Berlin

Released Jul 18, 2008

1h 21m

Documentary

Music

List

78%

32 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1973, Lou Reed's album "Berlin" meets with hostile fans and critics, evidently because its precursor, "Transformer," was an upbeat, glam-rock hit. Despite the album's gradual critical acclaim, Reed never performs it live. This changes for five nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., as Reed performs the melancholy album in its entirety. The rock 'n' roll legend resurrects his doomed work, performing in front of projected images depicting scenes from the star-crossed romance the album narrates.

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Critics Consensus

Julian Schnabel expertly captures the dark melancholy of Lou Reed's misunderstood concept album in this moving concert documentary.

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Rich Z

A powerful performance of a dark masterpiece from Lou Reed. The performance gave the richness and dignity it always deserved.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Lou Reed's passing gives even more resonance to one of his misunderstood albums.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I saw Lou Reed play Berlin in London - sometime in 2007, I would guess. It was brilliant. This film of the New York concerts is likewise brilliant and is at least as good as the original album, if not better. Not much else to say other than I could not think of anything more fitting to play today.Lou Reed will be much missed.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I was mostly interested in Reed's music and was not thrilled with Schnabel's distractions.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I purchased this album in 1973 when it was released and have been delighted to see this artistic treatment of Lou Reed's work Berlin. It was amazing for it's poetry in 1973 and but misunderstood by critics. As lyrical and musical depiction of existence in a disintegrated culture post WWII, it's mood is haunting, disturbing yet real. Not for the faint of heart, but hey it's Lou Reed doing Rock and Roll.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lou's singing is almost comically bad but his lyrics are so good it doesn't matter. In fact, maybe it helps. His band is amazing and Julian Schnabel's visual additions are captivating without getting in the way.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Julian Schnabel

Director

Emmanuelle Seigner

Caroline

Lou Reed

Actor

Anohni

Actor

Brooklyn Youth Chorus

Actor

Rob Wasserman

Actor

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

Those who admire Reed will find that Schnabel's film allows the music to speak for itself against its rather messy background.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2008

Full Review

Anthony Quinn

Independent (UK)

It's Reed's gruff and tuneless delivery that challenges one's enjoyment.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 25, 2008

Full Review

Mike McCahill

Daily Telegraph (UK)

For devotees only, I'm guessing.

Jul 25, 2008

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A Lou Reed concert film that I connected with despite it being a downer.

Rated: B+

Mar 10, 2010

Full Review

Leo Goldsmith

Reverse Shot

Schnabel's set design, onstage projections, and postproduction add a good deal of visual noise to Reed & company's aural variety, which reproduces the album with a mixture of professional exactitude and unpredictable cacophony.

Aug 8, 2009

Full Review

Daily Mirror (UK)

Reed, who's looking more and more like a Bond villain, comes close to smiling at one point, although the chances are you won't.

Jul 25, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1973, Lou Reed's album "Berlin" meets with hostile fans and critics, evidently because its precursor, "Transformer," was an upbeat, glam-rock hit. Despite the album's gradual critical acclaim, Reed never performs it live. This changes for five nights in Brooklyn, N.Y., as Reed performs the melancholy album in its entirety. The rock 'n' roll legend resurrects his doomed work, performing in front of projected images depicting scenes from the star-crossed romance the album narrates.

Director: Julian Schnabel
Producer: Stanley F. Buchthal, Maya Kamila Hoffmann
Distributor: Third Rail
Production Co: Waterboy Productions
Genre: Documentary, Music
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 18, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $29.7K
Runtime: 1h 21m

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