Stop Making Sense

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Newly restored in 4K to coincide with its 40th anniversary, the 1984 film was directed by renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme and is considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time. Stop Making Sense stars core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt. The live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.” Demme desired to capture the pioneering new wave group in a live setting, so aninitial meeting between him and the band was brokered by actor Gary Goetzman. The lattereventuallybecame Demme's production partner on the Oscar-winning likes of The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia.

Byrne, who won an Oscar for co-composing the score to the 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci movie The Last Emperor, counted his second Oscar nomination recently for the original song “This Is a Life,” which he co-wrote with Son Lux and Mitski from the Daniels’ multi-Oscar-winning movie Everything Everywhere All at Once. Byrne is a near-EGOT winner; he’s just missing an Emmy. Gary Goetzman is producing the re-release here of Stop Making Sense. The showstopper is, of course, when Byrne comes out in his surreal cream-coloured “Big Suit” to sing Girlfriend Is Better: it’s a two-dimensional sketch of a suit, making Byrne look like a guy who has been flattened by a steamroller, but in which he doesn’t seem in the least constricted, physically or in any other way. His suit is not a joke, exactly, and yet it has no obvious serious import. Actually, where is the Big Suit now? Shouldn’t it be in the Victoria & Albert museum? Design [Booklet Designed By - With], Liner Notes [Booklet Written By - With] – Jeff Ayeroff*, Michael Hodgson (2)Dyah has an affinity for ensemble TV shows, especially ones that bring heart and humor. During her spare time, she can be seen watching re-runs of Friends, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Modern Family. But if she's being really honest, her number one show is the Canadian animated series 6teen. Previously only available as bonus feature outtakes on certain video releases, ‘Cities’ and ‘Big Business/I Zimbra’ feature on the deluxe reissue. The polyrhythmic funk of Byrne solo number ‘Big Business’ segues seamlessly into the ferocious bongo-led drive of ‘I Zimbra’, while the bouncy, queasy bass of ‘Cities’ is brought to the forefront, making for two further enticing treats for an already bountiful record set. Few gigs have captured the imagination of music lovers as much as Stop Making Sense. Almost forty years on, and it’s still considered the greatest musical performance ever captured, witnessed in its enduring legacy, Jonathan Demme’s subsequent fame found in Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs, a renewed interest following its incoming theatrical run, and its persisting parodies. One such spoof we collectively love at Norman is the ‘Final Transmission’ episode of Documentary Now!, where American comic Fred Armisen leads the final concert from new wave group Test Pattern. Featuring original songs written in the style of the Talking Heads, a segue parodying Tom Waits’ Big Time, and interview clips made up of spiels from inflated egos, it’s made with such sharp attention to detail that it’s clear it comes from a place of adoration, not of lampooning. Stop Making Sense” stars core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt.The live performance was shot roughly 40 years ago over the course of three nights at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December of 1983. It features Talking Heads’ most memorable songs, including “Burning Down the House,”“Once in a Lifetime” and “This Must Be the Place.”

There was a band. There was a concert,” the Talking Heads said in a statement. “This must be the movie!” That means every detail of the Talking Heads' celebrated concert, from the big suits to the grandstanding, crowd-pleasing hits, will look and sound sharper and more immersive than ever before, helping you rediscover a groundbreaking moment in music history. Dyah (pronounced Dee-yah) is a Senior Resource Writer based in Kendal, Indonesia. She graduated from Satya Wacana Christian University in October 2019, obtaining a Bachelor's degree in English Literature with a concentration on Creative Writing. Currently, she's pursuing her Master's degree in English Language Studies and is expected to graduate in 2024. IMAX utlises a greatly expanded aspect ratio (1.90:1 versus anamorphic widescreen's 2.39:1), which fuses with a boldremastering process, dual projection and perfectly tuned surround sound.Also includes original booklet with additional liner notes written by Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison You’re going to see all the parts being assembled; you’re going to hear for yourself what each musician adds to the sound. 'Oh, that’s what that person does.' And then everything gets put into effect together."

Even to this day, the movie is widely regarded as the finest concert film ever made. Itsintimate exploration of music production and the internecine dynamics between band members remains an inspiration for filmmakers the world over, from Spike Lee's very own Talking Heads concert project American Utopia to Edgar Wright's The Sparks Brothers.And I just love the fans,” she continued. “I actually believed that we were doing something good. I thought, ‘This is really spiritual; we’re really communicating some love here.’ So that was my feeling about it at the time. I couldn’t believe it when David said to us, ‘Oh, well, we’re not going to tour anymore because the movie’s gonna tour for us.’ I just scratched my head. Like, ‘What? That’s not the same!'”

A record as essential as the first five Talking Heads LPs, Stop Making Sense remains the perfect live album. Same as it ever was. Showcase and Showcase Cinema de Lux are owned and operated by National Amusements, Inc., a world leader in the motion picture exhibition industry operating 839 screens in the US, UK, Argentina and Brazil. National Amusements delivers a superior entertainment experience in cinemas around the world under its Showcase, Multiplex, Showcase Cinema de Lux and UCI brands. Based in Massachusetts, National Amusements is a closely held company operating under the third generation of leadership by the Redstone family. National Amusements is the parent company of Paramount Global. When this film was first released, there was much talk about which cinemas were going to be able to show it at “concert volume”; it would be great if they could all provide that now, but it’s not vital. The pleasure of the music is overpowering. Showcase and Showcase Cinema de Lux are committed to providing you with the ultimate film-going experience.

On The Go

When you do something like this there is the potential to push it too far,"says Harrison. "A lot of time people will get so excited about new technology that they manipulate it so it doesn’t have the classic sound it did before. Demme eventually realised Talking Heads on film as part of their 1983 Speaking in Tongues tour. The footage was captured at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles and broke new ground in terms of its immersion, intimacy and its dynamic understanding of live music mechanics. This energy only arises when there is steadfast confidence in a visionary idea. At no point do you feel like the band or Demme hummed and hawed over whether the opening of Byrne alone in a solo capacity was too low-key, whether the enlarged suit might be distracting, or even whether the steady introduction of new elements might become fraught and jarring. It feels simply like pure, unbridled creative flow, executed with sincerity and passion. That is an infectious force to behold—so infectious, in fact, that all the subtle messages behind the orchestration, the Japanese theatre inspirations, and commentary on culture are subsumed within a simple blunderbuss of fun.