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Stop Making Sense (1984)

8.0
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Ratings: 8.0/10 from 5,981 users   Metascore: 89/100
Reviews: 60 user | 52 critic | 9 from Metacritic.com

An innovative concert movie for the rock group The Talking Heads.

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Title: Stop Making Sense (1984)

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bernie Worrell ...
Alex Weir ...
Steven Scales ...
Percussion (as Steve Scales)
Lynn Mabry ...
Backing Vocals
Ednah Holt ...
Backing Vocals (as Edna Holt)
Tina Weymouth ...
Bass, Percussion and Vocals
...
Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals
Chris Frantz ...
Drums and Vocals
...
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Storyline

David Byrne walks onto the stage and does a solo "Psycho Killer." Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz join him for two more songs. The crew is busy, still setting up. Then, three more musicians and two back-up singers join the band. Everybody sings, plays, harmonizes, dances, and runs. They change instruments and clothes. Bryne appears in the Big Suit. The backdrop is often black, but sometimes it displays words, images, or children's drawings. The band cooks for 18 songs, the lyrics are clear, the house rocks. In this concert film, the Talking Heads hardly talk, don't stop, and always make sense. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

band | song | musician | suit | concert film | See more »

Taglines:

Why stop making sense? Why a movie? Why a big suit? Where do the odd movements come from? What will the band do next?

Genres:

Documentary | Music

Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (West Germany)  »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$21,051 (USA) (28 May 1999)

Gross:

$148,443 (USA) (3 December 1999)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (VHS)

Sound Mix:

(1999 re-release)|

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

David Byrne's staggering during the latter part of "Psycho Killer" was directly inspired by Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding during the song "I Left My Hat In Haiti". See more »

Goofs

At several points throughout the film, the sound and vision do not sync up. This is particularly noticeable during "Found A Job:" early in the song, a cymbal crash is heard, even though Chris Frantz is not seen to hit one. A few bars later, he hits the cymbal, but no sound is heard. See more »

Quotes

David Byrne: Thanks! Does anybody have any questions?
See more »

Connections

Spoofed in True Stories (1986) See more »

Soundtracks

"Take Me to the River"
Written by Al Green and Mabon Hodges
Performed by Talking Heads
See more »

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User Reviews

THE Great Concert Film
22 March 2002 | by (Virginia) – See all my reviews

All concert films should be as innovative, energetic and just plain fun as Stop Making Sense. With Jonathan Demme as director, the concert has a weird and wonderful theatrical look, with David Byrne arriving onstage at the beginning, armed with an acoustic guitar. Gradually, the other members of the band join him and the stage sets become highly unusual. For visuals, nothing matches the odd behavior of Byrne and quirky but (for the most part) great songs of the Talking Heads better than Demme's approach to filming. The movie has such a terrific build up (at one point Byrne actually runs around the stage repeatedly) that you cannot help but move with it. I can't believe concert films that followed did not even attempt to match this film's innovativeness. A great movie, even if you've never heard of the Talking Heads.


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