1988 Directed by Phil Joanou
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.
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NetherlandsAL
Netherlands
Spain
Thailand
UK
USA
Watching Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense gives you a unique perspective on what a concert movie should be. It doesn't get much better than that, but concert films come in many shapes and sizes and this one from nearly thirty years ago is an entirely different beast to Jonathan Demme's game-changer. Phil Joanou isn't the most skilled director the world has ever seen, but the black and white cinematography and the live performances featured here make this an interesting glimpse inside U2's Joshua Tree Tour of 1987 and the fame that the album's success in the States brought them. The band off-stage are the same dullards they've always been, politically naive and judgmental, as if anyone needed a rock star…
the good: every second of music here is impeccable. yknow? the live show is huge and inviting but the cinematography is startling. stark shafts of light and thin rails of spotlight all in a powdery grey monochrome making it feel like an NTSC video playing in a PAL player, which works in context of the band aswell and their remould in America. theres a strange timeless vita to Rattle and Hum ive never understood and never will but i guess thats the magic of a good concert film. how do you capture the genie of the alchemy of music and reproduce him? opening the film with the Helter Skelter cover is fucking HUGE and provides not just a homecoming for…
Watching this in the theatre with a few hundred other rabid U2 fans was a music fan equivalent of seeing Rocky Horror Picture Show. People laughed and "awww'd" at all the right moments. And sang along, out loud to every song.
FILM#65-DECEMBER CHALLENGE 2
What we got here was some great concert footage and some seriously contrived public appearances. The music was terrific and they are all obviously talented musicians, but the whole PR thing was distracting.
"The Joshua Tree" is a landmark album. It contained great tunes and thoughtful and sometimes inflammatory material that covered more than just unrequited love songs and the odd flag raiser. They set out to be in the news for more than just the music. I'm one of those people who can make my mind up about right and wrong regardless of what a rock singer may think. We all knew Apartheid was bad but was that government going to bother their arse about a…
“This song Charles Mason stole from the Beatles, we're stealing it back.”
I love U2. They’re one of my favorite rock bands of all time. This part concert/part documentary, or in this case rockumentary, sees the band at the height of their success after releasing The Joshua Tree. This film tracks the band traveling the U.S. and becoming more engulfed by the roots of rock music. I don’t think I’ve rocked out harder to any other soundtrack in a film. Larry Mullen Jr continues to lay sick drum fills on his kit. Adam Clayton helps drive the songs with his rhythmic base. The Edge creates even more beautiful sounds with his guitar and Bono, well he’s Bono. He gets up on stage and holds the crowd in his hand with his showmanship as well as his legendary and beautiful vocals.
I kept turning the sound up about every other song until, by the time it turns to color film, my kids are saying "That too loud!" If it's too loud, you're too young.
It's new Pop Screen time, and this week we're covering perhaps the most reviled film ever to have a 3.7 Letterboxd average rating. That's because, nowadays, Rattle and Hum is watched mostly by people who are still on board with U2 in the 2020s. They aren't going to be put off by some cringy monologues from Bono or some clumsy attempts to place U2 in the canon of great rock acts. What about everyone else, though? Well, it's easy to see why this got them the first negative reviews of a previously stellar career... but, whisper it, there are quite a lot of things in here that are not bad at all. Good, even.
Also listen on for what I'm…
I read a comment one time from a U2 music video from this era (I can't remember what song it was) and it said 'Bono and the Edge look like they're trying to out-hat each other' and I screeched. That's all I could think about the whole time watching this.
The music is pretty good too.
When a band is powerful it tells the world confident stories about the present. The stories can be enchanting or frightening, but they make sense of the world. But when that power begins to peak, the stories fall apart, and all that is left are fragments that haunt you like half-forgotten dreams.
IT BEGINS WITH
THE STORY
OF HOW U2
SET OUT
TO
REMAKE THEMSELVES
THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO
RATTLE AND HUM
FEATURING
BONO
ELVIS PRESLEY
THE EDGE
RONALD REAGAN
ADAM CLAYTON
B.B. KING
LARRY MULLEN JR
AND EVERY AMERICAN BELOW THE POVERTY LINE
—— (the above text is lovingly interpreted from Adam Curtis’s It Felt Like A Kiss) ——
“It’s about music, I hope. At least, that’s what you said it…
When Bono sprayed in hesitant, thin letters "STOP THE TRAFFIC" on that piece of concrete, I knew that I was going to have to buckle up for some full strength Bono ahead.
This film documents U2 on their Joshua Tree tour. Fans of U2 certainly understand this movie. I would also challenge fans of music and fans of documentaries watch this film.
For me the music is spectacular and you some nice close ups of the band doing what they love by performing for audiences around the globe. The band visits Graceland and they perform with a Harlem Choir and with the late great BB King.
You will see what U2 is about and how they go about it.
I will watch it with or without you.
don’t really know how to rate this because it’s mostly just a concert but there is some interesting camera work and visuals here during the concert segments and i just enjoy U2’s 80s music in general so yeah it was a good time
