Critical reaction Both the concert and the
U2 Live at Red Rocks video received positive reviews from critics. In a 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 said, "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 visuals of the concert and the natural surroundings. Louis Meredith of
Stereo Review said that the video captured the group in "absolutely splendid form" and that "Musically, it's about as impressive as they come" with "inventive and passionately felt" instrumental performances. He said that Bono "accomplishes the nearly impossible—turning a typical Nuremberg Rally-scaled outdoor concert into something that seems almost intimate." Meredith criticised the cinematography as "unimaginative, made-for-MTV camera work" and judged that the soundtrack was not as good as the EP. Neal Hall of
The Sun said the band "prove[d] why it was named by Record magazine as the top live act of 1983" and that they performed with a "vigor and vitality that is entrancing to witness, even on a small screen". He found the sound "surprisingly clean and crisp" but noted the red trails were a visual problem. 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, [
U2 Live at Red Rocks has] lost none of its power". Brian Boyd of
The Irish Times was impressed by the band's performance considering they were drawing from just three albums of material and lacked the "computerised wizardry that makes U2 shows now such extravaganzas", adding, "what most impresses here is how full-on the concert is as the band give it socks during a rain-lashed evening". Bernard Zuel of
The Sydney Morning Herald called the concert one of the moments in U2's history that showed their "ability to connect with and move an audience at a time when artifice and pomposity were rampant". He was fascinated that the "rain and fog that marks the Red Rocks show, and made the mythology even more potent, almost led to its cancellation". Mark Brown of the
Rocky Mountain News recalled that the video is "still a thrilling performance, raw but polished, passionate and sincere". In its review of the remastered version of
Under a Blood Red Sky, online magazine
Pitchfork 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." Christina Sursky of the
McClatchy-Tribune News Service said, "The DVD glows with the energy of U2's performances", and she called the rendition of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" the film's highlight. Randy Pitman of
Video Librarian called the performance a "blistering 17-song set full of early material now rarely played aside from the hits 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' and 'New Year's Day'". He added that although casual fans may only recognise the aforementioned hits, "the faithful will be thrilled with this classic concert". 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 the "footage is still on the fuzzy side".
Commercial performance In November 1984, the video was nominated for the Best Long Form award at
Billboard magazine's Video Music Conference and the performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was nominated for the Best Concert Performance award. When
Billboard debuted the Top Music Videocassettes
chart (later renamed Top Music Videos) in the 30 March 1985 issue,
U2 Live at Red Rocks ranked at number seven. The video was included in the year-end Top Music Videocassettes charts for 1985 and 1987. Following the 2008 DVD release, the video re-entered the chart for the first time since 1989, reaching number 3. Overall,
U2 Live at Red Rocks spent 152 weeks on the Top Music Videocassettes/Top Music Videos chart. In April 1985, the video appeared on
Billboards Top Videocassette Sales chart at number 29, and remained on the chart for 14 weeks.
Billboard attributed the late increase in the video's sales to U2's sold-out
Unforgettable Fire Tour, and called it "a textbook example of a group's current status having a direct influence on video sales". ==Legacy==