U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under A Blood Red Sky - Reception

Reception

In November 1984, the video was nominated for the Best Long Form award at Billboard's Video Music Conference, and the performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was nominated for the Best Concert Performance award. When Billboard magazine debuted the Top Music Videocassette chart in their 30 March 1985 issue, U2 Live at Red Rocks was ranked at number seven, and it was listed in the top ten for the remainder of 1985, as well as in 1987. In April 1985, almost a year after the initial release, the video appeared on Billboard's Top Videocassette Sales list at number 29. Billboard cited the video's late increase in sales to U2's sold-out Unforgettable Fire Tour, referring to it as "a textbook example of a group's current status having a direct influence on video sales".

The concert and the film both received positive reviews from critics. In an overnight review of the show, G. Brown of The Denver Post wrote, "A lot of things had to go so wrong for U2's show at Red Rocks Amphitheater ... to come off so right." Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised the film, saying, "The setting lent even more urgency to U2's hypercharged songs about apocalypse, pacifism and existential terror". Pareles noted that "Although there are a few too many exaggerated camera angles, the tape captures U2's earnest intensity." A review in the Philadelphia Daily News described the camerawork as "artful" and praised the concert's visuals, as well as the visuals of the natural surroundings. Perry Seibert of Allmovie gave the film four-and-a-half stars, praising the band's performance and the venue's role in the concert, saying, "the historic Red Rocks venue provides a stirring backdrop for the band's sweeping sound".

Following the release of the DVD in 2008, Record Collector stated that "25 years on, lost none of its power". Andrew Gilstrap of PopMatters gave the remastered version of the film a rating of 8 out of 10, stating, "It's rare that a band can totally transform a scene—especially one with a stage show that boasts charisma as its only special effect—but it's not hyperbole to say that U2 put on a dominating, flawless-despite-mistakes performance. This is the one that put U2 on the map." In their review of the remastered version of Under a Blood Red Sky, online magazine Pitchfork Media said, "when the group performed at Red Rocks on a rainy June night, with lit torches above a panoramic skyline, the venue provided an ideal backdrop for U2's literally flag-waving music, with everything—earth, wind, fire—in place to maximise and heighten the drama of the moment and the songs." James Wigney of The Sunday Telegraph and the Sunday Herald Sun gave the DVD a score of 5 out of 5, praising the film's concert, but stated that "footage is still on the fuzzy side". The Advertiser felt the DVD's audio commentary was very informative, but criticised the picture quality, stating "even the remastered version looks like it was shot on a mobile phone".