Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. (QMI Agency file photo)

When you stack it up against the Stones, Pearl Jam’s 20 years making music seems paltry.

But considering the era in which they emerged, and what became of music peers Nirvana and Alice in Chains, you realize that the Seattle rockers might just be one of the last truly great rock bands. And they have a great narrative arc to boot.

“I always felt the story of Pearl Jam is a great story," said filmmaker Cameron Crowe, following the premiere of Pearl Jam Twenty at the Toronto International Film Festival.

"It takes the usual rock story and turns it on its head. The usual rock story is incredible promise, brilliance maybe, then tragedy cuts it short, and aren't we sad we've lost this wonderful opportunity. Pearl Jam is exactly the opposite. It's a tragedy that was surmounted and these guys found joy through survival."

Crowe said his influence for the film was Martin Scorsese’s Bob Dylan documentary, No Direction Home.

“I love the way Scorsese chose the chunk that he chose, examines the roots and follows how the music was born,” said Crowe, who met bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard while researching a movie in the ‘80s.

“It felt like a Bob Dylan experience and I thought that if we can make a movie the way a Pearl Jam record makes you feel, then we’re in good shape.”

Pearl Jam Twenty covers the band’s tragic beginnings, including the death of Andrew Wood – the frontman in Mother Love Bone, Ament and Gossard’s first legit group.

Thinking that their shot might have ended with the dissolution of Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam co-founders Ament and Gossard were forced to reinvent themselves with another guitarist Mike McCready and an unknown vocalist from San Diego, Eddie Vedder.

“In some ways it was a hard story to tell because it has a happy ending,” said Crowe. “But it is unique.”

With the intensely personal lyrics of their new frontman paired to the band’s anthemic rock, Pearl Jam Twenty shows how the group when from nobodies to filling stadiums almost overnight.

“I think Cameron’s interest in doing it was the biggest inspiration,” Gossard said. “Once we knew he was involved we trusted that it was going to be OK.”

With access to thousands of hours of band-shot footage, Crowe had lots to choose from when he was cutting the film. But there was an incident he had heard about that was his ultimate find.

“The Holy Grail footage was Kurt and Eddie slow dancing at the MTV VMAs,” Crowe said. “That had been talked about; some people didn’t quite remember it happening; others swore there was someone there with a camera. But we did find that footage and it’s so powerful.”

“The first time I saw that footage it was incredibly emotional,” said Vedder. “Just because he's smiling, you think, ‘If he just could have pulled through’… Maybe it's good that this movie happened now. We've been in grateful mode of each other for quite some time.”

The film, which opens September 20, covers the band’s much-publicized fight with Ticketmaster, their struggle with fame, the 2000 concert tragedy in Denmark and their continued popularity through the aughts.

Despite unparalleled access to the band for the past several years, there was one thing missing.

“Watching the movie tonight, I thought, ‘Damn, I had a great opportunity to ask Eddie a question and I blew it.”

So with Vedder right there, Crowe asked his question.

“When you’re on the plane coming up from San Diego to Seattle for the first time, what are you thinking? Are you thinking, ‘It could go either way,’ or are you thinking, ‘I know in my heart this is going to work.’”

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God. I’m on a plane when I offered to drive,” Vedder said laughing. “‘Who are these guys that they can afford a plane ticket?’”