U2: Achtung Baby - Videos

"Even Better Than The Real Thing" has the band (with Bono dressed as "The Fly") playing in a warehouse as the camera rotates around each member or behind glass with a small horde of people looking in. During the bridge of the song there is a montage that represents channel surfing, virtual reality and media overload. There are also a few shots of the band members being groped by a group of people under ultraviolet light as well as shots of rock icon wax statues from Madame Tussaud's famed wax museum.

"Mysterious Ways" is a fantastic video, directed by Stephane Sednaoui. It is a psychedelic clip of the band hanging out in Morocco that features lots of kaleidoscopic camera effects. Check out Bono's pink tuxedo shirt.

"One" (Version 1) is Anton Corbijn's take on the song. It's comprised of sepia-tinted black and white footage of the band recording/rehearsing in Hansa Studios in Berlin where AB was made, and the band members running around Berlin in drag.

"The Fly" has the band playing in a dark room lit by TV monitors like those that would be used on the ZooTV tour. Bono is of course dressed to the nines in his famous "Fly" outfit as he oozes with "Fly"-like charm.

At this point, the tape suddenly appears to be over and credits start flashing on the screen. I have no idea why it was made like that because the videos just resume after the credits.

"Even Better Than The Real Thing" (Dance Mix) is basically a montage of leftover shots from the Morocco trip, some of the ultraviolet and "Fly" sequences from the other "Even Better..." video, and footage of the band hanging out with some belly dancers and drag queens.

"One"(Version 2) is Mark Pellington's take on the song. It's a beautiful video, filled with images of flowers in bloom and bison running through a field and then over a cliff as the song's title appears on the screen in several different languages.

"Even Better Than The Real Thing" is another take on the video, this time using some very nice collage effects with photographic or film images of the band members juxtaposed with printed words and images.

"One" (Version 3) is Phil Joanou's take on the song and probably the most well known of the 3 videos. This is the one with the band hanging out in a club and the gratuitous closeups of Bono (purr).

"Until The End of The World" is the last video on the tape. It juxtaposes psychedelic infrared camera shots with grainy super-8 closeups of Bono (who is looking very enticing) as well as shirtless Adam and Larry, and The Edge wrapped in saran wrap.


A Good Way to Build on Achtung Baby's Music   May 7, 2002
gamer_girl
If you liked U2's Achtung Baby album and want to expand on the experience, then this is definitely the video for you. In addition to three video versions each of both "Even Better Than the Real Thing" and "One," along with vidoes of "Mysterious Ways," "The Fly," and "Until the End of the World," the viewer is treated with a few "ZooTV Interference" quickies. These consist of a series of sound bytes from interviews with the band members, video and live concert flashbacks, and general footage of the band just living their life.
The "Interference" portions are definitely the highlight of the video. Though a bit mind-boggling with the lightning-quick switch from clip to clip, they offer interesting insight about U2 itself, and Achtung Baby's message and origins. In addition, the old footage, though given somewhat sparingly, gives longtime U2 fans a chance to nostalgically re-live some of the band's past glories. All of this extra information allows U2 fans to appreciate Achtung Baby more deeply.
Though the videos are enjoyable, particularly "Mysterious Ways" and the first versions of "You're the Real Thing" and "One," I would have liked to have seen more of the album's songs performed. For example, the songs that weren't made into videos would have been fun to watch as concert footage. This sort of thing would probably have had to come from the ZooTV concert tape, but segments of the Greatest Hits from 1980-1990 tape included Rattle and Hum footage, so that probably wouldn't have been a problem.
All in all, this Achtung Baby video could have been better, but it's definitely a must-have for any U2 fan.


U2 at their best   July 18, 2001
Delme Herbert (Canada)
Critics and fans are split between which is U2's best album, 'The Joshua Tree' or 'Achtung Baby?' For me at least, 'Achtung Baby' is U2's finest work -- creatively, artistically and musically. As such, this video captures U2 in full swing during the ZOO TV era. Along with the music videos, the "Interference from ZOO TV" really makes this video worth having. No U2 should be without it.


U2 is my favorite band, but this is not my favorite video   July 16, 2001
Teresa Sanchez (Orinda, CA United States)
OK, for the record, I LOVE U2 and everything they do, and I loved this period as much as all the rest, from "War" to "All That You Can't Leave Behind"...however, this video is like a big, long tease! There's all this great stuff...sound bites, clips, cool visuals...but it's played out at such an MTV pace (45 shots in 60 seconds) that it leaves you unsatisfied. I KNOW that part of what this album was all about had to do with those very qualities, but it also had a depth and poetry that was not well represented by this video...I think it was put together by some music "editors" on speed! Skip the video & keep listening to the music to get the "Real Thing"