

Director:

Cameron Crowe

Writer:

Cameron Crowe

Stars:

Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cameron Crowe	...	Himself
Jeff Ament	...	Himself
Matt Cameron	...	Himself
Stone Gossard	...	Himself
Mike McCready	...	Himself
Eddie Vedder	...	Himself
Kenneth 'Boom' Gaspar	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Irons	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dave Krusen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Matt Chamberlain	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dave Abbruzzese	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Cornell	...	Himself
The U-Men	...	Themselves (archive footage)
Susan Silver	...	Herself (archive footage)
Mother Love Bone	...	Themselves (archive footage)

Storyline

A documentary on the band Pearl Jam that marks their 20th anniversary in the year 2011.

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Plot Keywords:

pearl jam | reference to chris cornell | reference to kurt cobain | reference to pearl jam | reference to eddie vedder | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pearl Jam 20

Filming Locations:

Seattle, Washington, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$102,448, 25 September 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$454,784, 2 October 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tremolo Productions,Vinyl Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min 120 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

When asked how he felt about the film, bassist Jeff Ament claimed he felt uncomfortable with how often he used profanity on camera.

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Goofs

Eddie Vedder dedicates a performance to Kurt Cobain and the date is given as "April 8th, 1994 - The Day Kurt Died". This may appear as a goof, as in some places it is mentioned that Kurt Cobain died on April 5th 1994.

Both dates are relevant: April 8th is the day Kurt Cobain was discovered dead. The coroner established that he had died on April 5th.

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Quotes

Mike McCready: [about Andrew Wood, singer of Mother Love Bone] He would do something like go to The Central Tavern when there was 25 people there. He play it like it was The Colosseum. "To all you people in the back!" And there's like... the guy at the door.

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Connections

Features Mulholland Dr. (2001)

User Reviews

Informative, moving and passionate

Twenty years after Pearl Jam's debut album Ten took the music world by storm, Cameron Crowe directs this documentary that chronicles and celebrates the band's history, impact and longevity. Crowe starts way back in 1988 when guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament were part of Mother Love Bone, a band that were popular due to singer Andy Wood's charismatic personality and song writing talent. After Wood's overdose and untimely death, Gossard and Ament founded Pearl Jam, along with the hugely talented singer Eddie Vedder and lead guitarist Mike McCready. The band went on to be one of the most successful bands of the 90's, and were seen as the natural rivals of fellow 'grunge' band Nirvana.

Crowe's documentary is hugely detailed, combining the standard talking heads with old interview footage, home video, and concert footage. Crowe apparently worked his way through 12,000 hours of footage of the band for the film. It was well worth it, as we get to see rare, grainy footage of Wood's exciting performances with Mother Love Bone, as well as the extremely moving performances by Vedder and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell as part of Wood tribute group Temple of the Dog. The talking heads are no mere conduits that progress the film along, they are as informative and moving as the performances, as Vedder and Cornell, especially, open up and give tearful recollections.

It also covers the band's battle with ticket giant Ticketmaster, and how they objected to the fact that their fans were getting ripped off just to see a live band. It shows Pearl Jam as one of the few bands that remember their roots and are a dying breed. It was strange for me to watch this film, viewing the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Soundgarden as part of music history. I grew up with my old brother listening to the music, so I remember the whole 'grunge' craze quite well. I really only remember stripy shirts and long hair, but Pearl Jam Twenty reminded me of how good the music actually was. This is a must-see for fans of the band or the era, or for those enjoy an involving documentary. Crowe clearly knows his s**t (he was a journalist for Rolling Stone after all) and his passionate touch is all over it.

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