When stop making sense came out, mtv and movies such as fame and flashdance had already altered the way pop music was seen on film and turned it into a buggy collision of images. The last waltz marks the twilight of the bands association but stop making sense was filmed right when the talking heads was a harmonious musical unit. The original release features nine of the tracks from the movie, albeit with treatment and editing. Stop making sense 1984 stop making sense 1984 user. Stop making sense is a live 1984 album by talking heads, the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Jonathan demmes stop making sense manages to humanize talking heads in what remains the greatest concert film. And its not the frenetic, janglednerves energy of a rock band thats wired. The camera pulls byrnes white sneakers from the wings onto the stage, observes as he places a boombox on the ground and pushes play, then drifts up to find him doing that nervous chicken dance at. Jonathan demme revolutionised the art of shooting rock concerts. Stop making sense is more than simply a concert film. Talking heads frontman david byrne walks onto a bare stage at the pantages theater. The only thing left to be settled is whether stop making sense is the finest concert film ever made, rather than just one of the best as critic leonard maltin argued upon its release.
Upon release, critic pauline kael wrote, a dose of happiness from beginning. We remember jonathan in so many ways, but one of the best is to show this masterpiece of a live performance filmnow celebrating its 35 th anniversary. Considered by many to be the best concert movie ever made. In that time the audience watches the stage fill with the rest of the band, backup singers, and props, not the least of which was. Scratching another entry off my 2018 shame statement.
Few films start so inauspiciously as stop making sense. Is stop making sense the most innovative concert film ever made. Talking heads stop making sense gets asbury park tribute. Jonathan demmes stop making sense is still the concert film all. I love experiencing live music theres so much more revealed about the band and the eccentricities of the music than what can be conveyed through a studio recording. Right from the beginning, stop making sense works as a movie, not merely as the filmed record of a concert. Why jonathan demmes stop making sense with talking heads. The directors subject is the talking heads, a newwavepoprock group comprised of david byrne. A harrowing documentary of the stones 1969 tour, with much of the focus on the tragic concert at altamont. Jonathan demme filmed talking heads over four nights of concerts at the pantages. Stop making sense is a 1984 american concert film featuring a live performance by american rock band talking heads. The directors subject is the talking heads, a newwavepoprock group comprised of david byrne, chris franz, tina weymouth and jerry harrison.
Stop making sense is the same as it ever was back in 1984. Stop making sens screens as part of a brand new collaboration with community stalwart the jupiter hotel, this november we inaugurate a series of monthly screenings of great music films, operating as an extension of our annual reel music film festival. Once in a lifetime a film comes around that shatters genre conventions. As said elsewhere after seeing it you wonder why no other concert films have even attempted to emulate stop making. This quintessential music film features the incredible music of talking heads. Is stop making sense the greatest concert film of alltime. The album spent over two years on the billboard 200 chart. Talking heads stop making sense concert hd youtube.
Jonathan demmes stop making sense is much more than a. Stop making sense is a testimony to the bizarre brilliance of david byrne, who proves himself to be not only an inspired composer of manicmelodic new wave pop, but also an inventive installation artist and alarming stage presence. The soundtrack to the jonathan demme documentary, stop making sense captures the talking heads live in 1984 on what would turn out to be their last major tour. Demme, who directed stop making sense in 1983 and passed away on april 26, created the concert film to rule them all. Arguably the greatest concert film ever made and, by some analysis, what could serve as the blueprint for the anticoncert concert film, jonathan demmes.
Released in 1984, stop making sense was filmed over three nights of concerts at the pantages theater in hollywood. The overwelming impression throughout stop making sense is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high. This track was edited back into the main feature for the films original vhs release in the mid 1980s. Stop making sense, released in 1984, is a frenetic 90 minutes. Talking heads big businessi zimbra live 1983 youtube. Jonathan demme revolutionised the art of shooting rock concerts with this innovative and lively record of the talking heads. Stop making sense is an invitation to pleasure that will never wear out its welcome. Thirty years after their influential concert film, drummer chris frantz. A documentary record of talking heads in concert, using material from three shows in. Th members tina weymouth and chris frantz gave birth to an alternative group called the tom tom club, and a brief respite from the full th complement lets the tom tom club take the stage.
The movie was filmed in the wake of their commercial breakthrough, 1983s speaking in tongues, with the set list relying heavily on tracks from the album. There have been plenty of great concert movies capturing. Stop making sense 1984, directed by jonathan demme film. Since its 1984 release, talking heads stop making sense has been lauded as the greatest rock concert film of all time by music nerds and. It pioneered the use of 24track digital sound recording which resulted in a particularly clear soundtrack. Stop making sense was the first featurelength documentary effort of filmmaker jonathan demme. Stop making sense is a concert film featuring talking heads, and is often regarded by critics as the finest example of the genre.
Being filmed for a concert documentary would have appealed to art school alumni, so talking heads gladly allowed that to happen for jonathan demmes stop making sense. We didnt want any bullst thirty years after their influential concert film, drummer chris frantz remembers the suit, the choreography and the. Stop making sense where to stream and watch decider. Why jonathan demmes stop making sense will never be topped. Though some of the material in stop making sense overlaps with the talking heads earlier concert film the name of this band is talking heads, one never. Stop making sense the 1984 dance music movie featuring david byrne and chris frantz at the award winning 80s movies rewind. Filmed over three nights at the hollywood pantages theatre, stop making sense opens with a whitesuited byrne, acoustic guitar and cassette player in hand, strolling onto a bare stage appointed only with tape marks and scaffolding. Jonathan demmes stop making sense is still the concert. Who can forget david byrnes big suit, or his dance with a floor lamp. Outtake from the legendary concert film by talking heads, stop making sense. Byrne was in his early 30s, and his bandmates were already legends of the nyc artrock scene following a string of brian enoproduced albums. On those three nights in december 1983, talking heads gave love, life, and joy in generous amounts that years cannot erode, and demme captured this act of creative goodwill on film with minimalist artistic perfection.
Stop making sense was filmed and edited together from four different concerts at hollywoods pantages theater in december 1983, but, unless you study it closely, it just looks like one glorious night. Theres a number of images in stop making sense, particularly one near the end of found a job, with byrne, weymouth, and harrison dancing out of syncin sync, that have a communal poetry. It truly is a watch of the music anthology and repertoire of rock and roll history and this performance not only landmarks it, but gives way to the talent that this band held for so many great albums. By the time stop making sense was filmed in late 1983 the band had been playing together and evolving for eight years. Stop making sense looks just as fresh as it did in 1984. Music nerds and film nerds agree that this talking heads concert filmed by jonathan demme is. Stop making sense is a 1984 american concert film featuring a live performance by talking heads. Time talked to both demme and byrne as they reflected on making stop making sense and the lasting legacy of the film demme. The band plays with incredible energy and imagination, and demmes direction and camera work is appropriately frenzied and original.
Find out where stop making sense is streaming, if stop making sense is on netflix, and get news and updates, on decider. Talking heads was on tour to promote its album speaking in tongues. And you cant have a movie without a soundtrack album, which is how they ended up putting out two live albums in the space of two years. Stop making sense taps into the desire that probably drives the creation of most art of most kinds. As one of the most acclaimed and influential music documentaries of alltime, jonathan demmes stop making sense has never.
Allnew 35 mm prints, with a digitally remixed and remastered soundtrack, open at theaters this fall in honor of the movies 15th. Is stop making sense the greatest concert film of all. Talking heads stop making sense returns to detroit film. Everything novel becomes old given enough time, but its a testament to the iconoclasm and shockofthenew impact of demmes brilliant talking heads concert doc, stop making sense that after three decades it hasnt dated, but rather become a landmark in the redefinition of an often undervalued genre. There are a lot of reasons to see concert films, but the only ones that usually get mentioned are the music and. A film following the lives of two innercity chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional. Jonathan demme made his documentary debut with this euphoric showcase for the talking heads, exploding from the stage just after their big mainstream success with the album speaking in tongues and the single burning down the house. Stop making sense is director jonathan demmes remarkable concert film that captures the enormous energy and joyous highs of the talking heads live performance. It engages all of the senses, it creates a mood, it establishes an atmosphere, it has. Why talking heads stop making sense is the greatest concert film of all time jonathan demme brought out the humanity in david byrnes new wave wizardry. Most of us though the first time through just watched in awe. This collection, and the film, is a true gift to the bands fans, a testament to the heads extraordinary talent, both in the studio and especially onstage.
The film was made during a threeday concert gig at the pantages theater in hollywood. It engages all of the senses, it creates a mood, it establishes an atmosphere, it has narrative logic, and it. Theatrical run, digital release for talking heads stop. Band members david byrne, tina weymouth, chris frantz and jerry harrison are joined by bernie worrell, alex weir, steve scales, lynn mabry and edna holt in this groundbreaking concert film that is packed with the talking heads most.