Rating: 
Summary: E-L-E-V-A-T-I-O-N
Review: this is one of the best live shows on DVD. Though not the same as being there as I was(at the NJ gig), it still is great. Downside, not the whole show, why? beats me. Though all U2 fans have heard the songs omitted, it would've been nice to have seen them played in this setting. All nitpicks aside, nice addition to a U2 fans DVD collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Idea, Pity About The Execution
Review: As the DVD producer Ned O'Hanlon says, this show will not be like other shows - and it's pretty evident.
The set list is great! but what's really disappointing is the editing, which focuses too much on Bono (almost ignoring the fact that Adam and Larry also do something in the band).
Also, in an effort perhaps to make this as "professional" as possible, a lot of the small incidents that happened in the show were left out.
Bono throwing a basketball during 'Where The Streets Have No Name', The Edge throwing down his Rickenbacker a la Pete Townshend at the end of 'Gone' are and cut out - which would have made this one stand out from the rest of their other "cleaned up" videos, simply because it shows how U2 loves impromptus.
FYI: The song 'Gone' itself was a cut-and-paste effort of both Boston nights (one moment Edge has a black guitar, the next it's his usual red one).
The extras for the DVD was rather lacking too. Other than the additional videos for 'Elevation', 'Beautiful Day' and 'Stuck In A Moment', the rest seemed superfluous. The making of movie was vaguely engaging, the "road movie" wasn't, the alternate angles were in some cases better than the actual footage, although director Hamish Hamilton jiggles too much.
Still U2's performance can't be faulted. Great takes of 'Until The End Of The World', 'Kite', 'Bullet The Blue Sky' (despite Bono's rambling at the end), 'Walk On' (Bono plays the intro riff!) and the acoustic version of 'Stay (Faraway, So Close!)' were great.
But surely they could have stuck all this into ONE disc.
Rating:
Summary: Everything is done excellent, sound, visuals, etc.
Review: As usual, I think you must like U2 to really enjoy this DVD, but even if you don't, you will appreciate the quality of this concert DVD.Sound: Excellent, great to perfect mix of the band and the crowd. Some concert DVDs disappoint with a crowd bias that is too loud, or a music bias that drowns out the crowd. This is perfect. Visual: Excellent, somehow they have all the correct exposures considering the stage lighting and spot lighting. At one point, a close up on Bono with a huge spotlight back lighting him, this took planning and considering the details.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure Joy
Review: Back in those hot summer months before America was forced to grow up, many of us were focused on the absolute hedonism of seeing U2 again and again. In those days they weren't singing and playing to a nation at war. They were on a mission to create pure joy, and they succeeded. This DVD/video is worth buying just to ride that emotional wave. Though this wasn't U2's best show of all time (which gets mentioned in the "making of" section on the DVD), it was a good show and representative of most. So whether you saw U2 play in Minneapolis or Madrid, Stockholm or Detroit, you'll find something here to remind you of what you loved. And if you've never seen U2 in concert or on this tour, you'll get a fair idea of what you missed. Elevation needed to be put on permanent record for posterity, simply because it's one of the best tours of all time. And in most ways, this recording does the trick. The "making of" is fun, and with a lot of shots of the near-empty arena in the backround of various interviews, it will bring back memories for those who stood on the floor for hours, staring up at empty seats until everyone else arrived. The "fan cam" in the "another perspective" section is also a great addition because it keeps you from forgetting that the real concert experience is nothing like the glamour-shots edited version (yes, that is the back of someone's head; yes, that is an elbow in your face). Finally, the actual edited recording of the show (and I do mean edited -- there are a number of sneaky changes that make it more streamlined) sounds fabulous and can look good at times as well. The only problem with this recording is Hamish Hamilton (the director), and I notice I'm not the only one who feels this way. Hamish admits in the "making of" that he has no grand scheme for filming; he just does it by instinct. His instinct, apparently, is to use tons of extreme closeups (even of random body parts) and jolt from one to another every three seconds or so. It's possible to get used to this, but it's not fun. I can't really blame U2 for choosing him, since he did do a good job with the Brit awards (which is why they hired him), but his tactics here just don't flow. Thus, my four stars rather than five for this. In summary, this is a very nice souvenir of the tour with all the trimmings it deserves. But if you want to see a live concert that's been filmed properly, check out Zoo TV live from Sydney, which got U2 a Grammy for best long-form video in 1993.
Rating: 
Summary: oh man....
Review: First of all I must say I agree 100% with Michael Behuniak from Seattle, WA USA and Chris from NYC.
It would really really really be nice to watch the guitar player during guitar solos ..and be able to see the camera hold a steady shot of the whole band, performing as a group, instead of all dizzying, distracting, MTV style fast pace editing....other than that, the music is great...
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME concert!
Review: This is the first U2 concert I have seen, and must say that I'm impressed. I just became a fan early 2001, but I think this concert is really great.
Rating:
Summary: Look for the secret Bono-cam
Review: Even if there some negative issues with this DVD (reported several times in other reviews), it's still U2, and one incredible concert. I won't be talking about the techniques used by the director or the missing songs. Rather, I want to point out that there's a hidden track on the disc, which contains Until The End Of The World from the "Bono-cam" (a little camera attached to Bono's glasses). Be warned, it's a little bit difficult to access this track, you can find info on the Zootopia section os U2's official site (...). But believe me, this clip is really great. You can see what Bono sees during a concert. Very good DVD overall, even if you're not a U2 fan you may like it. Sound and picture quality are excelent, and the performance of the band is superb (well, as usual :-)).
Rating:
Summary: High quality, high energy, high minded U2
Review: Well, U2 does not disappoint with this DVD. It comes with all the extras I've come to expect in DVD's, as well as one heck of a concert by U2. I like the music from All that You Can't Leave Behind just fine, but I am glad that U2 decided to perform some of their old "stand-by's" as well. My biggest disappointment with this DVD is that it doesn't include their riveting performance of "Pride" that I saw in Atlanta in Nov 2001. I have seen them perform this great song before, but the last time I saw it it nearly brought me to tears. I am wondering if they left it off or whether they just didn't perform it at the Boston concert. The concert I saw in person was the night of George Harrison's death as well post-9/11/02, and they performed an incredibly moving version of Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", a version of "One" with Sept 11 victims names scrolling in the background, along with that showstopping rendition of "Pride" that I mentioned before. Now, while I love this DVD because it is truly very good, I am wondering why they didn't use their Atlanta or Miami shows for the DVD since those shows contained such emotional and stellar performances. Nonetheless, the theme of the show, Love, comes through loud and clear on this DVD. I highly recommend this one, as well as the Rattle and Hum DVD (which is very very good). I watched them both back to back on my laptop on a long car ride recently and was quite entertained. Another U2 classic.
Rating:
Summary: Great video, wonderful sound.
Review: I've been a DVD fan for a time now and it's difficult to find a DVD concert that has good image and audio at the same time. This U2 concert has great video quality but what it is remarkable is the great sound quality of it. I went to the concert at Miami AA Arena this last december and the show is basically the same, which makes it even better to see. I wouldn't doubt to recomend this DVD to U2 lovers as well as to anyone who enjoys good quality DVD's.
Rating:
Summary: Nice DVD reviews...but what about VHS?
Review: I enjoyed this video quite a bit. I felt like it was a respectable showcase of the band's performance. But, like other reviewers, I think there was too much Bono. I was almost afraid that Adam was missing another show...Contrary to popular belief, the frontman is not always the most interesting to watch. But if that's your bag, you'll be quite pleased with the amount of screentime Bono receives. The camera work was ludicrous. We'd rather see the band members play than make ourselves sick by watching ridiculous cuts. I haven't felt this dizzy since the Achtung Baby video. The zooms were silly, and there were several extended moments of blurred footage that bordered on laziness in editing rather than artfulness. The set list was nice. I didn't mind the exclusion of songs like "Pride" and "One" because they're all over other videos. But if you're looking for a comprehensive greatest hits video, you should know those are missing. The VHS doesn't have any of the extras (obviously) but is still a nice souvenir of the show. As for the reviews that mention the "post-Sept 11 somber feelings?" This was filmed before that, so you you won't be seeing any flag kissing. I'm not sure what video those guys got hold of, but this one was done in June. Sorry, guys. I recommend this video to anyone who missed the show and wants to get an idea, or to any fan looking to complete a collection-- and you aren't missing much besides perhaps sound quality with the VHS.
|
