1988-11-04
N/A
98 min
A concert movie on an unprecedented scale, Rattle And Hum captures U2 - on and off the stage - during their triumphant Joshua Tree tour. From the giant technicolour stadium celebrations to the black-and-white intensity of the indoor shows, this is U2 at their best. Follow the group across America, exploring new influences, playing with the legendary B.B. King from Dublin to Graceland.
Its not at all bad. The homage that U2 is playing seemingly went over a lot of peoples heads causing the illusion that they were comparing themselves to rock and blues greats when, really, they were thanking them.
I think the real dividing line here, however, is Bono. You either love him and almost venerate him as a saint among rock stars, or you hate him for the exact same reason, that is, you hate him for caring. And that is why I believe so many people walked away from this documentary.
Then again, honestly, it could be because of U2's later day sins. The Joshua Tree was their main break out and a lot of fans will the the "they were good up until they got famous" line.
That's not exactly true, with the exception of the argument over Zooropa, they were good through Pop.
The fall back, especially following All You Can't Leave Behind and the lackluster follow-ups that tainted the formerly great band are probably the reason this is viewed with hostility.
Give it a short, if nothing else than the film is a love letter to American music and general, and the rock and blues idols that inspired one of the best bands of the 80s
