Rock band U2 have announced plans to release a concert film billed as "the first live-action movie shot and exhibited in breakthrough digital 3D".
U2 3Dis an 84-minute film selected from more than 100 hours of live footage, which was recorded on the South American leg of the band's Vertigo tour.
The film is scheduled to open at Cineworld Dublin, Movies@ Dundrum, Movies@Swords and SGC Dungarvan. Negotiations with other digital cinemas are continuing ahead of its February 22nd release date.
The film features performances of hits such as Where the Streets Have No Name, Mysterious Waysand With or Without You.
Producers say it will allow fans to feel the atmosphere of the live show, as well as hear the band's performance.
U2 3Dwas directed by the artist and sculptor Catherine Owens, who has been providing visual content to the band over the past 15 years. Owens said the technology used to create the film was designed mainly to cover sporting events. However, the designers were "huge U2 fans" and they offered them the opportunity to use it first.
"It is really like a joyride. We've taken the technology and run away with it to create an extension of the live experience. The band were very involved from beginning to end. It is very much a U2 project," she said.
While a standard film is edited from left to right, Owens said U2 3Dwas edited from front to back. A preview of the film was well received at the Cannes Film Festival in May and it will premiere at the US Sundance Film Festival on January 19th.
