"From the Sky Down" - U2

Documentary Film

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Background Information

From the Sky Down was a documentary film from director Davis Guggenheim. The film was initially announced on July 26, 2011, and it was announced that the film would premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2011. The first airing outside of that festival was an airing on BBC One on October 9, 2011 and later on Showtime on October 29, 2011. Guggenheim previously had directed a documentary involving The Edge called It Might Get Loud.

From the plot summary on iTunes:

Early in 2011, U2 returned to Hansa Studio in Berlin to discuss the making of Achtung Baby. From The Sky Down, is a new documentary film directed by Academy Award winning director Davis Guggenheim (It Might Get Loud, Waiting for Superman, An Inconvenient Truth). Twenty years after the release of U2’s Achtung Baby (1991), Davis Guggenheim charts the path toward this groundbreaking album. Guggenheim uses animation and unseen footage from Berlin and Dublin alongside conversation to reveal what is now a key chapter in U2’s career. “In the terrain of rock bands – implosion or explosion is seemingly inevitable. U2 has defied the gravitational pull towards destruction… this band has endured and thrived. From The Sky Down asks the question why.”

The initial release of this documentary on DVD was for the Achtung Baby 20th Anniversary Box Set released October 31, 2011. The documentary was also released as a stand alone release on December 12, 2011 in the UK, and December 13, 2011 in Canada on Blu-Ray and DVD. The USA release was delayed to January 24, 2012. The USA was most likely delayed while Showtime sent out copies of the DVD for consideration for the Emmy Awards.

Three full tracks are featured in the film, “So Cruel” and “The Fly” are performed by Bono in the film. These are only available in the film itself and have not had audio versions released. The third performance is “Love is Blindness” by The Edge, which was also released with digital versions of Achtung Baby in 2011.

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