Lou Reed and his fans waited thirty-three years for the concert presented in this film. Following his glam hit Walk on the Wild Side, in 1973 Reed recorded Berlin, an ambitious concept album that came as a sharp and unexpected contrast. Scored with orchestral arrangements, it traced the same characters through several songs, exploring themes of jealousy, rage and loss. Harsh initial reviews dashed the hopes Reed and his producer Bob Ezrin had of performing the album live. But critical assessment went through a dramatic turnabout: Tracks like How Do You Think it Feels? and Sad Song became classics; the Rolling Stone magazine, which once excoriated Berlin, now ranks it among their top five hundred albums.
So thirty-three years later, Reed and Ezrin finally got their wish: They teamed up with music producer Hal Willner to stage Berlin in venues around the world. Julian Schnabel art-directed the staging and filmed the production over five nights at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. Schnabel's daughter Lola shot impressionistic films for the performance that are projected on stage and enhance the music's narrative elements. (Thom Powers)