All Things Must Pass The Rise and Fall of Tower Records
Trailer
Director Colin Hanks presents the history of Tower Records and an example of his life one day after his exit, rise, and legacy, which is associated with a group of rebels, including Ross Solomon.
Hanks makes the rookie mistake of covering the same points too thoroughly - the film could be 10 to 15 minutes shorter - but you can see why he lets entertaining interviewees ramble a bit.
As Bruce Springsteen says in the film, "Everybody in a record store is a little bit of your friend for 20 minutes or so." And he's right - including all the ups and downs that friendship entails.
This is Tower's story, and Hanks tells in a way that will resonate with both grizzled music veterans who have hung onto their physical collections, and millennials wondering what all the fuss was about.
The real beating heart of the film is its collection of wild war tales told by the company's former employees, who regarded Tower as more than just a paycheck gig or a commercial proposition.
Hanks found an amiable raconteur in Solomon, now 90 but sharp and focused on the business that was his life. A collection of Solomon's confidants sing his praises and get misty about how much fun they had in the old days.
Solomon's skills as a raconteur, the employees' unabashed love for their work, and the constant stream of rock music playing in the background advance the film into something much more than a talking-heads documentary.
We learn of the party-hearty environment and family-like vibe of a world where it was cool to write off cocaine as a business expense. And we see the hubris and myopia that doomed the industry.
