All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records (2015)

'All Things Must Pass' is a documentary that explores the rise and fall of Tower Records, and its legacy forged by its rebellious founder, Russ Solomon.

Director:

Colin Hanks

Writer:

Steven Leckart

Stars:

Russ Solomon, Chuck D, Chris Cornell

Cast

Credited cast:
Chuck D	...	Self
Chris Cornell	...	Self
Heidi Cotler	...	Self
Rudy Danzinger	...	Self
Bob Delanoy
Mike Farrace	...	Self
David Geffen	...	Self
Stan Goman	...	Self
Dave Grohl
Chris Hopson	...	Self
Elton John	...	Self
Steve Knopper	...	Self
Quest Love	...	Self (as Ahmir-Khalib Thompson)
Steve Nikkel	...	Self
Ken Sockolov	...	Self

Storyline

Established in 1960, Tower Records was once a retail powerhouse with two hundred stores, in thirty countries, on five continents. From humble beginnings in a small-town drugstore, Tower Records eventually became the heart and soul of the music world, and a powerful force in the music industry. In 1999, Tower Records made $1 billion. In 2006, the company filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong? Everyone thinks they know what killed Tower Records: The Internet. But that's not the story. "All Things Must Pass" is a feature documentary film examining this iconic company's explosive trajectory, tragic demise, and legacy forged by its rebellious founder Russ Solomon.

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | san francisco california | 1990s | 1980s | 1970s | 

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Taglines:

The doors are closed, but the legacy lives on.

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Genres:

Documentary | History | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

To promote the release of the film, the still empty building which once housed the Tower Records on Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood had its facade repainted to appear as it once had. This lead to rumors that the store may reopen, but in fact the building had been sold to Gibson Guitars in 2014 with the intention of opening a guitar showroom, while preserving the historic building itself. Not yet ready to open their showroom, Gibson worked with the documentary makers to repaint the building to display the Tower facade. The repaint was planned to be taken down after the premiere party was held inside the empty building, but remained up for over a year while Gibson continued to plan their new store.

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Goofs

In the closing credits the Japanese Translator, Kyoko Nishijima, is listed twice.

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Quotes

David Geffen, Himself: How do you compete with that? You know, if you could get Coca-Cola for free from your faucet, you wouldn't buy a bottle of Coca-Cola.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Carol Burnett/Colin Hanks/Baio/Abe Laboriel Jr. (2015)

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Soundtracks

Galuchat
Written and Performed by Gui Boratto
Courtesy of Kompact

User Reviews

Entrepreneurial Vision

They call it luck, but it takes a particular type of wisdom to be at the right place at the right time. Russ Solomon had this in spades, when he branched out from his entrepreneurial father to expand into records. This movie is a blueprint of how to start a great business. First of all, have the vision. Secondly, get great people, give them freedom and back them up. Sounds simple, but very few businesses actually do this. In the movie, various key employees are interviewed and they all basically tell the same story. That is that they were given a chance to prove themselves and they rose to the challenge. Russ also realized that he could tap into the collective wisdom of all his employees and this he also did, especially with advertising and the Tower Records publication Pulse! It is refreshing to see the 60s again, the hope and the freedom. Russ also realized that he was not a financial type, so he hired an excellent money manager in Bud Martin. The demise of tower records was quite sad, but technology replaces one thing with another, so it was a tremendous ride.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Trailer

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

All Things Must Pass

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,001, 18 October 2015

Gross USA:

$172,394

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$172,394

Company Credits

Production Co:

Company Name

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color