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All Things Must Pass (2015)

Name: All Things Must Pass
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2015-10-16
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 7.2
Cast: Dave Grohl, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Cornell, Questlove

All Things Must Pass (2015), directed by Colin Hanks, starring Dave Grohl and Elton John.

10/16/2015 BR Documentary 1h 34m

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The doors are closed. But the legacy lives on.

Synopsis

The explosive trajectory and tragic demise of iconic music retailer Tower Records, and the legacy of its rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Two hundred stores in thirty countries on five continents. In 1999 it made $1 billion. In 2006 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong?

Bridger NielsonCinematography
Neil LiskCinematography
Nicola B. MarshCinematography
Colin HanksDirector

About the film

All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records is a documentary directed by Colin Hanks on the rise and fall of the American record retailer Tower Records, completed and distributed in 2015.

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Content

The film is about the rise and demise of Tower Records, the retail "giant" that once advertised its East 4th Street and Broadway New York City location as "The Largest Record-Tape Store in the Known World". It also offers insights into the critical upheavals in the 21st-century recording industry.

Production

The film's production reportedly took seven years and was completed in 2015 only thanks to a $92,000 round of Kickstarter funding. Hanks settled on the film's title after driving by an old Tower Records store and seeing a sign that had been put up by a former employee: "All Things Must Pass Thanks Sacramento". Moved by the sentiment, Hanks was reminded of George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass and asked the artist's widow, Olivia Harrison, for permission to use the title for his film. Hanks was also granted permission to play the album's title track over the end credits.

All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records premiered in the SXSW festival.

Reviews

For The New York Times reviewer, the film "makes you appreciate anew the one-on-one social dimension lost in the music industry’s headlong switch to digital downloads". The Variety review claimed that "even viewers who have never owned, or even played, a vinyl record may be fascinated by the cautionary tale that Hanks spins beneath the surface of his sentimental celebration", while stating that the film's "primary audience likely will be baby boomers and Gen Xers who fondly recall the joys of discovery during shopping sprees in brick-and-mortar music stores".

Odie Henderson, reviewing for Rogerebert.com, wrote that All Things is "a documentary that inspires long, gauzy gazes back to the carefree, youthful past of viewers of a certain age", adding that "any movie that begins and ends with the sound of a phonograph needle hitting vinyl knows the audience sweet spot it’s aiming for, and for those folks, All Things Must Pass is a rousing success".

Other reviewers commented that while Solomon and Tower had been sometimes criticized, along with other big retailers, of putting independent and small music-retailers out of business, no such criticism appears in the film, which for Hanks was, as he stated, "a chance to revisit a time and experience that molded" him.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes indicated an average rating of 6.94/10 among critics.

References

Text from All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Things_Must_Pass:_The_Rise_and_Fall_of_Tower_Records

Trivia

It premiered on October 16, 2015, a Friday.
It runs 1h34 — a typical feature length.
As of September 20, 2026, it is on no subscription service in Brazil — only to rent or buy on Claro video, Apple TV Store, Amazon Video.
This film's quiz has 12 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosCompany Name
CountriesUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
StatusReleased

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Cast

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Crew

Bridger Nielson Cinematography
Neil Lisk Cinematography
Nicola B. Marsh Cinematography
Colin Hanks Director
Darrin Roberts Editing
Sean M. Stuart Producer
Bill Sherman Original music
Steven Leckart Writer

Questions about this film

What is All Things Must Pass about?

All Things Must Pass: The explosive trajectory and tragic demise of iconic music retailer Tower Records, and the legacy of its rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Two hundred stores in thirty countries on five continents. In 1999 it made $1 billion. In 2006 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong?

Who directed All Things Must Pass?

All Things Must Pass was directed by Colin Hanks in 2015.

Who stars in All Things Must Pass?

The cast of All Things Must Pass includes Dave Grohl, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Cornell and Questlove.

How long is All Things Must Pass?

All Things Must Pass runs for 94 minutes, or 1h34.

Where can I watch All Things Must Pass?

All Things Must Pass is available on Claro video, Apple TV Store and Amazon Video. Availability changes often: the list on this page is the most recent we received.