34th TIFF

[Johann]

Rattle and Hum


I'm not the biggest U2 fan.
In fact, they have an air of pretention that really turns me off.
But they have made a huge mark on the world, and the 1988 concert film "Rattle and Hum" is pretty damn good, despite some overt posturings by Bono.

I've never owned a U2 record but they have a few songs that I really like: "Sunday Bloody Sunday"- an excellent, important song in their repertoir, "With or Without You"- actually the whole album of "The Joshua Tree" is pretty masterful, I have to admit. Plus "Bullet the Blue Sky" (which is great) and of course "Mysterious Ways" off of the LP "Achtung Baby". They have talent. No one can deny that.
Bono can sing, the Edge can wield an axe, the drumming by Larry Mullen is very very good and Adam Clayton adds great depth to the music. They really gel as a band.
But still, I don't think I'll ever buy a record by them.
I won't go out of my way to buy a CD or DVD, but I won't shut off their music either. I guess I'm "non-plussed"...

TIFF showed "Rattle and Hum" as part of their "in Concert film series" at YDS and it was a very satisfying concert film, despite Bono's extreme posturing. He really poses here. I don't know if it was because he knew cameras were rolling or what, but he's one poser of a performer.

There are some great, memorable moments in the film, moments that the band can really be proud of, like the version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", complete with Bono's "I didn't mean to bug ya" speech, "When Loves Comes To Town" with B.B. King, the pilgrimage to Graceland in Memphis, where Larry says he didn't like the fact that Elvis is buried in the garden- he wished that he was unreachable, somewhere unattainable, like his legacy and fame demand. And he mentions he loved Elvis' movies, that he loved the fact that he was a musician in most of them, that he really related to that aspect of his films. A musician facing the world...

They wax in the beginning how "it's a musical journey", being U2 on tour. I like the style of the cinematography- black and white, sometimes grainy, color shots, backstage, on the road, on stage- they got it covered well for a concert film.
It's well worth watching- you could do much much worse for concert films.
I enjoyed it, even though I'm not the hugest U2 fan in the world.
People applauded loudly after the film was shown, so it definitely has fans, Rattle & Hum does.
Quite good.