Stop Making Sense (1984)

Stop Making Sense: Directed by Jonathan Demme. With Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steven Scales, Lynn Mabry. An innovative concert movie for the rock group Talking Heads.

“After getting my DVD player, this is one of the first discs I bought. I first saw this movie in the eighties as a fan of the music and was completely floored by a band at their peak. Since then, Iu0026#39;ve grown to appreciate good cinema as much as music, and I now look at Stop Making Sense from a slightly different perspective.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie stands up by any measure of cinematic quality – the direction, the photography, the lighting, the set design, the editing, the performances of the u0026#39;actorsu0026#39;. Everything is unquestionably good. A couple of illustrations -u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDuring u0026#39;Once in a Lifetimeu0026#39;, the camera holds on David Byrne, framing him from the waist up, and doesnu0026#39;t leave him until the very last moments of the song. His performance is absolutely enthralling. Iu0026#39;ve been trying to think of a movie where an actor holds one shot for so long, and I canu0026#39;t.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe photography and lighting during u0026#39;What a Day That Wasu0026#39; are beautiful. The stark white up-lighting reduces a large auditorium and stage to a claustrophobic collage of shadows. The effect is not unlike some scenes in Charles Laughtonu0026#39;s u0026#39;Night of the Hunteru0026#39;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn contrast to some other views posted here, I think the Tom Tom Clubu0026#39;s appearance adds a colourful punctuation to the flow of the movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe DVD is one of the very few Iu0026#39;ve come across where the commentary is worth listening to. It switches between all four band members plus Jonathan Demme, and the anecdotes are constantly interesting and often very funny. As a package, this is one of the most satisfying DVDu0026#39;s I own. All the extras are worthwhile and well presented, unlike most u0026#39;Special Editionsu0026#39; which are crammed full of junk you wouldnu0026#39;t normally give a second look.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eItu0026#39;s a pity that, by its nature, Stop Making Sense will only ever appeal to a small audience, because it deserves to be revered by fans of cinema as well as music. The rock movie genre has only a handful of classics to its name, but Stop Making Sense is its Citizen Kane, its Exorcist, its Godfather, its Star Wars. It really is that good.”