Bono was advised to delete his "fuck the revolution" speech during the instrumental to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from the film, as it was claimed that IRA paramilitaries had added the band to their hit-lists. The outburst, in response to the Enniskillen bombing that killed eleven people and wounded many more, stayed in the film anyway.
One of the band's goals with this film was to recognize its musical roots, which is shown by the large number of homages: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jimi Hendrix are all alluded to directly or indirectly (and the studio recording sessions included further homages to Presley, Dylan, and The Righteous Brothers). Unfortunately, this was not communicated well to the press, leading many critics to misinterpret the homages as an attempt on the part of U2 to have themselves "ranked among the legends".
Bono dislocated his arm by slipping on a wet stage during a concert on this tour. That is why his arm is in a sling during "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Freedom for My People".
Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, who was twenty years old at the time, received a "special thanks" credit from U2 for allowing them a personal tour of her father's home at Graceland. After the visit in the documentary, U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. later emotionally noted that he wished Elvis had not been buried in the backyard.
Many of the songs performed in Rattle and Hum are altered from their original release, most notably: "With or Without You", which contains a whole new verse to end the song; "Exit", which includes the chorus from "Gloria" (interestingly, the Van Morrison song, although U2 also had an early hit titled "Gloria"); and "Bad", which adds verses from the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" and "Sympathy for the Devil".