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Rattle and Hum
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===Film=== {{Quote box|width=25em|quote="But I wasn't prepared for the difference in the size of the movie campaign and the average record campaign ... how all across America for a couple of weeks, you couldn't turn on your TV without getting U2 in your face. That's not the way records are marketed. It's much more subtle and I think a lot of the band's old fans found it distasteful. The aftermath I think, quite honestly, was that no one wanted to hear about U2 for a while."|source= βPaul McGuinness<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-01-ca-5308-story.html|title=U2's U-Turn|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Robert|last=Hilburn|author-link=Robert Hilburn|date=1 March 1992|access-date=2 February 2017|at=sec. Calendar, pp. 6β7, 76β77}}</ref>}} According to a ''[[USA Today]]'' survey of reviews at the time of the film's release, ''Rattle and Hum'' had an average review score of 64/100.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Movie Poll|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=11 November 1988|page=4D}}</ref> According to [[Review aggregator|review aggregation]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a rating of 62%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/u2_rattle_and_hum/|title=U2: Rattle and Hum (1988)|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=28 August 2015}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] panned the film as a "mess", saying the concert footage was poorly lit and did not show the audience enough, and that the band being "deliberately inarticulate" in interview segments was "not cute". His review partner [[Gene Siskel]] was more complimentary, praising the group's performance with the Harlem gospel choir as "powerful and emotional" and calling Bono's statements during "Sunday Bloody Sunday" the film's highlight.<ref>{{cite episode|url=https://siskelebert.org/?p=5757|title=Show 308|series=Siskel & Ebert|series-link=At the Movies (1986 TV program)|number=308|author1=[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (host)|author2=[[Roger Ebert|Ebert, Roger]] (host)|date=5 November 1988|publisher=[[Buena Vista Television]]|access-date=24 March 2021|via=siskelebert.org}}</ref> [[Hal Hinson]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the film "an exercise in rock 'n' roll hagiography" and "a fanzine on celluloid", and said that despite its "stunning look", the film came across as "stagy and overproduced". He said that the band's "attempts to place themselves in the rock continuum are fairly strenuous and more than a little presumptuous".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/11/04/u2-for-serious-fans-only/95432a56-772b-4b37-9807-661466cb745b/|title='U2': For Serious Fans Only|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Hal|last=Hinson|author-link=Hal Hinson|date=4 November 1988|page=B7|access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref> [[Joyce Millman]] of the ''[[San Francisco Examiner]]'' described it as a "tediously pious and self-important" film that "successfully captured everything the faithful love, and we pagans loathe, about the biggest band of the '80s". She said the film "does nothing to pierce the band's vagueness" and that they were upstaged by King and the Harlem gospel choir. Millman judged that the cinematography's "gargantuan pomposity... perhaps unintentionally" personified "the essence of U2".<ref>{{cite news|title=Oh, God|newspaper=[[San Francisco Examiner]]|first=Joyce|last=Millman|author-link=Joyce Millman|date=4 November 1988|pages=C-1, C-9}}</ref> [[Gary Graff]] of the ''[[Detroit Free Press]]'' called the film "a conceptual mess that lacks focus and flow", and said that it neither chronicles the band's breakout success of 1987 adequately nor offers additional insight into the band. He said that "many of the individual components of [the film] are excellent" but that Joanou failed to tie them together.<ref>{{cite news|title='U2: Rattle and Hum'|newspaper=[[Detroit Free Press]]|first=Gary|last=Graff|author-link=Gary Graff|date=4 November 1988|pages=1C, 4C}}</ref> [[Carrie Rickey]] of ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' said, "Self-indulgent to the point of absurdity, ''U2 Rattle and Hum'' might be the silliest concert film ever made." She said it compared unfavourably to other concert movies due to its lack of narrative, and that Joanou's reverence for U2 bordered on "unintentional hilarity", adding, "[[Rob Reiner]] and company couldn't do a ''[[This Is Spinal Tap|Spinal Tap]]'' on this; ''Rattle and Hum'' is already a parody."<ref>{{cite news|title=Paying homage to the Irish band U2 on its recent tour|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|first=Carrie|last=Rickey|author-link=Carrie Rickey|date=4 November 1988|at=sec. Weekend, p. 16}}</ref> Joanou himself called the picture "pretentious".<ref>Gardner (1994)</ref> Michael MacCambridge of the ''[[Austin American-Statesman]]'' disagreed with the film's detractors, calling it a "very good and at times excellent concert movie" whose "studied avoidance of drifting into self-parody" distinguished it from predecessors and headed off comparisons to ''This Is Spinal Tap''. MacCambridge enjoyed the black-and-white footage of the band "in the middle of becoming legend" and their scenes with King and the Harlem gospel choir, but thought the switch to colour footage interrupted the film's "pace and momentum".<ref>{{cite news|title=Becoming a legend|newspaper=[[Austin American-Statesman]]|first=Michael|last=MacCambridge|date=4 November 1988|page=F5}}</ref> David Silverman of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' said that Joanou "steadily brings the viewer into a relationship with the band and brings an understanding to the new music", while "provid[ing] an innovative, fast-paced insight" to U2. Silverman praised the documentary scenes with the individual band members and the "beautiful artistic" performance footage, and said the director "succeeded in bringing U2 to the screen in a creative, introspective and exciting film that will add to the legend and preserve the integrity of the decade's most influential contribution to rock".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-11-04-8802130045-story.html|title='Rattle and Hum' Introduces Personal Side of U2|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=David|last=Silverman|date=4 November 1988|at=sec. 7, p. A|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> Barbara Jaeger of ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'' called it a "moving, beautifully photographed look at the group" that properly captured the energy of their live performances. She said, "If there is to be a standard against which future rock movies will be judged, 'U2 Rattle and Hum' is it."<ref>{{cite news|title=U2's power and intensity is captured on celluloid|newspaper=[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]|first=Barbara|last=Jaeger|date=4 November 1988|at=sec. Previews, p. 29}}</ref> Mackie of ''The Vancouver Sun'' said that despite the film offering "few insights into the individual members, the live footage is nothing short of brilliant." He described Bono's speech during "Sunday Bloody Sunday" as a "raw, emotional moment, a spontaneous outburst that crystalizes the powerful message of peace and love that U2 preach".<ref>{{cite news|title=U2 film catches live magic|newspaper=[[The Vancouver Sun]]|first=John|last=Mackie|date=4 November 1988|page=C1}}</ref> Michael Wilmington of the ''Los Angeles Times'' said the film "records some savagely compelling live performances" and offers proof of why "this unlikely band... are often ranked by critics as the world's best". He thought that despite Joanou not setting the proper context for the film or conducting an engaging interview with U2, "he matches the impassioned sounds with spectacular visuals".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-11-04-ca-1284-story.html|title=Movie Reviews: 'Rattle and Hum' Catches U2's Music and Message|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Michael|last=Wilmington|date=4 November 1988|at=sec. Calendar, p. 6}}</ref>
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