"U2 3D" Film Review
By Anthony Kuzminski
Ever since the momentous Woodstock four decades back, the art of capturing a rock band on film has proved to be vitalizing, idealistic and at times downright disastrous. The paramount performances have tended to make the artists appear larger than life however, the crux of this enormity has often resulted as underlining tension whether it being The Band breaking up in The Last Waltz , Bono's political rants in Rattle and Hum or the Altamont disaster the Rolling Stones experienced in Gimme Shelter . With the advent of the DVD, live concert releases have become the norm and I have a full library full of them. Sadly, they often don't live up to expectations. It may be poor editing, key songs left on the cutting room floor or the horrifying trend of shooting concerts on video over film. However, there has been one concert performance on screen that has been revelatory and until recently was untouchable. The Rolling Stones At the Max , a 1991 IMAX film showcased this larger than life band to be just that on IMAX screens that were taller than buildings. I remember witnessing the show and it was so defining that I largely consider it my first live Stones experience. Jagger didn't move like a rock God…but exactly like a God. Richards, Wood, Wyman and Watts all had their steel precision accentuated by a boisterous soundtrack and assaulting skyscraper images. I never thought that any concert experience would ever touch that one…until now.
Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated with the idea of 3-D technology. I remember our local Fox affiliate advertising one of the glorious B-Monster movies to be shown in 3-D and I headed to my local grocery store to get the glasses. My babysitter coming over and we got all set on the sofa to watch the movie and I couldn't tell any different with or without the glasses. Needless to say, it was a deflating and banal experience and soured me on 3-D films forever. A little over a year ago, I caught a 3-D presentation of Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas and was pleased to find that the medium had improved immensely, but for one reason or another, despite other 3-D showings at the same theater, I didn't seek any of them out. All of this brings us to U2 3D , for which I must admit, until press screenings of the film, I was less than excited for. "Why not just do a flat out IMAX film?" I thought to myself. However, as I made my way to one of the first showings of the film, right from the moment where the lights dimmed and the company logos appeared on screen, there were gasps of shock and awe…without having a single credit roll. As everyone tried to pick their jaws up from the floor, I knew this would be the definitive 3-D experience.
Read the full review of U2 3D at UnRatedMagazine.com
Ever since the momentous Woodstock four decades back, the art of capturing a rock band on film has proved to be vitalizing, idealistic and at times downright disastrous. The paramount performances have tended to make the artists appear larger than life however, the crux of this enormity has often resulted as underlining tension whether it being The Band breaking up in The Last Waltz , Bono's political rants in Rattle and Hum or the Altamont disaster the Rolling Stones experienced in Gimme Shelter . With the advent of the DVD, live concert releases have become the norm and I have a full library full of them. Sadly, they often don't live up to expectations. It may be poor editing, key songs left on the cutting room floor or the horrifying trend of shooting concerts on video over film. However, there has been one concert performance on screen that has been revelatory and until recently was untouchable. The Rolling Stones At the Max , a 1991 IMAX film showcased this larger than life band to be just that on IMAX screens that were taller than buildings. I remember witnessing the show and it was so defining that I largely consider it my first live Stones experience. Jagger didn't move like a rock God…but exactly like a God. Richards, Wood, Wyman and Watts all had their steel precision accentuated by a boisterous soundtrack and assaulting skyscraper images. I never thought that any concert experience would ever touch that one…until now.Ever since I was a child, I was fascinated with the idea of 3-D technology. I remember our local Fox affiliate advertising one of the glorious B-Monster movies to be shown in 3-D and I headed to my local grocery store to get the glasses. My babysitter coming over and we got all set on the sofa to watch the movie and I couldn't tell any different with or without the glasses. Needless to say, it was a deflating and banal experience and soured me on 3-D films forever. A little over a year ago, I caught a 3-D presentation of Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas and was pleased to find that the medium had improved immensely, but for one reason or another, despite other 3-D showings at the same theater, I didn't seek any of them out. All of this brings us to U2 3D , for which I must admit, until press screenings of the film, I was less than excited for. "Why not just do a flat out IMAX film?" I thought to myself. However, as I made my way to one of the first showings of the film, right from the moment where the lights dimmed and the company logos appeared on screen, there were gasps of shock and awe…without having a single credit roll. As everyone tried to pick their jaws up from the floor, I knew this would be the definitive 3-D experience.
Read the full review of U2 3D at UnRatedMagazine.com
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