Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11240 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-10
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, Enhanced, Live, PAL, Special Edition
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 126 minutes

Synopsis
Since becoming wildly popular in the 1980s, Irish band U2's sound has grown from a raw, soulful rock to a more electronica-tinged, experimental brand of pop. In line with this, U2's stage act has grown into a showcase of lavish special effects, cutting-edge sound, and spectacular multimedia enhancement. POPMART features Bono and the band performing live in Mexico City in support of their 1997 album, POP. Performing 24 old and new tracks, U2 puts on a concert that is a stunning spectacle. Includes the songs 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', 'Bullet The Blue Sky', and 'Where The Streets Have No Name'.

Customer Reviews

At last Popmart on DVD
I had the pleasure of witnesing Popmart at Leeds in 1997 and the very next day i was phoning Island records to see if it would be released on video as it was a amazing concert.It took a few years to come out,and when it did i added it to my collection.I have been longing for Popmart to be re-mastered on to DVD for ages and now it has,and it is better than ever.This DVD really does the sound justice,at the live concert on the night it was fantastic,and now on this DVD it lives up to that night!If you have a surround system get it on to the DTS setting or 5.1 and crank it up!!The bonus disc is also a credit,with Lemon for sale and a tour of the tour well worth watching.
At the time (1997) Popmart was slated as U2 going overboard and believing in there own hype to much,but watching it now in 2008,they were ahead of there time with this and credit to them for giving it to us.
Popmart is open for buisness!
Well worth a visit!

U2 at their commercial nadir...and their creative peak.

10 summers ago, inside a grey football stadium in North London, I was wowed and thrilled by U2's bleeding edge "PopMart" presentation. Unlike anything the world had seen before - or since - the worlds largest television screen, the worlds only 40 foot travelling disco mirrorball lemon, and the world's then biggest band were a nearly unstoppable combination. At the time, faced with the rise of Britpop and the uncertain musical climate - where U2 hadn't been famous quite long enough to be cemented as Dinosaurs of Longevity - and some poor opening shows on the tour, "PopMart" saw U2 on the commercial skids (playing to a third-full stadiums in the USA) and fighting for their lives. As a result, 2001's subsequent "Elevation Tour" saw the band stepping back from this musical limb, performing a less ambitious stage, playing and exploring with more traditional styles.

After ten years away from DVD (ideally this should have been U2's first released on the format in early 1998), "PopMart" is ripe for critical reappraisal. Set free of baffled criticism from dunderhead writers scared of intelligence and ambition, time has been kind to "PopMart". "PopMart" was a fantastic, gutsy tour. Musically the band were moving at the cutting edge of technology and a pioneering vision. The show neatly blends U2's earnest political hectoring - at that time Bono had yet to bore the entire world with his ambitions to be world leader - with a playful, and excellent deconstruction of the nature of fame, capitalism and consumerism to create an irreverent, intelligent, compelling experience.

Visually and sonically, "PopMart" has never been better. Images are sharp and concise, the sound is clear and spotless. Clearly, this is a vast improvement upon the 1988 VHS and VCD releases. The editing style is never confusing, and manages to accurately convey the sense of woah! that sharing a field with The PopMartHeadFkExtravaganza was. In concert, the sometimes under-realized material on the "Pop" record is extrapolated to its full potential - songs like "gone", "Mofo" and "Please" are approximately several thousand times more effective and engaging than the sometimes staid and flat studio versions.

Conisseurs will plump for 2 disc DVD deluxe edition : thankfully this manages to far outweigh the fluff-and-nonsense watch-once-and-file bonus materials on the "Elevation", "Vertigo" and "Zoo TV" discs with material designed to do something more than merely fleece the faithful. There are 8 bonus live cuts from Edmonton and Rotterdam (sadly all duplicating songs on the main feature, thereby ignoring shows such as Santiago and Johannesburg that were broadcast on TV and featured songs not on either of these discs), several rather interesting backstage features and interviews, and some other random bits and pieces. There is also a frankly useless video for "Last Night In Hell". Whilst trainspotters could rightly lament the lack of "Working In A PopMart (The Roadies)" and "A Year In Pop" that are both easily available - and that there is easily space on the disc for - there is no sense of being shortchanged on the extras.

Overall "PopMart" captures U2 at the apex of their 'weird' years, providing a convincing and excellent performance in a brave and bold setting that is both visually interesting and musically exciting, reflecting the spirit of the then defiant U2 as they explored new territories. One could argue that PopMart was the last time that U2 were edgy or truly adventurous - and this DVD captures them right at the edge of their journey on the deep edges of discotheque deep space.

Amazing
in my opinion, this gig is on par with ZOO TV from sydney. visually stunning, a great atmosphere & a wicked set list. the opening few tracks still get me pumped! the extras on the bonus disc are enjoyable as well. about time it came out on DVD.