All Things Must Pass

Released Oct 16, 2015

1 hr. 40 min.

Documentary

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94%

34 Reviews

Tomatometer

82%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Filmmaker Colin Hanks examines the history of Tower Records, from its rise and fall to the legacy forged by its rebellious founder Russ Solomon.

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Lakota L

Really interesting documentary if your music fan or record collector should take a look

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/30/23

Full Review

R B

An interesting documentary on the rise and fall of Tower Records.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Colin Hanks needs to put down his "Hanks Kerchiefs" and make more documentaries, as he obviously has a flare for them. This was a great piece of history he's shared with the world, and it really captured the rise and fall of a short lived American business: the record store. Sure, we still have record stores, but let's not pretend Amoeba Music is the standard business model since there is only so long hipsters will continue to pay to materialize their musical idols for home clutter. Future generations will shake their heads at this like, "We only directly stream murder podcasts into our brain sockets, not materialize vinyl to trash our already burdened environment...Oh wait, is that an official Hanks Kerchief?"...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Compelling documentary about a chain that was part of my own history

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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david f

This is a documentary about Tower Records, an international record chain which started in Sacramento in the 60s and grew to encompass the world, with a billion dollars in sales in 1999 before it went bankrupt just a few years later. Many of the executives of the company got there start working as cashiers and shipping clerks in the store and it is through there amazing stories of the company that this film really comes to life. There are tons of old pictures and films of the stores like the one in Los Angeles where Elton John went shopping regularly. When times were good the company kept growing and people lined up to shop there but then digital downloads came along and the international expansion of the chain stretched their resources too much. When the banks brought in their people to run things the company didn't stand a chance and the emotional tales of the interviewees who spent their whole lives working for Tower are a highlight of this film. It's a nostalgic American story about a business which has a special place in the hearts of many.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's good but feels much more like a love letter rather than a factful docu. It's GREAT to have a POV and based on all of the fond memories of Tower spoken within it feels like it was a place most people would have loved to work. But it doesn't show enough warts. There's no way you grow to be a company that size with nothing but love and good times. I remember the Tower Records on Hollywood Blvd. at the end being nothing more than a typical store with staff members who seemed to hate both their jobs and the general public. The docu makes note of it not being like working at McDonald's when that's exactly what it felt like the employees felt as a person shopping there in the early 00's. It would have been a much better experience to also see the dark side of Tower that certainly must have existed. I loved the docu. It's warm and entertaining. I just would have enjoyed it more if it explored all sides a bit more.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Colin Hanks

Director

Chuck D

Self

Chris Cornell

Self

David Geffen

Self

Dave Grohl

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Elton John

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All Things Must Pass: Trailer 1

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Brad Wheeler

Globe and Mail

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.

Rated: 2.5/4

Dec 4, 2015

Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

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.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 19, 2015

Full Review

Matthew Lickona

San Diego Reader

It's loving and lovely, but goes too easy on the hubris and greed.

Rated: 1/5

Nov 6, 2015

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

What gives All Things Must Pass its teeth is Hanks' doggedness to understand the confluence of events necessary to sink an empire.

Jul 2, 2019

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

It's a simple, entertaining documentary, one that prefers to sit back and let its entertaining subjects guide the film.

Jun 6, 2019

Full Review

Pablo O. Scholz

Clarín

The film shows how a rebel can confront a system, but also how it can be swallowed. [Full review in Spanish]

Dec 19, 2017

Full Review

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Colin Hanks examines the history of Tower Records, from its rise and fall to the legacy forged by its rebellious founder Russ Solomon.

Director: Colin Hanks
Executive Producer: Glen Zipper
Screenwriter: Steven Leckart
Distributor: Gravitas Ventures
Production Co: Company Name, Michaelgion
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $166.9K

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