From the Sky Down (2011)

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. This documentary asks the question why.

Director:

Davis Guggenheim

Stars:

Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton

Cast

Cast overview:
Bono	...	Himself
The Edge	...	Himself
Adam Clayton	...	Himself
Larry Mullen Jr.	...	Himself
Brian Eno	...	Himself
Daniel Lanois	...	Himself

Storyline

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. This documentary asks the question why.

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Plot Keywords:

record album

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Taglines:

Risk all to reject one expression and gain another

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 2011 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

U2: From the Sky Down

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

User Reviews

In my humble opinion...

I always thought that U2 was the greatest band to come out of the 1980's. Ever since I heard Bono giving it his heart and soul in songs like "New Year's Day" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday" I was hooked. Then along they came with The Joshua Tree. Suddenly they became iconic, almost invincible, it would seem as if they had it all together, that nothing would be able to stop them. Well, it turns out that I was wrong.

After watching U2's latest doc titled "From the Sky Down", I realized that this band and its members almost hit rock bottom after Rattle and Hum was released. They were criticized, scrutinized and they were shaken up to the point where they almost believed what rumors were being said about them. It's incredible how the written word by the press can really destroy a band, a group, a marriage, an actor, a career with just a pen and paper (nowadays, all we need is a popular website like Perez Hilton and blog your heart away and let it immediately go viral for the whole world to see). It never ceases to amaze me the power they have when they write about someone and publish it as the ultimate truth, many a times without actually checking the facts. From The Sky Down explores the many bands that had dissolved over the years: The Clash, Sex Pistols, Van Halen... apparently U2 as well.

After their Lovetown Tour was over in 1989, Bono and Edge were dissatisfied with their sound. They had explored American music, went mainstream and were criticized by the media so they had to reinvent themselves. Their formula had worked up until now but their material was limited and their presence in their concerts was somewhat lacking as Bono admittedly say: they were musically not prepared to go on such a big scale. Just like it happened with Beatlemania, U2 saw themselves bigger than life, too mainstream and popular for their own good and every single thing they were doing was being scrutinized, filmed, recorded until there was too much U2 to go around. They began to run out of steam and so naturally they needed to get away from it all, flew over and headed over to Hansa Studios, Berlin shortly after the Berlin Wall had been knocked down, still Germany was divided in spirit, as well as the band members themselves. It was a difficult time, a confusing time, an end to an era.

READ MY FULL REVIEW IN MY BLOG: ITALO'SCORNER