August 2000 Archives

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (2009)
Directed by David O'Reilly.
This animated ensemble video intertwines the song's themes and lyrics to create multiple, parallel stories about people who decide to make a change in their lives.

Magnificent (2009)
Directed by Alex Courtes.
Shot in Fez, Morocco.
U2 was filmed in a local riad in the city for this music video. This music video also follows the band's members while they are walking out for sight-seeing in the North African city. Along with their crew, they mingle with traders in the market and even play soccer with local kids.

Get On Your Boots (2009)
Directed by Alex Courtes.
Shot in London.
In an interview, The Edge stated that the video is about letting women take over because "men have fucked things up so badly, politically, economically, and socially."

Window in the Skies (Nexus Version) (2006)
Directed by Jonas Odell.
The story of U2 featuring everything from family photos to iconic album sleeves (inspired by the book U2 by U2).

Window in the Skies (2006)
Directed by Gary Koepke.
A unique music video featuring Elvis Presley, David Bowie, the White Stripes, Ella Fitzgerald, Nirvana and many other famous bands.

The Saints Are Coming (With Green Day) (2006)
Directed by Chris Milk.
Filmed in New Orleans, September 2006.
"Technically and logistically this was destined for disaster, but this was New Orleans one year on and we had the strength of an entire city within each of us. I had never heard a crowd so FUCKING LOUD, so raw and passionate, some screamed remembering the anguish of one year prior, some were lost in the pride moment, and others chanted in hope of a new dawn. In the dome where so many had lost, wept and contemplated a future of shattered dreams a new and loud collective spirit was stirring. Two punk rock bands played, The Saints overcame and 80,000 people tasted hope, joy and success. An emotional demonstration of the power of music, sport and the human soul." - Hamish Hamilton

One (With Mary J. Blige) (2006)
Directed by Paul Hunter.
Shot on February 17, 2006 in an old theatre in Mexico and newly remixed.

Original of the Species (2005)
Directed by Catherine Owens.

All Because of You (2005)
Directed by Phil Joanou.
Shot in New York City.

City of Blinding Lights (2005)
Directed by Alex & Martin.
Filmed in Vancouver, Canada.

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (Version 2) (2005)
Directed by Phil Joanou.
Filmed in Dublin, December 2004.
"Bono wanted to shoot in the Gaiety Theatre, where his dad once sang... and we went from there. With such a personal song, I was nervous about capturing how emotional and vulnerable it felt. For some reason I kept seeing Bono walking the streets of Dublin alone, the camera close, leading him as he sang. After a long night's discussion, it was decided - shoot in the home where Bono grew up, then walking the streets, and onto the theatre stage where he'd join the band. It was a simple idea, but with the amazing Harris Sevides shooting for us, and the incomparable Ned O'Hanlon beside me, we had a chance... On a cold December morning, Bono walked out onto Sheriff Street, and gave the best single-take performance that I have ever had the honor to film. The entire song, without a cut, singing live - incredibly powerful, staggering. It came from someplace very deep inside. All I did was document it. Bono put every ounce of the song's emotion, his heart and soul, into his performance. Larry turned to me after the final take and quietly nodded - I knew we had something special." - Phil Joanou

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own (2005)
Directed by Phil Joanou.
Filmed in Dublin, December 2004.

Vertigo (2004)
Directed by Alex & Martin.
Filmed in Tarragona, Spain, September 2004.
"There is much to say about shooting with U2 as the whole process was a tremendous, thrilling experience for us. It was a BIG shooting! So, after having had the privilege to get the job awarded in person by the band, we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere in Spain. The first day was great, sunshine, wind in the air, the perfect set. But the next day when we came up at 6 in the morning, a windstorm just "erased" our 50m coloured sand target. Desert sand was covering the different circles. It had to be done again! The whole crew had to work on it with sweepers, brooms and all. We even had to create a wall of sand to keep the circle protected from the wind. That's how you get to see 40 people at sunrise/sundown/dusk sweeping a very windy desert in the most surrealistic way. Finally the day was great and the guys performed under a 100km/h windstorm. Kinda cool!" - Alex and Martin

The Hands That Built America (Movie version) (2002)
Directed by Gareth O'Neil.
Includes footage from the Martin Scorcese film, "Gangs of New York".

Electrical Storm (2002)
Directed by Anton Corbijn.
This video featured starring roles for Larry Mullen and actress Samantha Morton.

What's Going On? (Artists Against AIDS Worldwide with Bono) (2001)
Directed by Jake Scott.
Filmed just days before September 11, 2001 in New York City, September 2001.

Kite (Live) (2001)
Directed by Hamish Hamilton.
Filmed live in Boston, June 2001.

Elevation (2001)
Directed by Joseph Kahn.
Filmed in Los Angeles, California, April 2001, for the Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie.
"The good news was I was finally going to get a chance to make a U2 video. The bad news was I had to put film footage into it. I hate film footage videos, I really hate them. But if U2 wanted to splice in baboon sex, I would have figured out a way to make it work. Anything to work with the greatest living band in the world. So I figured let's make the GREATEST FILM FOOTAGE VIDEO EVER: Good U2 versus Bad U2 blowing the world to bits with the power of RAWK. I like to think Elevation wooed the film out on a date, got it drunk, and then sexed it silly and left it wandering off in the morning with its make up smeared. And right after Bono saw it, he said I'm the first director he wasn't screaming at after watching the edit. How awesome is that?" - Joseph Kahn

Walk On (Version 2: London) (2001)
Directed by Liz Friedlander.
This music video was filmed in London, February 2001.
"When I spoke to Bono on the phone, he told me this song was anthemic. And the thing about anthemic songs is that you have to be careful: they can either be "Hey Jude" or "We Are the World". Shit, I thought, the pressure is on. We were rained out for three days in a row, winter in London. We pushed the final day of shooting to a Sunday, which everyone told me was a bad idea. We were shooting the end of the video, pulling out of one personIs eye to reveal a huge crowd. I was blocking the crowd for this final shot. Making sure everyone was in perfect position. I was thinking to myself how this would be anthemic in the best possible way. When I turned around to tell the crane operator that we were finally ready to shoot, the ENTIRE crew was gone. All gone to the pub around the corner to watch a soccer match. Ah, I thought to myself, so this is why English crews never shoot on Sunday. I love this video because the truly great anthemic song carries the visuals on its back the whole way through." - Liz Friedlander

Walk On (Version 1: Brazil) (2001)
Directed by Jonas Akerlund.
Filmed in Rio de Janeiro.

Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Of (USA version) (2001)
Directed by Joseph Kahn.
Starring actor Brendan Fehr as the rookie football player, intro by famous football commentator John Madden.

Video Single - U2 - Stuck In A Moment by ordon0

Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Of (2001)
Directed by Kevin Godley.
Filmed in Los Angeles, California, November 2000.
"LA - Shoot night: It was freezing cold and I distinctly remember everyone being tired and tetchy. We'd been working, all night, between two lanes of scabby warehouses on the outskirts of the city. We were behind schedule and losing the dark but things had been going well. Enter Murphy's Law. How appropriate. Picture this... The hero van somehow collides with the techno crane. The chilled out German DOP loses his rag with the battle-scarred, gun toting, biker 1st AD and, as we're concentrating on pulling them apart, the fog rolls in, behind us, compromising the continuity of the final, crucial, vocal shot. And that's about it. After that it gets a bit hazy but it was definitely freezing cold and I distinctly remember everyone being tired and tetchy. We'd been working, all night, between two lanes of scabby warehouses on the outskirts of the city..." - Kevin Godley

Beautiful Day (Eze version) (2000)
Directed by Jonas Akerlund.
Shot at Eze, France, and at the Hanover Quay studios in Dublin, in April and September 2000.

Beautiful Day (2000)
Directed by Jonas Akerlund.
Video filmed at Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, August 2000.
"U2 invited me to listen to the album before it was even finished. It was fantastic to follow the process and to develop the video with the band. Never did I feel so close and involved in a release. We had many discussions and directions before we all agreed on a performance video at Charles De Gaulle airport. The album cover was shot at the new terminal 5 and it was a perfect space to shoot the video. We had a great location, a kick ass track and the best rock band in the world. It couldn't go wrong. And then, a week before our shoot, the last Concorde departed from Paris and tragically crashed less then a mile away from the airport. Everything changed. Red tape all over the airport, and the shoot became a struggle. My crew and I were running around like crazy with the band for two days. Like kids running from grown ups to get our shots. Two long days and 100 rolls of film. Never before, or after, did I work with a band willing to go through what we did for the art of a video. A memorable time and a memorable video." - Jonas Akerlund

The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2000)
Directed by Wim Wenders.
From the soundtrack to the movie "The Million Dollar Hotel". The Ground Beneath Her Feet was written by Salman Rushdie and he appears at the beginning of the video.