Rattle And Hum: The Movie

[DevilsShoes]

Although we talk about the album quite a bit on here, we don't discuss the movie all that often, Zoo TV tends to take up so much of the limelight, which is a shame as I love the film, I think its my favourite official U2 DVD. It manages to capture that frenetic dizzying effect that comes with huge success, the band are always on the move, press conferences, interviews, impromtu gigs, studio work, live concerts. It was such a wild, chaotic time. There's loads of highlights:

Desire at the Point

Awesome performance of Exit, the band are so energetic, even Adam's racing around.

The rehearshal in the trailer just before Watchtower.

The backstage snippet after Gods Country, 'really smashing the cymbals'

BB King saying how much he liked the lyrics of Love Comes to Town and complimenting Bono on the emotion of his voice.

That atmospheric shot of Bono and Edge on the hill that Edge slides down and Larry's trip to Graceland, Bono flirting with that employee, which all leads into that incredible version of Bad.

Probably the most raw performance of SBS ever. Afterwards I think the band thought that it was the definitive version of the song and was one of the reasons they didn't perform it at all on Lovetown.

Prides been overplayed there's no doubting that, but back then it was still a relatively new song and its hard not to get chills when all the lights go on and reveal a stadium full of people singing along with every word. I think it displays what a great frontman Bono can be, he's got so much energy.

Looking at it now, its a pity they didn't carry filming over onto the Lovetown tour as the film is much more about the Joshua Tree than it is Rattle and Hum. All the performances are from JT tour, most of the best songs from that album are performed and it documents the success and their experiences from the 87 era. R&H only plays a small role. There were some great performances on Lovetown of Desire, Hawkmoon, Angel, Love Rescue Me, God Part II, All I Want Is You, which were sadly all missed out on.

Maybe they should have released it as they did Red Rocks, just called it Live In Denver or something. Thanks for listening.

 

[jacobus]

i always liked the movie...and God Part 2 is a far cry of the baby to come ==> AB

 

[corianderstem]

The live stuff is awesome, but everything else makes me cringe. It's easy for me to see why they got ripped for being so serious and pretentious.

I'm sure they were just uncomfortable in front of the camera, but jeeeeeez. It makes me cringe.

The part during "When Love Comes to Town" when Bono is reading his lyrics to BB King, and he just looks so damned pleased with himself .... CRINGE! Gah.

But yeah, the live stuff is awesome. Beautifully filmed.

 

[Screwtape2]

The live stuff is awesome, but everything else makes me cringe. It's easy for me to see why they got ripped for being so serious and pretentious.

Exactly. All they needed to add was Bono's ride to the hospital and they'd have Spinal Tap 2.

 

[U2Man]

this bitch has the best audio of all u2 dvds ever. thats what matters to me.

 

[ahittle]

I saw it in the theaters when I was 16 or so, and although I can understand the criticisms, I really like it - even the cringe-worthy moments.

I always thought the moment with BB was over-compensation for a young guy that was obviously in over his head.

The live stuff is just incredible, but I always thought it was odd how little of the crowd is in that movie, especially given the size of the places they were playing.

Side note: R&H didn't last long at our theaters. And there were these huge cardboard posters that formed a giant box and that depicted each of the four guys that was sitting in the lobby, waiting to be discared, I guess. They were about the size of subway posters, but on a really heavy board stock. We went to another movie on the last show of the evening, grabbed the huge display, ran through the theater to the exits under the screen, jammed it into a buddy's station wagon and tore ass home. Then, we divided it up among the four of us, who happened to be in a band together. Being the guitar player, I got the Edge.

 

[U2girl]

The part during "When Love Comes to Town" when Bono is reading his lyrics to BB King, and he just looks so damned pleased with himself .... CRINGE! Gah.

The part where BB King says he is "mighty young to write such heavy lyrics" ? I thought Bono looked genuinly humbled by that, notice the awkward smile afterwards. It reminds me of the smile almost 20 years on at Live 8 when they played with Paul McCartney.

Take out the preachy and empty speeches and the film probably wouldn't be as critisized. A nice snapshot of the band at its peak and taking on the US.

 

[BVS]

I actually desired more "backstage" footage. Some footage of the boys drunk and cutting up, or something. It just seemed a lot of the non-stage stuff was useless...such as the Graceland scene, I love the fact that it showed how charimatic Bono can be, but the rest was boring.

 

[BVS]

Take out the preachy and empty speeches and the film probably wouldn't be as critisized.

Which ones were preachy and which ones were empty?

 

[U2girl]

Well, the one about R. Reagan for example. I think it's preachy for a singer in a rock band to get on a pulpit about foreign policy of the country he's playing in.

At least now he has the credibility and did the research and is actually working with several organisation and is putting in the commitment with the politicians. As opposed to merely spouting off stage. And even with that, he still gets accused of being preachy.

Empty ? The one during S. and Gold : he could have just said "this song is about apartheid" instead of that bloated mid-song speech. "Play the blues, Edge" - would have worked if he actually played something bluesy. Instead it just comes off as pseudo cool line.

And even if I think it wasn't meant that way, saying "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles, we're stealing it back" can come off as a bloated, ego statement.

The only speech that really worked was during SBS, and the few lines intro to Bad.

 

[Screwtape2]

Take out the preachy and empty speeches and the film probably wouldn't be as critisized.

How are speeches about Apartheid and the Enniskillen bombing preachy and empty? They were both things that truly angered the band. They weren't preachy they were pure anger and disillusion.

 

[U2girl]

See below post. Some of it worked, some of it didn't.

 

[Screwtape2]

Well, the one about R. Reagan for example. I think it's preachy for a singer in a rock band to get on a pulpit about foreign policy of the country he's playing in.

At least now he has the credibility and did the research and is actually working with several organisation and is putting in the commitment with the politicians. As opposed to merely spouting off stage. And even with that, he still gets accused of being preachy.

Uhh...Bono saw a village bombed because of Ronald Reagan's foreign policy. I would think that would allow him the right to raise issue with the president. Honestly, being in San Salvador is the best research one could do on the issue.

 

[U2girl]

I know what he saw, and the song speaks about that sufficiently enough without his anti-prez rant. Also, considering how some fans resented the anti NRA message on Elevation tour, I'm sceptical how much his rant accomplished in the audience.

I don't think witnessing a bombing equals all the years of work he did on the Africa issue. And I will take actual work with heads of state over shouting on-stage.

 

[BVS]

Well, the one about R. Reagan for example. I think it's preachy for a singer in a rock band to get on a pulpit about foreign policy of the country he's playing in.

At least now he has the credibility and did the research and is actually working with several organisation and is putting in the commitment with the politicians. As opposed to merely spouting off stage. And even with that, he still gets accused of being preachy.

Empty ? The one during S. and Gold : he could have just said "this song is about apartheid" instead of that bloated mid-song speech. "Play the blues, Edge" - would have worked if he actually played something bluesy. Instead it just comes off as pseudo cool line.

And even if I think it wasn't meant that way, saying "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles, we're stealing it back" can come off as a bloated, ego statement.

The only speech that really worked was during SBS, and the few lines intro to Bad.

I dissagree with pretty much everything here. As said before Bono saw San Salvador in person, something most Americans had no clue of what was going on at the time.

I don't know how anyone can say his talk during S&G is empty. Unneccesary, maybe. The line about the blues a little cheesy? Sure. But empty, no way in hell.

And the "we're stealing it back" was Bono's way of being tongue-in-cheek. Something he wasn't allowed to do back in those days so I can see how some misread it. But to see it as ego, doesn't make any sense. You would have to truly believe Manson "stole" it in the first place.

 

[U2girl]

I'm not talking about literal stealing but him referring to the Beatles and U2 in the same sentence. I assume this is what ticked the critics off.
I know he meant to say they're helping to make it a song again, and hoping it would be less connected to the murder Manson commited, but it was oddly formulated.

 

[ahittle]

I always liked the "play the blues" line.

Kinda a way of saying, "this is our blues". Would've been more effective on a better song or cooler solo, though.

It would be neat to see all the unused footage, though. I'm sure the project could have taken any number of possible routes.

 

[mandrake]

Rattle and Hum is OK at best. If they hadn't realized how pretenious they got with this then we wouldnt have gotten Achtung Baby and ZooTV which is basically a satire on this lifestyle.

 

[BVS]

I assume this is what ticked the critics off.

Well then the critics had no fucking clue what they were talking about.

 

[corianderstem]

The part where BB King says he is "mighty young to write such heavy lyrics" ? I thought Bono looked genuinly humbled by that, notice the awkward smile afterwards.

That is a nice moment. I'm talking about midway through the song/performance, when he's sitting backstage again, reciting "... I threw the dice when they pierced his side, and I've seen love conquer the great divide."

And he looks up and nods his head a little, like "Yeah, I'm hot shit."

GAH!

 

[corianderstem]

It would be neat to see all the unused footage, though. I'm sure the project could have taken any number of possible routes.

There's bootleg footage out there of what didn't make the movie. some interesting stuff ("One Tree Hill" performance, for example), but a lot of it is kind of dull.

 

[phillyfan26]

They said in "U2 by U2" that they didn't fell comfortable in front of the cameras at all during the filming.

 

[Screwtape2]

They said in "U2 by U2" that they didn't fell comfortable in front of the cameras at all during the filming.

Now you can't keep Bono away from a camera.

Oh how things change.

 

[U2girl]

That is a nice moment. I'm talking about midway through the song/performance, when he's sitting backstage again, reciting "... I threw the dice when they pierced his side, and I've seen love conquer the great divide."

And he looks up and nods his head a little, like "Yeah, I'm hot shit."

GAH!

I'll have to look that one up.

The thing that stuck out in that song for me was that Bono/BB King moment I described.


Interesting how they went from "uh oh, cameras" attitude in Rattle and Hum to embracing TV and being all about the cameras just a few years later on Zoo TV.

 

[ahittle]

There's bootleg footage out there of what didn't make the movie. some interesting stuff ("One Tree Hill" performance, for example), but a lot of it is kind of dull.

Yeah, I've seen some rehearsals of Bad without Bono which are kinda cool in a geeky way.

 

[U2Man]

That is a nice moment. I'm talking about midway through the song/performance, when he's sitting backstage again, reciting "... I threw the dice when they pierced his side, and I've seen love conquer the great divide."

And he looks up and nods his head a little, like "Yeah, I'm hot shit."

GAH!

keep posting like that

 

[Chizip]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=StNdvfn0ypE

the band is so rude to this nice reporter guy at the premier

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

this bitch has the best audio of all u2 dvds ever. thats what matters to me.

It does. I have a fairly old TV, and it even sounds great on that. In fact, it's one of those DVDs I'll only watch when my neighbors aren't home, because I usually turn the TV up almost all the way.

The best part of Rattle and Hum, however, is Dallas Schoo's bad 80s hair. It's not as bad as Bono's mullet, but it's almost there.

 

[U2Man]

"Bono grabs mic from obnoxious reporter on live tv"

 

[corianderstem]

The best part of Rattle and Hum, however, is Dallas Schoo's bad 80s hair. It's not as bad as Bono's mullet, but it's almost there.

I looked for Dallas during "All Along the Watchtower" and didn't spot him! I wanted to see his bad 80s hair.