U2 - Rattle & Hum (Blu-ray)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B Extras: D Film: C-
From my
last two reviews of U2 on video, one might think I really dislike the band, but
that is not true. I just think they lost
their way. Phil Joanou’s U2- Rattle & Hum (1988) is one of
those films we have looked at before and our first look at it is was on HD-DVD
at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4059/U2+-+Rattle+&+Hum+(HD-DVD)
Both
versions are pretty much the same. The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image can complete with Lethal Weapon as the worst HD-DVD image
we have seen just based on the poor print used, but this is even a bit worse,
since the color cinematography of the late great Jordan Cronenweth, A.S.C., and
black and white cinematography of Robert Brinkmann were purposely made to be
bland, stylized and run against naturalism.
This transfer takes a problematic situation and makes it worse. I am a big Cronenweth fan, but this never
worked for me and has not held up well.
The bad print/transfer combo makes that all the worse.
The sound
was originally released in the theatrical analog Dolby SR (Spectral Recording)
system, a superior, advanced system that was their peak before it all went
digital. Since then, a 5.1 remix had
been done with the music tracks (recorded separately) reinserted for the
concert sequences. The result in both
the Dolby Digital Plus and DTS 5.1 mixes is that the music sounds noticeably
better than other audio. That will make
fans happy, but can be noticeably annoying.
The actual HD-DVD disc version had the DTS-HD logo on it and this
Blu-ray does not. After hearing what is
regular DTS, I do not notice any major differences, so the HD-DVD is not enough
to go bonkers over based on a higher DTS.
An HD version of the teaser trailer is the only extra, which is like no
extra.
I very
recently looked at a second version of the making of their Joshua Tree album, now in a solid plastic case versus the old,
tired cardboard snapper. The link to
that review is:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4425/Classic+Albums:+U2+–+The+Joshua+Tree+(Eagle+reissue)
Next time
we cover U2, we hope it is at their best.
- Nicholas Sheffo
