World's Greatest Band - Now in 3D !

World's Greatest Band Now in 3D

We've all been pretty excited lately. We knew that U2 would be in town to promote their new film. In fact last night, one of my housemates stated her new goal to be getting the band to come sing 'Happy Birthday' to her on her birthday next Monday. Maybe Bono and just the Edge. It'd be hard to get the full drum kit set up over by the hot tub.

Today was our first full day in our theatre. Our theatre is part of a high school, which means there are certain rules that we must follow that other theatres don't have to worry about. The biggest one is no smoking on school property. A lot of industry people like to relax with a cigarette and we have to kick them to the curb, almost literally, sending them to the bus stop on the street to smoke. This involves traversing an icy parking lot next to a semi-functional constructions site, and no one likes to do it, but it's the law.

When we arrived this morning, we couldn't get into the auditorium. It was a 'closed session' as they checked the sound and picture on a film we're showing on Saturday. It's a U2 concert film, shot in 3D.

While we were waiting for them to clear up, I was sent to watch sentry over side entrances in the hallway. Students from a dance class came out into the hallway, with their boomboxes, finding spots to practice their routines. At one point, I was able to hear U2, Didi, and the soundtrack to Pirates of the Caribbean all at once. It was, at times, strangely symphonic.

I've never been a huge U2 fan. I don't dislike them, but neither do I like them very strongly. They're part of the cultural landscape, like the Simpsons or (perhaps more aptly) the Police. They're a good act with international appeal and a frontman with strong, idealistic political convictions.

I tend to roll my eyes at proclamations like 'World's Greatest Band', and I think taking a one-word moniker as a stage name is ballsy, though impressive if you can pull it off. I also tend to laugh at anything that's 'in 3D', a popular gimmick that's been around for decades, a gimmick usually reserved to gussy up B movies.

Additionally, I've always seen concerts as somewhat fascist in a sense. I see a similar dynam

So, suffice it to say, when I heard that one of our big films was going to be the World's Greatest Band in 3D, I was skeptical to say the least

When I was relieved, I got to go in and watched the second half. It's a concert film from a show they played in Argentina, and I have to say it's pretty awesome. They're rockin', there's a huge crowd reaching out, and Bon walks out onto a platform island to sing to everyone. They had me at 'Where the Streets Have No Name.'

I had heard the film was like attending the actual concert, and that's true, if you were a disembodied head that could float around the concert, and your vision was limited to a box in front of you. The crowd and wide angle stage shots show off the effects most effectively: it's as if you can see into the theatre screen. Closeups are tricky but very effective. It looked as though the Edge's guitar was about to hit my head, and I could read the logo above the frets. Bono materialized over the seats in front of me, hovering from the waist up. Closeups of the crowd had hands reaching out to me and wide open mouths begging me to reach over and brush their teeth.



So . . .I'm still skeptical, but pleasantly surprised. It is a visually interesting film and if you're willing to entertain a U2 concert, it's not a bad way to see one. The only caveat is that the special glasses aren't cheap, and our big trick will be getting people to return them. They're worth $50 apiece, and since we seat 1200 people or more at a time, that's a $60,000 float per show. These are not your mother's paper glasses; they look kind of cool.

There was more technical drooling. The crew that shot and posted the film were there, explaining to a guest class of local high school students how they made it. They brought in the same kinds of speakers that U2 uses on tour to the theatre, and promised that the film would not look or sound as good anywhere else as at our theatre.

When it comes out, it's worth seeing.