Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 27
Fresh: 18 | Rotten: 9
Cameron Crowe's fawning documentary is a true boon for Pearl Jam fans, but the band's insistent resistance to fame comes off hollow.
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Critic Reviews: 11
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 6
Cameron Crowe's fawning documentary is a true boon for Pearl Jam fans, but the band's insistent resistance to fame comes off hollow.
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Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 2,270
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Movie Info
Pearl Jam Twenty chronicles the years leading up to the band's formation, the chaos that ensued soon-after their rise to megastardom, their step back from center stage, and the creation of a trusted circle that would surround them-giving way to a work culture that would sustain them. Told in big themes and bold colors with blistering sound, the film is carved from over 1,200 hours of rarely-seen and never-before seen footage spanning the band's career. Pearl Jam Twenty is the definitive portrait
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Cast
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Jeff Ament
Jeff Ament -
Matt Cameron
Matt Cameron -
Stone Gossard
Stone Gossard -
Mike McCready
Mike McCready -
Eddie Vedder
Eddie Vedder -
Neil Young
Neil Young -
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell -
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain -
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam -
Jeff Arment
Jeff Arment
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All Critics (27) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (9) | DVD (1)
Crowe has assembled some top-drawer ephemera -- old show posters, home movies, and candid backstage footage -- but he overestimates his audience's patience for present-day talking-head interviews.
Top CriticWith its intimacy and (this can't be emphasized enough) fantastic sound, Pearl Jam Twenty is like two hours spent rediscovering the band through excellent headphones.
If only it was about something other than rockers almost irked they got famous.
In a better film, Crowe would have played journalist instead of fan boy.
By the time "Pearl Jam Twenty" is over we can't help but be impressed by the kind of personal and professional integrity that has kept the band honest and allowed them to endure and prosper.
While the movie may not have the insight of D. A. Pennebaker's "Don't Look Back" or even Phil Joanou's U2 travelogue, "Rattle and Hum," Pearl Jam devotees will not go home musically unnourished.
Pearl Jam Twenty may not create new fans, but for existing fans, it's an exceptional musical experience.
It is a huge missed opportunity on Crowe's part. In his attempt to show the best traits of a band he is obviously very enamored with, he's wound up with a pretty lackluster film.
Very few music documentaries in the history of the form have more successfully conveyed the inner workings and outer artistic expression of a band than Cameron Crowe's brilliant Pearl Jam Twenty.
[Crowe] merely wants to capture the personalities, the songs and the shows.
With noticeable gaps between the telling of its first decade and its second, Pearl Jam Twenty didn't necessarily need to be a feature, but is a really lovely fan letter to a band that's worked hard for the devotion and respect it receives.
A great introduction to the band as well as a great recap for the fans who have been there all along the way.
What makes Pearl Jam Twenty a little better than the average fan-friendly documentary is that Crowe focuses on the more significant parts of the Pearl Jam story.
For the biggest fans, it may be the single best movie going experience you will have this year
A loving, gracefully crafted retrospective that shrewdly eschews Behind the Music conventions at most turns.
Audience Reviews for Pearl Jam Twenty
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Latest News on Pearl Jam Twenty
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Foreign Titles
- Pearl Jam 20 (DE)
- Peral Jam Twenty (UK)
Cameron Crowe is a great choice for this material, having a knack at music related films, and being relatively close to the band to begin with. That, and thanks to his movie Singles, he has a vast love and knowledge of the scene that they got the most famous during. The film, in the first half at least, is well balanced and structured, and gives a lot of insight into how the band formed, as well as hitting highlights of their career chronologically. A fair amount of time is also spent on the Mother Love Bone era, and that's where some of the more moving parts of the film are, right up front.
The second half is fine, but really runs out of steam, and is oddly structred for some wieird reason. Some of the biographical stuff about the guys, and what lead them to Seattle happens in the first half, while the rest comes later, and seems really rushed and shoehorned. That, and in general a few thigns get glossed over, with Crowe making the assumption that the audience will already be familiar with things, and have the prior knowledge of what he skims over.
Unlike VH1's Behind The Music, this doesn't get overly sappy, sensational, or melodramatic. These guys actually look at things very matter of factly, as opposed to being overly nostalgic for the past, and bitter that those days have gone by. I really enjoyed hearing their thoughts on some of the most well known high and low moments though, and how the film isn't afraid to get into the uncomfortable parts of the band's history at times.
This is a pretty decent film. I'm biased because I love the band and their music, but for a casual viewer, this is a decent primer, though they might not be able to appreciate some of this as much. Still though, Crowe did a good job, and I can't really see someone else doing a much better job.