In December of 1983, a pioneering post-punk band and a budding filmmaker joined forces to make music and, ultimately, cinematic history. The result was a concert film called Stop Making Sense, a time capsule of the genre-bending quartet Talking Heads at the height of their creative powers.
Fast-forward 40 years, and a new restoration of the film is set to hit the big screen. Carried out by independent studio A24, the film was restored and remastered in IMAX format, offering fans a more immersive viewing experience than ever before. Audiences in Iowa can see the newly restored version of Stop Making Sense in theaters beginning Thursday, Sept. 28.
At the time of the recording of Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads was in the midst of a tour to promote their then-latest album Speaking in Tongues. The tour took the form of a career-spanning retrospective that merged music with visual and performance art. It was the last time Talking Heads toured together.
“It seemed like it had kind of a progression to it, a story,” lead vocalist David Byrne said following its screening at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. “And I think it occurred to us this could maybe work as a film. It’s got a beginning and a middle and an end. And we started thinking about who could direct this?”
That responsibility ultimately landed on the shoulders of Jonathan Demme, who later directed The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia (Demme won an Oscar for directing for The Silence of the Lambs).
Over the course of four shows, Demme strategically set up different camera angles to capture every facet of the band’s performance, cutting between wide shots and intimate close-ups that plunged viewers directly onto the stage.
Demme recognized the narrative arc of the show, which starts small and gradually builds towards a musical (and emotional) crescendo.
The narrative starts in the opening scene of Stop Making Sense, in which Byrne approaches the stage to perform a solo rendition of Talking Heads’ first single “Psycho Killer.” The music here is deceptively simple, with Byrne wielding nothing more than a drum machine and an acoustic guitar.
It doesn’t take long for the stripped-down song to develop a powerful, trance-like quality — thanks to his otherworldly stage presence and unfettered physicality.
Byrne, ever the showman, doesn’t just dance to the music as he performs. He convulses, twitches and thrashes around, as if being controlled by an offstage puppeteer. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime (yes, pun intended!) performance that only grows in its hypnotic power as the show goes on.
To be clear, Stop Making Sense is not a one-man show — and Talking Heads was not a one-man band. Byrne’s bandmates — bassist Tina Weymouth, drummer Chris Frantz and keyboardist Jerry Harrison — were equally crucial to the group’s success.
Talking Heads made music for just a few more years before Byrne’s acrimonious departure, in 1991. But in Stop Making Sense, the talents of all four members working in tandem were on full display.
Following the opening salvo of “Psycho Killer,” Weymouth, Frantz and Harrison join Byrne on stage, one by one. With each subsequent song, an additional band member is introduced, adding their talents to the musical mix.
Soon, all four members of Talking Heads are assembled, but the on-stage introductions continue for a talented array of supporting musicians. By the end of the show, the band’s expanded lineup consists of backing vocalists Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir and keyboardist Bernie Worrell.
As Byrne’s cadre of post-punk compatriots grows, so too does the complexity of the music — shifting to incorporate a range of genres that include rock, funk, worldbeat and dance.
Byrne’s onstage antics likewise evolve as the film progresses. From taking a lamp as a dance partner in “This Must Be the Place” to donning a cartoonishly oversized business suit in “Girlfriend Is Better,” Byrne routinely incorporated visual storytelling to complement and elevate the music.
Byrne’s “big suit” even made a comeback in the leadup to the film’s re-release! In a newly shot promo from distributor A24, Byrne, now in his early 70s, picks up the iconic suit from the dry cleaners after 40 long years.
That promo got Talking Heads fans, well… talking. Not only did it mark the official announcement of the re-release of Stop Making Sense, but Byrne’s willingness to try on old memories left the door open for a long-awaited Talking Heads reunion.
Sure enough, when the restoration premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, Byrne was joined on stage by Weymouth, Frantz and Harrison. Besides their 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, it was the first time all four band members appeared together since their infamously bad breakup.
It makes sense for the re-release of Stop Making Sense to be the bridge that finally brings the bandmates back together. More than just a showcase of great music, the film is really a celebration of creativity, collaboration and community.
Perhaps that’s why Stop Making Sense is often hailed as one of the greatest concert movies of all time. Watching the film, you may find yourself jumping out of your seat and dancing right in the middle of the theater.
After all, the footage may be 40 years old, but the energy and emotion of Stop Making Sense is the same as it ever was.