Rating: Summary: The reason why certain songs were left out!!! Review: Like many other people,I was disappointed that some of the songs that were played in Boston that night(Mysterious Ways,One,Pride,Even Better Than The Real Thing) did not make it to the DVD.I found out by going to a U2 related website that the reason why these songs were not included on the disc was because of a lack of space.U2 wanted "PCM STEREO",(which I assume is some new type of sound technology) for their concert discs.Apparently, "PCM STEREO" requires a large amount of space on a compact disc and as a result there isn't as much space for the other information( meaning some of the songs)to be put on the disc. I say,just give us the standard Dolby digital sound and put the whole concert on the disc next time.I don't need some radical new technology if it's going to mean that certain songs aren't going to make it to the concert disc.Don't drop some of the songs from the concert otherwise we are not seeing the full concert,are we?
Rating: Summary: a remarkable DVD Review: U2's DVD Elevation Tour 2001 will never be forgotten, because it represents a mark in music, as well as in DVD market. I wish all my favorite bands could release such a great material in DVD, with so much quality and variety. This DVD is amazing, even for those who are not fanatic for u2.The first disc contains the full concert, with 1h and 47min and its making off, showing how the producers had a hard work to make a sport arena become the stage to a rock concert. The second disc has lots of bonus material, including extra tracks -- elevation, beautiful day (the version II of the video), stuck in a moment (in studio)-- and also trailers of U2's previous tours. The most impressive thing in this disc is the possibility to watch the concert from different angles. You can choose to watch most part of the songs in 3 ways: (1) from the director's place, changing from camera to camera; (2) the regular show or (3) from the audience/fans point of view! that's right. Even though the quality of picture and sound is not 100%, it is surely great to feel people's reaction, as if you were brought into the concert. I liked the part when the crowd starts shouting and jumping with "elevation" at the very beggining. It's a very interesting perspective considering it's a DVD. The only thing this DVD misses is the on-screen lyrics function! I was very disappointed because I thought I could read all the lyrics throughtout the show! Not even closed caption was allowed and this is really a mistake! However, I assure this is a must-have item for those who enjoy good music DVDs.
Rating: Summary: Best concert on DVD ever. Review: If you think ZOOTV live in Sidney was out of this world, if you thought 2 eyes weren't enought to catch everything at POPMART live in Mexico City...well, wait until you see THIS MASTERPICE. The show is filmed like I've never seen before. Ever wonder what you can do with 20 cameras in a U2 concert? Well, this DVD got the answer. It has this kinda cinematic aproach, it's filmed like a movie, like an NBA final, like the opening ceremony of the olympics. It's awesome. Image quality: excellent. Sound: excellent. Audience: great! Bonus materials: a whole 2nd DVD with more tracks from other performances, trailers from ZOOTV and POPMART shows, a different camera angle option, "behind the scenes" footage, much more. Try to listen to "Bad" or "Where the Streets have no name" and breathe at the same time. Yep, it's that good.
Rating: Summary: U2 should really stop touring. They're as horrible as ever! Review: U2 sounds terrible on this DVD. Bono's voice is horrible as ever and thank goodness they're taking a lapse from the music world for a little while. Don't waste your money on this DVD, it was a complete waste!!
Rating: Summary: Different Review: I've seen, have, and like the other U2 videos. This one is different and it took me a couple of times watching it for it to be revealed. First off, I especially liked the sound quality. It is very difficult to get that kind of sound in an amphitheater. I don't have a tremendous amount of money invested in my sound system. However, I do have digital audio. I am thinking that there may have been some over-dubbing judging by the clear separation between highs and lows. Also, short of the current record promotion, I think U2 had picked the set list based on the meanings of the songs. They are for sure a concert bad, but there is deep meaning in a lot of these songs. Additionally, I really did like many of the concert footage scenes. I thought the guy that did the directing made this an exciting big concert and yet intimate at the same time. My money was well spent.
Rating: Summary: Great Concert Review: After the Zoo TV and Pop Extravaganzas U2 Elevation tour was a back to basic affair. The concert shows U2 as one of the best rock & roll band today. Gone are the big screens, special effects and costumes. What you get is four talented musicians playing at their best. The set list mixes the material from the new album with songs that had not been performed in a long time such as Bad, I will follow & Sunday Bloody Sunday. The concert was filmed so you could feel closer to the band as if you had the chance to experience the concert in the first row. The DVD extras are interesting but not essencial. The set is worth the money just for the concert.
Rating: Summary: U2 Elevation - A must have for any U2 Fan Review: Great cinematography and unbelievable sound!!! The next best thing to being at the concert.
Rating: Summary: Just like being there! Review: After seeing 7 of the Elevation Tour shows on this tour, I thought that seeing it on tv would lose the excitement of seeing it live and in person. Not so! VH1 aired a "watered down" version, with only current radio favorites (although the pre-show countdown was way cool) that was rather disappointing. However, U2 fans won't be let down with the dvd. The look is vibrant and the sound is loud and rich and you really do feel as if you're there. Director Hamish Hamilton really outdid himself here and ended up with a fantastic concert movie! I sat at just about every angle of the arena in my 7 shows, but unless you were in the very first row, the dvd offers a view that few were privilaged to see. The little camera in Bono's glasses is a nice surprise too. You see what he sees and it adds to the concert experience in a way I've never seen on any video or dvd for that matter. I like the second disk too, especially with the "Beautiful Day" video on the roof! If you didn't catch U2 live, this is the next best thing to being there!
Rating: Summary: The U2 fan should buy this but....... Review: THE GOOD - Packaging is very good, the set-list is very good, the sound quality is good, Bono's voice is solid and the extras are OK (views from a tiny camera in Bono's shades as well as the fancam were interesting ideas). THE NOT-SO-GOOD - the shooting of the film was disappointing in that they switched views every couple seconds which made it look like a Nissan car commercial as opposed to a concert. Personally, I do not need to see a close up of Bono's face on every other shot and just when you get a good look at the entire band playing, it moves to...take a guess....another close up of Bono who also goes a little over the top with some of his theatrics. As for the others, was Adam even there?? the Edge and Larry get a little more exposure, but not much.
Rating: Summary: The meaning of "Live" needs to be changed! Review: This review takes all the other reviews into consideration and agrees with them. It's a great DVD with some flaws, but worth having for a the most recent available history of the band. But the real story of this band and this tour is missing from the DVD. The CD, ATYCLB, released 10/31/00, was prophetic. It came out into one world for entertainment value and to place U2 back in the ranks of a great rock and roll band, but the tour to promote it took on a role of comforting a nation and restoring its hope after the Sept.11 events. The change from the Boston concert captured here and their late Fall shows is tremendous. On the DVD, is the typical Bono and the boys doing a show with fan interaction and political statements. However, as the tour passed through the country (my wife and kids, 10 and 7, caught them in Austin, Texas, in November) things had changed. A wounded country was hopeful, somewhat united, and optimistic about changing things and U2 had been singing the songs that mattered all along. Missing from the Boston DVD is the real story of this tour, how the songs "Beautiful Day" reminded us to see what's good along with the bad; how "Sunday, Bloody, Sunday" was shown to be a healing song to a nation that wept for the tragedy of Sept - captured in Bono's taking 2 American flags and wiping his eyes with them; "Please" was the plea is rid ourselves of the dangerous fanatics that destroy others when they make god obeyed their own interests; "Kite" is no longer a vague song about losing a "lover" etc., but a personal moment for Bono as he described the loss of his own father (he mentioned 2 months before) to cancer; "One" is gone from Boston, but it was the highlight from Austin and other sites when during the playing of the song, the names of those killed in New York were projected upon the walls and ceiling of the arena - no longer a song, it became a memorial and pledge to "carry each other"; and finally, "New York" which was originally a kind of throw away on the CD, stood as another memorial to what kind of city NY is and what kind of connection we have to it through the rest of the country. And then Bono's attitude of gratefulness for being able to tour and sing at this time in the country's history covered the rest of the show. No way the Boston show could have said all that the later shows have said. Too bad that a sequel to this one couldn't be produced. Then the real story of how powerful and meaningful this band is right now would be truly known.
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