why bono and the edge?

Glad you brought this up, I was thinking the exact same thing. These tools had nothing worthwhile to say, and their awkward attempts at being profound made them look even more foolish when juxtaposed with Leonard Cohen and the artists who performed at his tribute concert. Their participation contributed nothing to this documentary; it only added a sense of disjointedness. They were doing the same shameless self-aggrandizement we saw years ago with Rattle and Hum in which they tried to place themselves on par with Elvis and the Beatles. The connection between these egomaniacs and LC is an even greater stretch.

They, along with R.W.'s cover of Hallelujah, ruined this.

I'm glad you brought it up - I was intrigued by all of the REAL artists in this movie, and then in comes Bono and Edge. I suppose I shouldn't care that U2 might as well be U$2 - that would at least be Cohen's viewpoint anyway (I think). However, U2 - especially Bono - had nothing interesting to say. Por ejemplo: Bono - "I read Percy Shelly poetry when I was like...5 and I knew it was divine. Then I heard Leonard Cohen and it was like...." Nothing great.
In my personal opinion, they should have interviewed Lou Reed.

Bono and the Edge annoyed me every time they turned up in the talking heads segments - how can the Edge claim that Christians invented meditation? - and I'd been hanging out to see Cohen himself perform, only for the long-anticipated moment to be spoiled by U2 as the backing band. *beep* off, Bono!

"Supposedly it was an accident but, you know... he was distraught."

This is a long-overdue documentary film about Leonard Cohen, approved by Leonard Cohen, participation by Leonard Cohen....for the appreciation and promotion of Leonard Cohen's music. It's all egocentric because that's what entertainer$ do, whether it's Cohen or U2. Looking at Cohen$ back catalog, I think Leonard would agree...obviously, as he came down from the mountain and he approved of the participation of U2. The folks in this thread sound like "haters", as the kids say these days...squawking as if the great unwashed masses (represented by U2) spoiled their precious little secret (LC). U2's version of Tower of Song was, like the others, just an interpretation and a celebration and I thought they kept the music, appropriately, subtle and set behind the lyric. I'm no U2 fanatic (they have written a few good songs) but I found Bono and Edge's comments to be accurate in their evaluation of Cohen's contribution and compositions. Sure, the Irish are known to speak figuratively but that's also, as Leonard knows, a tool of the arts. I give U2 credit for using their renown to support an expansive range of artists, whether it's Cohen, BB King, Dylan, Lou Reed, all that electronica, Carver, Bukowski, et al. They're fans as we are...and they take time to support their heroes...what's the problem? Certainly, folks, there are more insidious things in our world to abhor than an outspoken Irish pop culture enthusiast. We all probably enjoy reading books about artists/bands (though many are so poorly written they're almost unreadable...no wonder Sting, another successful egomaniac, decided to write his own) and if you read U2 by U2, you will find the band sufficiently modest about its own efforts while championing the work of many others, including Joy Division. No artists, not even Leonard Cohen, who arrive at the top of their fields do so by being humble or insular or foolishly beholden to poverty...we know they all have a massive drive for "success" and a huge appetite for finding the elusive and ever-changing true pulse of art. For better or worse, Bono is just more open (and contrived) about that fact than most, with the possible exception of every Rap artist. Personally, I don't care for, say, Ozzy Osborne but if he showed up to praise and play Leonard Cohen's music, I'd still give him credit. Wow, them's a lot of words just to say (as a Buddhist might suggest): Nothing was ruined. Let's not be so precious. Or pessimistic. Leonard isn't.

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I totally agree. I used to like U2 (I never loved them), but it seems like the Edge and especially Bono always get trotted out as the voice of authority in these films, and they just sound like pompous gasbags. Who are the people who idolize them?