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

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2008

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

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 25, 2008

For devotees only, I'm guessing.

| Jul 25, 2008

Reed's unmistakable lilting groan has real pain in it, hinting at a real but undisclosed personal story behind the music.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 25, 2008

Reed's dour, bombastic song-suite about the lives of the drug-addicted and downtrodden steadily acquired cult cachet over the decades, peaking with its staging as a complete-album concert in 2006, which Lou Reed's Berlin documents.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 18, 2008

Who could have guessed that nearly 35 years after its release, Lou Reed's once-reviled concept album Berlin would inspire a sold-out concert, shot with loving awe by Julian Schnabel?

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 18, 2008

Your enjoyment will hinge entirely on whether you think the album is a masterpiece or a bore.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 18, 2008

For die-hard Reed fans, it's an invaluable document.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 18, 2008

In Julian Schnabel's grimly majestic concert film Lou Reed's Berlin, Mr. Reed wears the deadpan smirk of a Zen master who has endured punishing Buddhist training.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 18, 2008

For Reed fans -- for rock fans -- the movie is an essential document of a noteworthy event.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 17, 2008

This luminously shot concert movie reveals that Berlin is far from the lost masterpiece the movie wants it to be.

| Original Score: B- | Jul 17, 2008

A concert film by technicality, a cinematic trance in practicality.

| Jul 16, 2008

One of the most fascinating performances of the year.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/6 | Jul 16, 2008

The movie experience gets in its own way.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 14, 2008

Excellent concert docu revisits a neglected chapter in Reed's back catalog.

Full Review | Mar 19, 2008

As shot by the incomparable Ellen Kuras, the concert retains a rich organic feel, complementing the music without over-determining it.

| Sep 19, 2007