In December of 1983, Talking Heads had a three-night run at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, California. Their additional bandmates on that run? A film crew and Director Jonthan Demme. Frontman David Byrne is joined on stage by another member of the band after each song until, six songs in, the full ensemble of incredible musicians and singers is complete. From “Psycho Killer” to “Burning Down the House” to Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” Talking Heads roll through their catalog with joy, charisma and excellence. Demme is there to capture it all and turns it into what Leonard Maltin called “one of the greatest rock movies ever made.”
This film may have come out in 1984 but I had never seen it. In preparation of the IMAX viewing, I did some research and saw that well-respected movie critic after well-respected movie critic raved about Stop Making Sense. So, when I read that it was a straight forward concert film with no behind-the-scenes looks, no backstage footage and no interview segments, I thought “What could be so great about it?”
But they were right.
You know how very few cities “have a pulse” all their own? San Francisco, New York, New Orleans. These are just cities, dots on a map. They shouldn’t be special but they are. They don’t necessarily need any specific activity, you just “feel” them when you’re in them. Stop Making Sense has a similar vibe. This is literally six cameramen shooting a concert, that’s all. It shouldn’t be special, but it is.
The stage presence from 40 years ago drips off the screen, the audio mix is pristine and the relentless, non-stop energy is palpable. People were dancing in the aisles of the theater and applauding after every song as if they were there in the Pantages and not at their local cinema. If you put a classic Dave Matthews Band or Aerosmith concert up on that screen, that doesn’t happen. Stop Making Sense is incredibly magnetic and it’s almost inexplicable why.
But who needs an explanation when it’s this frickin’ good?
JKG SCORE: 9.5
Untitled Film Project 