Zoo TV: Live From Sydney (Music DVD)

Zoo TV was the tour that expressed U2's fascination with technology (particularly satellite television coverage of the collapse of European Communism and the Gulf War) and the band's bolder '90s attitude. The result was a reaffirmation of U2's live power juiced with state-of-the-art mockery of rock & roll excess. Zoo TV: Live from Sydney captures a memorable show from this tour and demonstrates the humor and eloquence of a band at its artistic peak. Unlike previous U2 tours, Zoo TV incorporated a mammoth stage setup wired with large television screens. The visual show was thus as dynamic and engaging as the band itself, and the video cameras that taped this concert took that into account successfully. Tight shots of the band are creatively juxtaposed with wider angles of the stage technology, a strategy that works incredibly well on numbers such as "Until the End of the World," when the screens depict exploding warheads as red lights pulse beneath a stage atmosphere flooded with glowing smoke. During a thrillingly intimate version of "Where the Streets Have No Name," Bono turns and waves to himself as the screens show old film clips of the band's Joshua Tree photo sessions. Other highlights include "The Fly," in which Bono's ironic character ascends the walls of flashing subliminal messages, and "Mysterious Ways," in which a belly dancer appears to tempt the singer. A backstage camera shows the makeup room where Bono's encore persona, "Mister Macphisto," comes to life. Special effects added to the video occasionally obstruct the group's theatrics; however, the production includes some great editing, including the constellation maps mysteriously rotating beneath images of the bandmembers during the funereal "Love Is Blindness." Zoo TV: Live from Sydney does an excellent job of documenting one of the most ambitious tours in rock history. This entertaining and well-directed crystallization of one of U2's finest moments is essential viewing for any fan. ~ Jonathan Miller, All Music Guide