Its not at all bad. The homage that U2 is playing seemingly went over a lot of peoples heads causing the illusion that they were comparing themselves to rock and blues greats when, really, they were thanking them.I think the real dividing line here, however, is Bono. You either love him and almost venerate him as a saint among rock stars, or you hate him for the exact same reason, that is, you hate him for caring. And that is why I believe so many people walked away from this documentary.Then again, honestly, it could be because of U2's later day sins. The Joshua Tree was their main break out and a lot of fans will the the "they were good up until they got famous" line.That's not exactly true, with the exception of the argument over Zooropa, they were good through Pop.The fall back, especially following All You Can't Leave Behind and the lackluster follow-ups that tainted the formerly great band are probably the reason this is viewed with hostility.Give it a short, if nothing else than the film is a love letter to American music and general, and the rock and blues idols that inspired one of the best bands of the 80s

I love the movie- and U2- and that review I just read was excellent, I would like to ask whee you got the footage from?! Also , just because it's annoying me, it's not 'Rock and roll stops the traffic', it's 'Rock and roll- Stop the traffic.' I have loved U2 since I was about 10 and ATYCLB came out. My favourite album is the 'Rattle and Hum' album though, and my favourite song is 'Heartland.' I've loved that song ever since seeing it in the film with them on the hill looking over the river. I think that Rattle and Hum is good, but some videos purely of U2's concerts- such as Live at Red Rocks and U2 Go Home- are almost as good, if in a different way.

I love this film, and have for years. Some were unhappy with the lack of documentary-like footage concerning who the band "really" are and such...but since it is described as a "concert" film, i got what i expected...footage of and about the formation of key songs and song adaptions. I never saw the film as self-congratulatory, and i think that's just a swipe by bashers of the band.......they (u2) just seemed to be enjoying themselves delving into the new musical forms they were discovering and paying homage to those forms. If you like music, see this dvd.

The Irish band originally wanted a small, self-financed documentary of their landmark 1987 tour behind their outstanding Joshua Tree album and the songs they wrote and recorded after the tour. But, things got slightly out of hand as that small documentary turned into the idea of it being a full-blown concert film. Paramount came on board as a partner when the costs got out of hand.Directed by Phil Joanou, Rattle and Hum's black and white documentary footage is slightly grainy, while a bulk of the concert footage (from their Denver shows at McNichols Arena) was filmed in high conrast black and white. But, the footage dramatically morphs into the glorious color footage from tour's last two shows at Arizona State's Sun Devil Stadium.The "musical journey" focuses primarily on songs from U2's War, The Unforgettable Fire, and The Joshua Tree albums, and a behind the scenes look at the band recording material that showed up on the "Rattle and Hum" album from an abandoned train house in Dublin, Sun Studios in Memphis, and a black church in Harlem to rehearse and record a gospel version of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" with the church's choir, who joined them later for the band's Madison Square Garden show.The major complaints of the film that I've heard seem to be that it's moody and over-dramatic at times, but I think that Joanou wanted it to be that way intentionally, but the humor is pretty much limited to the documentary portions.Of course, the music is the most important thing. I'm normally not a fan of "artsy" films, but the artsy-looking shots of Bono walking across the stage at the top of U2 classics "With or Without You" (the best live version of the song I've ever heard) and "Where the Streets Have No Name" works well and sets the mood for the songs perfectly. Another high point, their incredible performance of a revamped "Sunday Bloody Sunday" the day after a bombing in Northern Ireland.It's a shame the film was panned. As it is, Rattle and Hum ushered in an era where U2 took a huge financial hit by building complex stages and taking technology to overkill on tours supporting Achtung Baby and POP. U2 bassist Adam Clayton calls the film a mistake, but I disagree. The film is awesome and a must have for any music fan.My only real complaint: Why didn't the U2 include the awsome live version of "One Tree Hill?" I saw it on their Greatest Video Hits package and fell in love with the song.