Genre: Music
Duration: 88 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Stars: David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth
IMDb score:
8,7 (24.209)
Releasedate: 16 November 1984
Stop Making Sense plot
"Why stop making sense? Why a movie? Why a big suit? Where do the odd movements come from? What will the band do next?"
Film about the Talking Heads concert. David Byrne walks on stage and does a solo "Psycho Killer". Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz join him with two other songs. The technical team is busy setting everything up. Then three other musicians and two backup singers complete the band. Everyone sings, plays, dances and runs. Instruments and clothing are changed. Byrne shows up in his best costume. The background is often black, but sometimes words, photos and children's drawings are shown. The band is going for 18 songs. The lyrics are clear, 'the house rocks'. In this concert film, the Talking Heads barely talk, 'don't stop and always make sense'.
Actors and actresses
Self - Vocals, Guitar
Self - Drums, Vocals
Self - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
Self - Bass, Percussion, Vocals
Self - Backing Vocals
Self - Backing Vocals
Self - Percussion
Self - Guitar, Vocals
Self - Keyboards
Reviews & comments
Film Pegasus (moderator films)
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- 31272 messages
- 5512 votes
It should work. At a vinyl fair I came across a Talking Heads album. Bit disappointed at first as it was a live album and capturing live music on an album is not that easy. But still taken and enjoyed, real top quality. That album was 'Stop making sense'. That rang a bell and I came across this title a little later. The filming of the live performance.
I do know the music of Talking Heads, but mainly from their studio albums. So time for a real introduction. And with Stop Making Sense we certainly succeeded. Nice intro and original idea to let the musicians perform systematically. All in a calm way, very professional and so is the film. Not only the band on stage, but also the crew of the performance and of the filming know what they are doing. This is not an accidental shot (if you know what I mean).
Does that mean it's all ready-made bites? Certainly not! David Byrne is a captivating figure and the camera knows where to find him. Nevertheless, everyone enjoys it and it is interesting enough to watch. It won't be a real hit as a film, it lacks the necessary creativity to stand out. But as a concert film this is certainly a success. Maybe only for Talking Heads fans, but that's an argument that counts with every music documentary I think.
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13430 messages
- 11264 votes
Excellent movie about the Talking Heads concert. This is known as the best concert registration ever. Of course the music has to suit you, and luckily that's the case with me. The songs are all good and you just see a band putting on a top performance here. Not flashy edited, so you have the feeling of being a spectator in the room yourself.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 11557 messages
- 6803 votes
Nice.
In fact, this documentary is not much more than a concert registration, but it is a very nice concert registration. In addition, a concert by the Taking Heads, which I find as a whole more unique than most other artists. The catchy music and the fun act therefore drew me along with the images themselves from an early age.
Dancing along to the tunes and seeing how they approach the concert, I actually like it. It is perhaps difficult for me to call it a documentary, because it is really purely a registration. So on an informative level you won't learn much more about the band, more about how they were on stage and what kind of shows you can expect from them.
But there's not much wrong with that. I found it extremely entertaining to follow it all and to see David Byrne start out on his own and eventually fill the stage more and more until a real show came out. In between were also nice finds on the comic level that also keep the entertainment there at all times.
I'm actually not a fan of concerts at all. The entire area does not appeal to me, which is why I basically never go there. I just can't do much with it. But during Stop Making Sense I secretly wanted to go to a concert of the Heads because I really liked it through a screen. It might be a good idea to hear a different sound, but it was quite enjoyable.
Nice "documentary". Without boredom, and executed with a lot of creativity. It also doesn't take long at all, and I was often able to swing along with the songs themselves. I do like the sound though, because if it wasn't I would have had a much harder time with this registration. Nice event, and nice to have seen.
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