CU23DASAP
By Gavin Miller (April 2008)
One of the many moments in U23D which stunned me was towards the end of Sunday Bloody Sunday. Bono stares down the barrel of the camera as he slowly reaches out to it, his hand appearing to literally reach out of the screen and almost touch me on the cheek. This single shot sums up why U2 were the perfect subject around which to create the world's first 3D concert film. Bono knows how to reach out to the audience - literally - better than any other front-man in the history of recorded music.
I've been lucky enough to see some of the world's greatest bands in person, and U2 are one of those bands that can make you feel like you're inside their world even if you've got a crappy seat. Mick Jagger is the other great example. I watched The Rolling Stones at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the Voodoo Lounge tour in nineteen-ninety-whatever-it-was, and despite the fact that I was sitting in the second last row of the Donald Bradman Stand, it felt like Mick performed directly to me. Having said that, I have no desire to see a 3D concert film starring The Rolling Stones. If Keith Richards reached his hand out towards me like Bono does in U23D I would probably run screaming from the theatre.
U2 are not only masters of reinvention when it comes to their music, they are also one of those rare bands that are always inventing new ways to connect with their audience. U23D is their biggest home run in that department so far. This film is so good it makes you want to stand up and clap like you're at a real concert.
Most of the hits your average U2 fan would want to see are on the set-list. Beautiful Day, New Years Day, Bullet The Blue Sky, Where The Streets Have No Name, the awesome power of Vertigo and the sensory overload of The Fly. If you saw any of the shows on the Vertigo tour you will feel like you're reliving the experience, only this time you are made to feel like you are actually standing on stage with the band.
Twice during my first viewing of U23D I ducked my head to avoid the machine-head of Adam's bass as he swung it around. In fact, for a reason I am as yet unable to determine, Adam Clayton seemed to me to be the most three-dimensional member of the band. It seemed that almost every time he was on the screen he did something that made him reach out into the cinema. Edge was the most two dimensional, possibly because he doesn't tend to wave his guitar around much while he's playing. There are a couple of long shots hovering above Larry's drum kit which show the art of drumming as it has never been filmed before. And as for Bono, well, he's Bono. He was made for this kind of film.
I remember as a kid donning 3D glasses and watching a 3D broadcast on television. It really wasn't that crash hot. A couple of times I almost felt like the images were making their way out of the screen, but it was nothing to write home about, especially seeing as I was already at home at the time. Like all technologies 3D has improved immensely since then, and in U23D it crosses the line from being a cute novelty to being art.
I know that Ace Cinemas as Midland Gate spent a small fortune installing 3D projectors so they could screen this movie, and I hope they make some of it back, but the fact remains that many more 3D movies will have to be made before this technology starts to become profitable for the movie makers and cinema operators. To paraphrase Mr. Hewson, Hanna Montana, Beowulf, and U2 can’t make it on their own. We should get to see all sorts of different 3D projects hit cinema screens over the next few years. In my not very humble opinion the next form of entertainment that needs to be shot in 3D is sport. Try to imagine what it would be like to be sitting in a cinema with your 3D glasses on while Brett Lee bowls full-pace at you. Nature documentaries would no doubt take on a whole new look as well, as would porn. (Don't try to tell me you weren’t thinking it too!)
I should disclose, and anyone who listens to me regularly on 96FM already knows this, that I am naturally pre-disposed to love everything that U2 do. The Beatles could have been the greatest rock and roll band in the world but they weren't around for very long. The Stones are often referred to as the greatest rock and roll band in the world but the truth is they haven't made a great album for over 25 years. After seeing U23D I am convinced that U2 are the greatest rock and roll band in the world. They have been part of my life for as long as I can remember and it has always felt like they were growing up alongside me. Unlike The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, U2 continue to deliver work that surpasses what they did before, and U23D is a very in-your-face example of that. |
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