September 22, 2011

U2 has unveiled the trailer for their documentary film From The Sky Down.

The film, which has been directed by An Inconvenient Truth's Davis Guggenheim is set to be screened as part of the BBC's Imagine series across the UK on Sunday October 9.

The film sees the band returning to Hansa Studios in Berlin where their classic 1991 album was recorded. The band have been indulging in nostalgia for the record, widely considered one of their best. Their headlining show at this year's Glastonbury drew heavily from it.

Of the film director Guggenheim says: "In the terrain of rock bands - implosion or explosion is seemingly inevitable. U2 has defied the gravitational pull towards destruction… this band has endured and thrived. From The Sky Down asks the question why."

http://www.nme.com/news/u2/59366

[Edited 9/22/11 6:00am]

It sounds like a good documentary, plus they had plenty of footage in their own archives to capture the band's mood at the time they made the album. You also have to remember this wasn't after "Joshua Tree", but "Rattle And Hum", which received mixed reviews, so their confidence wasn't all there, facing an uncertain future with the direction their music was going in. It'll be interesting to see how they were able to transition from the Americana they were neck deep in at the time, into European dance music, having some fun (supposedly Bono took up drinking a lot during these sessions and started becoming a fun guy. Even his wife had said he took himself way too seriously at the time and needed to loosen up. Adam was already toking up and dating models...) and still sounding like U2.

The reviewers have said they glossed over some things the band's mentioned in interviews in the past.

It's a good sign when the subject is uncomfortable enough with what they see in a documentary about themselves, but trust the director enough to just let it all hang out there for the world to see. It should be uncomfortable having a "warts and all" documentary if it's going to be any good. I liked "It Might Get Loud", and always enjoy a little bit of animation when they're telling stories from the past. We also get to see the tr

This will prob. be as good as Springsteen's "Promise", but not as good as "Some Kind of Monster", a movie where you don't have to like or dislike Metallica to enjoy.