|
BUENOS AIRES: As far as I’m concerned, I was in
Buenos Aires in the final hours of April 1st watching U2 perform
live. The amazing thing about IMAX 3D is it’s quite capable of
sucking the viewer into another world—be it the nighttime seascape
of moon jellies (Deep Sea 3D) or a Danish mead hall (Beowulf).
The opening titles float on
screen, the stage is set and a massive crowd gets pumped up to catch
the stadium rock gods known as U2 perform. “Uno, dos, tres,
catorce . . . Lights go down, it’s dark, the jungle is your
head,” apropos lyrics from Vertigo open the film and it is a 90
minute rock and roll ride that offers much for the senses. Watch the
film with a couple of other eager fans and you’ve added yet
another layer to the moment.
Directed primarily by Catherine
Owens and Mark Pellington with cinematography by Peter Anderson and
Tom Kreuger, U2 3D is the first live action 3D concert movie. It
just goes to show how digital 3D technology, a 5.1 Dolby Digital
sound system and Manila’s own eight-storey IMAX theater completely
ups the stakes: you’re not just watching the film—you’re
experiencing it.
You see the sweat on Bono’s
brow, you see his hands reach out to you, you see the audience’s
hands reach up and out and as far as you’re concerned they are the
people in front of you, beside you, around you. You’re transported
from the stage—right beside the Edge to just above a gargantuan
pogo-ing pit. You see the mesmerizing flicker of the concert’s
light show—this time in multi-hued grids depicting everything from
cartoons to political images. In the song “The Fly,” words fall
down like lazy colored rain on down the screen, other times they
float towards you like a steady wave, some carrying subliminal
thought provoking messages.
If you’re a fan of U2, do not
miss the show. If you’re not a fan, you’ll still get a kick out
of how far the envelope of filmmaking continues to be pushed.
Fourteen songs were performed
including “With Or Without You,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,”
“New Years Day,” “One,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,”
“Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own,” “Pride” and
“Where the Streets Have No Name.” U2 3D is currently screening
at the IMAX Cinema at the Mall of Asia and at SM North. For more
information visit www.u23dmovie.com.
|
