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In 1973, Lou Reed released his third solo album: Berlin. Following the success of ’72’s rock masterpiece Transformer the tragic rock opera about a doomed couple was a little less accessible and was a commercial failure. Frustrated Reed shelved plans for a stage adaptation of the story. Now, over 30 years later, the rock legend finally brings his masterpiece to the stage.
New York artist turned filmmaker Julian Schnabel follows up his four-time Academy Award nominated (and two time Golden Globe winning film) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly with his first foray into concert film. It comes as no surprise–since he is a New York artist and his first film was Basquiat, a biopic about the fellow New York artist–that the subject of his first concert film would be the seminal New York musician Lou Reed. The concert was performed over five nights in Brooklyn, December 2006 and released theatrically earlier this year.
The album Berlin tells the to tumultuous story of Caroline and Jim and the destruction of their relationship as it devolves into drugs, promiscuity and violence. It’s a dark story told through 10 haunting and beautiful songs. In “Caroline Says,” Reeds sings, “Caroline says, as she gets up off the floor: Why is it you beat me? It isn’t any fun.” The song “The Kids” about Caroline’s children being taken away from here ends with haunting sounds of babies crying. Joining Lou Reed on stage to tell this tale is a 30-piece band and 12 choristers. These are great songs to begin with and the instrumentations here elevate them to a new emotional level.
As well as getting to hear these great performances the film is intermixed with small film snippets of Jim and Caroline. Caroline is played by Roman Polanski’s wife, Emmanuelle Seigner who also appeared in Diving Bell. These portions were shot by Julian’s daughter, Lola Schnabel. It’s easy to see that everyone involved is really enjoying themselves. Even the very stoic Reed cracks a brief smile during “Lady Day.” A smile that seems to say, “Yes, this is exactly as I always envisioned it.” Rounding out the 10 songs from the Berlin album, three extra songs are performed: two Velvet Underground classics, “Candy Says” and “Sweet Jane” as well as a newer song from Reed, “Rock Minuet.” “Candy Says” is sung by Antony of Antony And The Johnsons, how has become a staple of Lou Reed live concerts in recent years.
Schnabel does a good job covering the concert. It is very well shot and does a good job fading back and forth from the concert to the dramatized scenes. He gets a little artsy sometimes but never for too long. It’s not the kind of concert that’s going to make you get up and dance but it’s a wonderful performance and if you’ve never listened to Lou Reed before this is a great place to start.
Lou Reed’s Berlin is presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.85:1. Sound is presented in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. English and Spanish subtitles. This is a pretty good looking concert film, but more importantly it sounds fantastic. The songs really come alive in the 5.1.
An Excerpt From Spectacle: Elvis Costello with Lou Reed & Julian Schnabel: (5 min.) Costello interviews Reed and Schnabel. They discuss Diving Bell a bit and Berlin. Pretty good stuff on both counts.
Berlin On Tour: (6 min.) This is a little montage of Lou Reed’s European tour showing footage of the stage being set up and some concert footage.
Theatrical Trailer
Trailers: Closer, Joy Division, Peter Seeger: The Power Of Song and I’m Not There
This is a pretty amazing concert film and an absolute must for Lou Reed fans. As stated before, if you don’t really know Reed’s stuff, this would be a great place to start to give you an idea of what he’s about. This is his raw and emotional best.
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Weinstein Company and Genius Products present Lou Reed Berlin. Directed by Julian Schnabel. Starring Lou Reed. Running time: 81 minutes. Rated PG-13 for brief language. Released on DVD: September 30, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
