Stop Making Sense (1984)

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

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writers:

Jonathan Demme, Talking Heads

Stars:

David Byrne, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

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

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.

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Plot Keywords:

concert film | live in concert recording | song | band | suit | 

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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?

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Genres:

Documentary | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Picked by Entertainment Weekly magazine as one of the "50 Greatest Independent Films" in a special supplement devoted to independent films that was only distributed to subscribers in October 1997.

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Goofs

You can hear the bass of Tina Weymouth doing several slides in the last part of "Genius of Love" meanwhile she is showed dancing and not sliding.

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Quotes

David Byrne: I wanna introduce the band by name.

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Alternate Versions

During "Girlfriend is Better," David Byrne tries to put the microphone back on the stand, but it falls to the floor. In the theatrical version you could hear the impact sound, in the DVD the sound is removed.

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Connections

Referenced in Weird Science (1985)

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Soundtracks

Life During Wartime
Written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth
Performed by Talking Heads

User Reviews

THE Great Concert Film

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 1984 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Stop Making Sense

Filming Locations:

Pantages Theater - 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$41,666, 21 October 1984

Gross USA:

$5,095,592

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,108,872

Company Credits

Production Co:

Talking Heads, Arnold Stiefel Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 100 min (VHS)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (1999 re-release) Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1