U2: Rattle and Hum

A must see for any U2 fan, which I am. From a filmmaking standpoint, the stark black and white photography provides an appropriately timeless quality. It's a concert film on an epic scope, and Bono and Co. are our great heroes. Might seem a little pretentious to some, but when you're U2 you have a right to a little egomania.

I love this film, and have for years. Some were unhappy with the lack of documentary-like footage concerning who the band "really" are and such...but since it is described as a "concert" film, i got what i expected...footage of and about the formation of key songs and song adaptions. I never saw the film as self-congratulatory, and i think that's just a swipe by bashers of the band.......they (u2) just seemed to be enjoying themselves delving into the new musical forms they were discovering and paying homage to those forms. If you like music, see this dvd.

This movie delivers U2 doing what they do best (touring), experimenting with new types of music in America and showing us that they're truly the nice guys they're projected to be. I see nothing disappointing about charismatic interviews, solid musical performances and meaningful reflection. Those who disliked this departure from the band's "usual" style can't recognize the importance of musical growth we see here. Looking back to what The Joshua Tree was and what became Achtung Baby, it's easy to see Rattle and Hum was a necessary expression of their progress at that time, and a humble look at a band celebrating their artistic heroes.

"U2 Rattle & Hum" is one of the best rock documentaries ever produced because it not only showcases a band at work on stage and in the studio at the peak of their success, but also because it shares with us a rock group in the middle of a discovery. That discovery is U2's first wide-scale American tour, in which they start to explore American "roots" music, namely Elvis Presley and B.B. King, among unmentioned others. Aside from the blistering live performances in Denver, San Francisco and Phoenix, the band makes 'holy pilgrimages' to Graceland, Sun Studios and a Harlem church.

U2 were criticized for supposedly saddling themselves up against American musical icons (B.B. King collaborates with them on a tune, they record 5 tracks at Sun Studios, and haggle a Graceland tour guide into letting them photograph one of Elvis' motorcycles), but once the mechanics of the band's relationship are understood, it's obviously clear they are only peeking into this world in an introverted manner instead of trying to include themselves in it. U2 have always been a band with sharp detractors because they place an importance upon music to suggest that it can BE more than just music. This attitude has enabled them to arguably remain the most consistent and important band of the last 20 years.

The live performances are just amazing. "Exit," Bad," "Pride," "Bullet The Blue Sky," and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" are delivered with ferocious energy. The film is mostly in black-and-white, which lends itself that needed 'documentary' feel, except for 5 songs performed in color. The energy of the band onstage guarantees this to be a film that will sustain its liveliness no matter how many times you see it.

I knew little about U2 in the 80s. I was still a pre-teen, and I was probably listening to what my parents put on like Michael Jackson, Joe Cocker, John Denver, Janis Joplin, and Willie Nelson. However, little by little, I grew to be a fan of theirs, probably especially after I first heard the song "Bad" on the radio as my parents drove me to college for my first year.

I bought the DVD of this on a total whim and was greatly rewarded. The opening sequence with "Helter Skelter" establishes a somewhat otherworldly yet gritty intensity for the b&w sequences. I agree that the film doesn't do a good job of getting at the personalities of the singers, and besides these guys are so used to the camera that they'd be able to manipulate the coverage anyway.

What Phil Joanou does get wonderfully is the passion for the music in these guys and how they inspire others: those moments when they stop and listen to the Harlem blues man singing "Freedom for My People" or the Gospel choir that takes flight with "Haven't Found what I'm Looking For" are something pure with a hint of magic. This is also well-played in the GORGEOUS transition to color in the Super Bowl-size stadium for "Streets Have No Name." You'd think Jesus himself was about to come on stage.

My only qualm: the music and lyrics themselves have enough social meaning of their own. Bono really doesn't need to interject much more on stage. Their performance of Bullet the Blue Sky gets at the social points with greater force, "Pelting the women and children/Pelting the women and children," than Bono's well-intentioned commentary. I give it four stars though because it hits all the right notes. PHIL, WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN YEARS?