Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman
Published March 25, 2023
Film info
- Title Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman
- Director Morgan Neville
- Year 2023
- Run time 1hr 24m
- Genres Documentary, Music
- Tagline 40+ years later go back to the place where the music began
U2's Bono and the Edge invite Dave Letterman to Dublin for a live performance of their greatest songs, stripped back and reimagined. Directed by Morgan Neville, this docu-special is part concert movie, part travel adventure, and tells the story of one of the most remarkable friendships and creative partnerships in the history of rock and roll.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:50 | It’s such a beard Dave has now. Incredible. |
| 4:14 | Poor injured Larry. |
| 7:51 | Love that the Edge hates reminiscing too. Same. |
| 12:01 | “You’ve been here less than a minute and you’re quoting Joyce.” |
| 20:27 | Love that version of Vertigo, we’re off to a good start. |
| 26:51 | I think I’d find it spooky doing a concert in the same actual place I was born. |
| 31:54 | The things Edge can do with his guitar, man. |
| 36:08 | “You should not concern yourself with being cool.” Everyone needs to be told this by someone they trust. |
| 41:57 | Aggressively normal. |
| 46:00 | “My life as an artist really opened up when I realised you don’t have to resolve every contradiction.” |
| 53:42 | Eek, their friendship is adorbz. |
| 56:01 | We see this forty foot thing everywhere now! |
| 1:06:35 | I will never understand songwriting, it’s genuine MAGIC. |
Thoughts
I just finished reading the Bono memoir Surrender and it felt like exactly the right time to invest in this Disney original documentary. It’s really good. It takes a while to get going and you have to sort of get on board with the fact there isn’t a huge point to this documentary. There’s no over-arching theme.
It’s just Dave Letterman bumbling into a city for the first time, getting shown around by amazingly creative musicians, and learning more about where U2 have come from, where they think they are and where they might be going next.
It’s nicely weaved together, bits of concert, talking heads, chats with the main duo and scenes from around a bustsling Dublin, and it has stripped back revamped versions of some of their biggest songs.
But the killer moment is still just Edge playing the opening riff to Where The Streets Have No Name. Chills.
Rating: 4 / 5