U2 - Rattle and Hum

I first encountered this movie in the late 80's when l worked at a video story during High School. Wasn't a big U2 fan but being a huge music fan l took it home to watch. What l witnessed that viewing absolutely blew my mind. I simply had no idea. These were the days of a brooding, uber serious Bono, appeared unprepared for the Cosmic success the band rose to almost over night. The crowning jewels of this film are undoubtedly the live performance. The intensity they brought to the show each night had to mess with their heads in ways you and l will never understand. Over time l wore my VHS copy out, because every time l had an unenlightened l would literally force them to watch this film. In a nutshell it's a snapshot of a band during arguably the most important two years of their lives. As seen in the film, they start out in arenas and about halfway through they were in stadiums, oh and in color. Achtung Baby was in important statement by the band, especially Bono to break away from emotional drag of super stardom and ultimately create a character, along with a wicked sense of humor and the ability to take it all not serious. In closing l will put this right up there with what are in my opinions the most important concert films of all time. the others being, Pink Floyd, Live In Pompeii, Led Zep, The Song Remains The Same, and David Gilmour Live In Gdansk, and Wings Rockshow. I just reordered it and I'm completely stoked to get it and watch it. -Cheers-

My bias on this film should be adequately explained by my 21 years as a fan and a veteran of nearly 20 live shows dating back to the "War" tour... This is simply the best U2 has to offer in live performances that you can go to the store and buy. The high points: -"Exit". The one song I was most looking forward to seeing live on "The Joshua Tree" tour, as I knew it would simply kick a** live. It did. The version in the film doesn't disappoint, though we are afforded an inordinate amount of screen time of Bono struggling with the settings for his guitar at the base of the drum riser. -"Bad". While no better sonically, really, than the version on "Wide Awake in America" (audio only), it is a lovely version, and it leads into the better portion of the film: -"Where the Streets..." The beginning of the color portion of the film which has a great impact after 45 mins or so of B&W photography. -"With or Without You" I had the audio version of this movie version on CD from the late 80's, on a promo CD, and still consider this to be the best live version of the song available... Includes an extra verse not on the album version of the song, the inclusion of which has prompted me to refer to this version as the, heh heh, "songs for saps" version of the song. -"Running to Stand Still" Every time I see this, and I mean EVERY TIME, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. -Generally speaking, the whole movie elevates the art of "concert films" to a new level. Nothing else can touch it... Absolutely nothing. The Low Points: -Too much humorless interview time. I think the film would've been much better as a pure concert film, as the 'interviews' are sometimes painful to watch. -"I Still Haven't Found..." I think this has been rightly criticized as a little bit too formulaic. -The 'wonderment' of 'discovering' the USA. U2 had visited the USA as early as 1981 and had done at least two prior full tours in the USA, from the "War" and "The Unforgettable Fire" tours, so I don't buy their "wide-eyed discovery of The States" bit. They'd seen it before and were merely pretending to make a good movie, and it backfired. Ignore this and watch the live performances. More than one prior reviewer has decried the poor sound quality on the DVD, but I think I may know why. On both of the DVD players I've had connected to my system, they both default to Dolby Pro Logic sound format... On THIS movie and THIS movie ONLY! Can't explain why... MUCH worse than the Dolby Digital 5.1 that is available if you simply choose this option using your "audio" button on your DVD remote or set it up using the menu before starting the film. Any other criticism of the movie's sound quality is simply people poo-poohing the film for no good reason... I don't know why one of the prior reviewers suggested listening to the DTS soundtrack... THERE IS NO DTS SOUNDTRACK!! What can you trust of a review that implores you to listen to a sound format that simply isn't there??? Don't worry... The sound is awesome. My 51" HDTV set does show the limitations of the film-to-video transfer, which is merely average. Hopefully they will come out with a new version someday with better video quality. Anyhow, a must-have for any fan of U2's 80's music. Essential, in fact.

Not my first purchase of Rattle and Hum. Have it on VHS as well. Rattle and Hum is a true music movie. No actors. No plot. Lots of good live footage. Some good behind-the-scenes portions. U2 is a great group. Saw them again this year at their first show of their 2018 US tour.

Love U2, love this DVD. I've wanted it for a long time and I'm so glad I found it. Works great.

The movie is great and doesn't an excellent job of capturing the power of U2. I knocked a star off because it's a bit grainy, although to be frank that may be the look they were going for in 1988.

This is how U2 REALLY were, when they didn't bother with all the modern trappings and pyrotechnics of the current stage shows. No, the DVD's not perfect but how many are? However, being a diehard U2 fan and growing up with them as my staple rock music diet- I've nearly worn out my disc. If it were possible, I'd rate this 10 out of 5 stars. The intro to "Streets have no name", halfway through the disc, proves exactly why Edge is one of the most unique guitarists ever. And, with the film being black and white up till this point, the cut to colour adds a surprisingly big visual impact. Especially on a big screen. "Bad", "Exit", "MLK", "Running to stand still" and "With or without you" are light years better than any studio version you could ever find. There's an emotion and intensity that only U2 live can deliver. Keep an eye out for Larry Mullen Jr's itchy foot and his suggestion for Edge's head...

One of my all time favorite documentaries

I have always loved the music of U2, the very sound of it. I owned this on VHS and have finally replaced it. The interviews are insightful. They take you on a trip around the US with the band, with just pieces of concerts interspersed, but the music of U2 provides the sound track to the travels. This is a young U2. Some of the places they chose to visit are quite interesting and give you insight into their character.

Leider nicht in Österreich abspielst Beim Kauf kein Hinweis dazu aus welchem Land die gebrauchte dvd gekommen ist

One of my favourite movies about a band. Great value

Super documentaire sur u2 j adore

リージョン違いでした、視聴出来ず残念 もう少し丁寧に説明して欲しいものです お間違えない様に注意だな

Le delais de livraison et le conditionnement sont, comme d'habitude, parfait. Etant fan absolue du groupe depuis quelque temps maintenant..; Je suis toujours aussi satisfaite du choix concernant ce groupe.