This was originally posted to the Cumulus Media Rock websites.

There is a pantheon of music documentaries that have become cinematic classics: The Song Remains The  Same, the story of the preparations for and performance of a 1973 Led Zeppelin concert at what was then the “new” Madison Square Garden, the no holds barred film about The Who, The Kids are Alright, the whacked out brilliance of the Grateful Dead Movie and of course Martin Scorsese‘s  dual masterpieces: No Direction Home about Bob Dylan and The Last Waltz, displaying The Band‘s final performance on Thanksgiving 1975.

We can now add a new film to this hallowed hall: (no, not Justin Bieber‘sNever Say Never), I am talking about the new Cameron Crowe directed film entitled, Pearl Jam Twenty.

I am an un-apologetic aficionado of Crowe’s work (including Vanilla Sky, I may be one of ten people in the world that recognized his use of The Monkees‘ “Porpoise Song” in that film and loved it).  I believe Crowe to be one the best storytellers of our time, along with Steven Speielberg, and Kevin Smith.  I dare you to watch Almost Famous and not want to either pick up an instrument, write about music, or be a special band “helper.”

Pearl Jam Twenty,  Crowe’s first full length non-fiction film, is both a primer for a Pearl Jam novice, and an in-depth tribute for the hard core fans.  At just over two hours, the film takes the viewer on the journey of the band’s humble origins and evolution into one of rocks most enduring acts.

This past year has been one of reflection for Pearl Jam: they marked the anniversary of their first gig by playing Neil Young‘s Bridge School Benefit in October 2010, released boxed set versions of their transformation albums, VS. and Vitalogy, and headlined a two day festival (PJ20) in Wisonsin earlier this month.

As a society that likes to look in the rearview mirror all too often and wax nostalgic about a period when things were allegedly simpler, Pearl Jam Twenty doesn’t fall prey to those cinematic traps.  The film captures a group of musicians who struggled with the changing economic and social pressures of the 90s as well as their own meteoric rise to fame.  Mike McCready says in the film, that he believes Eddie Vedder would have been fine with the band touring in vans and taking longer to reach the top.

The film moves along at a really great pace, in fact, I was surprised when it concluded.  I could have watched for six more hours (which we’ll have the opportunity to do when the deluxe DVD editon comes out next month).  To complete Twenty, Crowe culled thousands of hours of filmed footage from within the band, performance clips and news reels, archived and new interviews, to display a narrative that draws the viewer in and brings you along for the ride.

Pearl Jam Twenty is playing in limited nationwide release for a few weeks, so it can qualify for an Academy Award nomination.  If you don’t get a chance to see it on the big screen, you can catch it OnDemand now, or on PBS’s American Masters series on October 19 at 9pm ET.  The regular and extended versions of the DVD will be released on October 25.