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	...	Himself
Chris Cornell	...	Himself
Heidi Cotler	...	Herself
Rudy Danzinger	...	Himself
Bob Delanoy
Mike Farrace	...	Himself
David Geffen	...	Himself
Stan Goman	...	Himself
Dave Grohl
Chris Hopson	...	Himself
Elton John	...	Himself
Steve Knopper	...	Himself
Steve Nikkel	...	Himself
Ken Sockolov	...	Himself
Russ Solomon

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

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, 16 October 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$166,872, 6 December 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Company Name

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

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

Sir Elton John, Himself: Tuesday mornings I would be at Tower Records at 10 o'clock - 9 o'clock in LA. The store would open at 9 and they'd let me in and it was a ritual and it was a ritual I loved. It was my music center. Yeah, I knew where everything was and if they didn't have something in one week and they didn't have the next week, I told them. "You need to, you know, you need to get this in."

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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

Pump Up the Volume
Written by Steven Anthony Biggs and Martyn Young
Performed by Marrs (as M/A/R/R/S)
Courtesy of 4AD Recordings

User Reviews

Karma At Work

Unlikeable men fall into a CANNOT LOSE business (baby boomer, rock buying generation) and milk the customer dry for decades. Despite making millions, and eventually billions, this is not enough for these offensive parasites. These supposed "businessmen" (actually simple-minded drunkards and coke heads), fail to see digital coming and greedily refuse to offer their goods at reasonable prices. Now that these people are exposed for the lowlife scum that they are, they can only weep at the loss of their jobs (and at the loss of a fellow drunk, a gentleman who hilariously, literally wears a lampshade on his head. What a cutup! This, and the David Crosby / walrus-mustachioed Cletus are these people's idea of interesting people.

Despite each working for decades, adding up to centuries worth of experience, in a music-related field, it is notable that music - remember music? - is never a discussion point for these selfish greed heads, only the good times they enjoyed and the incredible profit they were making, both at the customer's expense.

Tower Records was a good store in spite of these people. Everyone loves music, all you needed to do was sell it to them at a reasonable price. See the Beatles' Apple Records for a similar example of what happens when you put burnt-out hippies in charge of your business. It's a shame alright, shameful actions.