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Directed by: Jonathan Demme Starring: David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz et al In a lot of concert films, you buy into the conceit that the film is itself a document of the concert. The Woodstock movie, for example, makes it a point to show the realities of the show: the massive audience in attendance, in between technical glitches with equipment and the rain, audience getting impatient and chanting, and mud caked hippies dancing and freaking out in the crowd to the music. The Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense doesn't conform to these conventions, and in that way it has elements in common to a conventional film with characters and a story arc. For one, Demme spares us from seeing the audience, band members interacting with the audience, or any witty banter. Instead, the stage is sparse and black like a stage, with special care to hide any cables or equipment that might be showing; even brand names on the synthesizers have been blacked out. Far from being a single, live document, Demme seamlessly splices footage from over a few days at a venue in Los Angeles. Band members come on the stage one by one between songs, beginning with a solo David Byrne playing "Psycho Killer," and ending with a full band doing "Cross eyed and Painless." Each entrance of a new band member is like a little introduction to a new character. David Byrne for example, starts off with an acoustic version of Psycho Killer, and does a strange staggering dance to a boombox spitting out a drum machine loop. Gradually, he becomes more confident as the character experiences emotions as wide as exhilartion, humor, and melancholy in the musical numbers with his band mates. This accumulates until he's the ultimate "cool" in probably the most famous scene in the movie, when he dons an oversize suit and dances with a fluidity far detatched from his initial awkwardness. The performances in this movie are also truly amazing and inspired. A lot of work clearly went into choreography, lighting and staging-- these people don't just put on a concert, they put on a show. There are a lot of just flat out gorgeous moments in this film: when Byrne says, "Does anybody have any questions?"; the joy in Tina Weymouth's movements to the strobe in "Genius of Love;" the weird movements in "Once in a Lifetime;" and my personal favorite, David Byrne's romantic dance with a floor lamp in "Naive Melody." All in all, a very excellent film that just happens to also be a concert. I haven't really seen another seen another concert film that compares to it; even Demme's "Storefront Hitchcock" doesn't work nearly as well. RATING: 5.5 PROS: The concert film to end concert films CONS: Might be a bit of fanservice-- probably not the best introduction to the Talking Heads ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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Jul 8, 2004 09:32
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 02:35 |
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There's a lot of post production editing in this film, which takes it down a notch for me. It's still a superb concert movie.
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Jul 8, 2004 16:11
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Essential for any Talking Heads fan. The performance of Once In A Lifetime is killer. 4.5/5
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Jul 8, 2004 17:16
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Fantastic film. I remember buying this the day it was released back in the 80's. I threw a Talking Heads party and had all my friends over. We started the tape, thinking it would play in the background as the party escalated. After the first song, everyone was sitting in front of the TV and remained mesmerized for the next 90 minutes. Besides the awesome music, the whole structure of the one-musician-at-a-time was unprecedented. Very heady stuff. I still watch it and it's as good as new. I rate it a 4.5. There are two concert videos that I hold in higher regard, Pink Floyd's "Pulse" and the ultimate concert video, Peter Gabriel's "Secret World Live".
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Jul 10, 2004 06:48
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I've watched this at least 10 times since I got it at Christmas and listened to the album even more times. It's moving and the music is just amazing; this is as life-changing as movies get, in my opinion. 5.5
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Jul 10, 2004 07:02
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 02:35 |
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I'd heard one Talking Heads song prior to watching this -- PsychoKiller, but I was familiar with their style and influence. I am now a fan. I watched this from start to finish without so much as a bathroom break, and was an amazing experience. The music is wonderful and David Byrne's performance is absolutely brilliant and captivating. Even when it appeared that very little is going on (aside from the music), my eyes were still glued to Byrne, waiting to see his next invented mannerism or dance. Perfectly paced and organized. I'm definitely going to buy the DVD. At times I wished there was more props/more-non-music-stuff going on but it can't really be faulted for this. The suit, the lamp, the near-constant running, it's all brilliant. 5.0
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Jul 11, 2004 21:43
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