Stop Making Sense
Jonathan Demme, USA, 1984o
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. In this concert film, the Talking Heads hardly talk, don't stop, and always make sense.
Forty years ago, Jonathan Demme's concert film with the Talking Heads was released in cinemas. It showed the band at the height of their powers and burnt itself into the memory through the presence (and the oversized suit) of lead singer David Byrne alone. The re-release with digitally remastered picture and sound confirms the outstanding form of all those involved. From Byrne's solo overture with Psycho Killer to the finale with Take Me to the River and Crosseyed and Painless, the film forms a single upward curve in which Byrne's penetrating voice and stupendous athleticism as well as the precise funky beats and riffs of the eight-piece combo are the constants. The visual ideas are also grandiose: The stage setting and the band form up during the concert, the light changes and the screens in the background constantly create new moods, the band also harmonize in a rousing dance. One of the rare concert films that easily stands the test of time.
Andreas Furler