View source for Stop Making Sense

{{Short description|1984 concert film by Jonathan Demme}}
{{For|the soundtrack|Stop Making Sense (album)}}
{{Hatnote|Corresponding Wikipedia article: [[Wikipedia:Stop Making Sense|Stop Making Sense]]}}
{{Infobox film
| image          = Stop Making Sense Poster.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Jonathan Demme]]
| name           = Stop Making Sense
| producer       = [[Gary Goetzman]], [[Gary Kurfirst]]
| writer         = [[Talking Heads]]<br />Jonathan Demme
| starring       = Talking Heads
| music          = Talking Heads
| cinematography = [[Jordan Cronenweth]]
| editing        = [[Lisa Day]]
| studio         = [[Arnold Stiefel|Arnold Stiefel Company]]
| distributor    = [[Cinecom|Cinecom International Films]]<br>[[Island Records|Island Alive Releasing]]
| released       = {{Film date|1984|4|24|[[San Francisco International Film Festival|SFIFF]]|1984|10|19|United States}}
| runtime        = 88 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $1.2 million
| gross          = (Original 1984 Release) $5,389,431
}}

'''''Stop Making Sense''''' is a concert film released by [[Talking Heads]] in 1984, directed by [[Jonathan Demme]]. It was shot over four nights at Hollywood's [[Pantages Theatre]] in December 1983 at the end of the American leg of the [[Speaking in Tongues Tour|tour]] for ''[[Speaking in Tongues]]''. ''Stop Making Sense'' includes performances of songs from each Talking Heads album so far, as well as some songs from 1981 side projects [[The Catherine Wheel]] and [[Tom Tom Club (album)|Tom Tom Club]].

The band raised the budget of $1.2 million themselves. The four core members of Talking Heads are joined by the backing singers [[Lynn Mabry]] and [[Ednah Holt]], the guitarist [[Alex Weir]], the keyboardist [[Bernie Worrell]] and the percussionist [[Steve Scales]]. ''Stop Making Sense'' is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest concert films of all time. The film is a pioneering example of the use of early digital audio techniques. In 2021, it was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

==Plot==
Lead singer [[David Byrne]] walks on to a bare stage with a portable cassette tape player and an acoustic guitar. He introduces ''[[Psycho Killer]]'' by saying he wants to play a tape, but in reality a [[Wikipedia:Roland TR-808|Roland TR-808]] drum machine starts playing from the mixing board. The gunshot-like beats cause Byrne to stagger "like [[Wikipedia:Jean-Paul Belmondo|Jean-Paul Belmondo]] in the final minutes of ''[[Wikipedia:Breathless (1960 film)|Breathless]]'', a hero succumbing, surprised, to violence that he'd thought he was prepared for."

With each successive song, Byrne is joined by more members of the band: first by [[Tina Weymouth]] for ''[[Heaven]]'' (with [[Lynn Mabry]] providing harmony vocals from backstage), second by [[Chris Frantz]] for ''[[Thank You for Sending Me an Angel]]'', and third by [[Jerry Harrison]] for ''[[Found a Job]]''. Performance equipment is wheeled out and added to the set to accommodate the additional musicians: back-up singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, keyboardist [[Bernie Worrell]], percussionist Steve Scales, and guitarist [[Alex Weir]]. The first song to feature the entire lineup is ''[[Burning Down the House]]'', although the original 1985 RCA/Columbia Home Video release (which featured three additional songs in two performances edited into the film) has the entire band (minus Worrell) performing ''[[Cities]]'' before this song. Byrne leaves the stage at one point for a costume change, during which the Weymouth–Frantz-led side-band [[Tom Tom Club]] perform their song ''[[Genius of Love]]''. The band also performs two songs from Byrne's soundtrack album ''[[The Catherine Wheel]]'', ''[[What a Day That Was]]'' and (as a bonus song on the home video release) ''[[Big Business]]''.

The film includes Byrne's "[[Big Suit|big suit]]", an absurdly large business suit that he wears for the song''[[Girlfriend Is Better]]''. The suit was partly inspired by [[Wikipedia:Noh|Noh]] theatre styles, and became an icon not only of the film – as it appears on the movie poster, for instance – but of Byrne himself. Byrne said: "I was in Japan in between tours and I was checking out traditional Japanese theater – [[Wikipedia:Kabuki|Kabuki]], Noh, [[Wikipedia:Bunraku|Bunraku]] – and I was wondering what to wear on our upcoming tour. A fashion designer friend (Jurgen Lehl) said in his typically droll manner, 'Well, David, everything is bigger on stage.' He was referring to gestures and all that, but I applied the idea to a businessman's suit." [[Wikipedia:Pauline Kael|Pauline Kael]] stated in her review: "When he comes on wearing a boxlike 'big suit' – his body lost inside this form that sticks out around him like the costumes in Noh plays, or like [[Wikipedia:Beuys|Beuys]]' large suit of felt that hangs off a wall – it's a perfect psychological fit." On the DVD he gives his reasoning behind the suit: "I wanted my head to appear smaller and the easiest way to do that was to make my body bigger, because music is very physical and often the body understands it before the head."

The film's title is derived from a lyric in the song ''[[Girlfriend Is Better.]]''

==Setlist==
===DVD and Blu-ray===
{{Track listing
| headline      = 
| extra_column  = 
| total_length  =

| all_writing   = [[David Byrne]], [[Chris Frantz]], [[Jerry Harrison]], [[Tina Weymouth]], except where noted.
| all_lyrics    = 
| all_music     =

| title_width   = 
| writing_width = 
| music_width   = 
| lyrics_width  = 
| extra_width   =

| title1        = [[Psycho Killer]]
| writer1       = Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth

| title2        = [[Heaven]]
| writer2       = Byrne, Harrison

| title3        = [[Thank You for Sending Me an Angel]]
| writer3       = Byrne

| title4        = [[Found a Job]]
| writer4       = Byrne

| title5        = [[Slippery People]]
| writer5       =

| title6        = [[Burning Down the House]]
| writer6       =

| title7        = [[Life During Wartime]]
| writer7       =

| title8        = [[Making Flippy Floppy]]
| writer8       =

| title9        = [[Swamp]]
| writer9       =

| title10       = [[What a Day That Was]]
| writer10      = Byrne

| title11       = [[This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)]]
| writer11      =

| title12       = [[Once in a Lifetime]]
| writer12      = Byrne, [[Brian Eno]], Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth

| title13       = [[Genius of Love]]
| writer13      = Weymouth, Frantz, [[Adrian Belew]], [[Steven Stanley]] (as [[Tom Tom Club]])

| title14       = [[Girlfriend Is Better]]
| writer14      =

| title15       = [[Take Me to the River]]
| writer15      = [[Al Green]], [[Wikipedia: Mabon "Teenie" Hodges|Mabon "Teenie" Hodges]]

| title16       = [[Crosseyed and Painless]]
| writer16      = Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth

}}

===VHS and LaserDisc===
{{Track listing
| headline      = 
| extra_column  = Note

| all_writing   = [[David Byrne]], [[Chris Frantz]], [[Jerry Harrison]], [[Tina Weymouth]], except where noted
| all_lyrics    = 
| all_music     =

| title_width   = 
| writing_width = 
| music_width   = 
| lyrics_width  = 
| extra_width   =

| title1        = [[Psycho Killer]]
| writer1       = Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth

| title2        = [[Heaven]]
| writer2       = Byrne, Harrison

| title3        = [[Thank You for Sending Me an Angel]]
| writer3       = Byrne

| title4        = [[Found a Job]]
| writer4       = Byrne

| title5        = [[Slippery People]]
| writer5       =

| title6        = [[Cities]]
| writer6       = Byrne
| extra6        = *

| title7        = [[Burning Down the House]]
| writer7       =

| title8        = [[Life During Wartime]]
| writer8       =

| title9        = [[Making Flippy Floppy]]
| writer9       =

| title10       = [[Swamp]]
| writer10      =

| title11       = [[What a Day That Was]]
| writer11      = Byrne

| title12       = [[This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)]]
| writer12      =

| title13       = [[Once in a Lifetime]]
| writer13      = Byrne, [[Brian Eno]], Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth

| title14       = [[Big Business]]
| writer14      = Byrne, [[John Chernoff]]
| extra14       = *

| title15       = [[I Zimbra]]
| writer15      = Byrne, Eno, [[Hugo Ball]]
| extra15       = *

| title16       = [[Genius of Love]]
| writer16      = Weymouth, Frantz, [[Adrian Belew]], [[Steven Stanley]] (as [[Tom Tom Club]])

| title17       = [[Girlfriend Is Better]]
| writer17      =

| title18       = [[Take Me to the River]]
| writer18      = [[Al Green]], [[Wikipedia:Mabon "Teenie" Hodges|Mabon "Teenie" Hodges]]

| title19       = [[Crosseyed and Painless]]
| writer19      = Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth

}}

<nowiki>*</nowiki>Songs available as extra features on DVD/Blu-ray releases, but not part of the main feature.

==Personnel==
The following are in order of appearance.
* [[David Byrne]] – lead vocals, guitar
* [[Tina Weymouth]] – bass, keyboard bass, guitar, lead vocals for ''Genius of Love''
* [[Chris Frantz]] – drums, vocals for ''Genius of Love'' and ''Burning Down the House''
* [[Jerry Harrison]] – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
* [[Steve Scales]] – percussion, backing vocals
* [[Lynn Mabry]] – backing vocals
* [[Ednah Holt]] – backing vocals
* [[Alex Weir]] – guitar, backing vocals
* [[Bernie Worrell]] – keyboards

==Filming==
The filming of ''Stop Making Sense'' spanned four live shows at the [[Pantages Theatre]] in [[Los Angeles]] between December 13 and 16, 1983. Initially, three nights were booked but a fourth night, December 16, was added for additional filming. Although the film was originally recorded using analog techniques, it was later transferred and then digitally edited and mixed using a Sony PCM-3324 24-track digital recorder. Demme has stated that one night of shooting was dedicated almost entirely to wide shots from a distance, to minimize the intrusion of cameras on stage. Demme had considered additional shooting on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theatre, but the band declined to do this, as they thought the lack of audience response would have hindered the energy of their performance. Before the shooting of the movie, David Byrne implored the band to wear neutral-coloured clothing so the stage lights would not illuminate anything too distinctive. However, Frantz's laundry had not come back in time for the first show at the Pantages, and so he wore a turquoise-colored polo shirt for all three nights for continuity.

Demme also considered including more shots of the audience reacting to the performance, as is traditional in concert films. However, he discovered that filming the audience required additional lighting, which inhibited the audience's energy. This in turn made the band feel insecure and thus led to "the worst Talking Heads performance in the history of the band's career". The only direct audience shots in the film occur at the very end, during ''[[Crosseyed and Painless]]''.

==Releases==
The film premiered during the [[San Francisco International Film Festival]] on April 24, 1984, and entered commercial release in the United States on October 19, 1984.

When the film was first released on home video, the songs ''[[Cities]]'' and ''[[Big Business / I Zimbra]]'' were restored to the performance, thus forming what was dubbed the "special edition" of the film. For the 1999 re-release, these songs were no longer included in sequence with the rest of the footage. It and subsequent video and DVD releases have placed these songs after the film in an unrestored full-frame version.

The film has been released on Blu-ray, widescreen DVD, VHS in both fullscreen and widescreen versions, and at one point Laserdisc (in Japan).

A24 has also released a 4K Collector's Edition. The home video release includes an extended cut overseen by the members of Talking Heads, with the performances of ''[[Cities]]'' and ''[[Big Business / I Zimbra]]'': the original negatives had been lost, but new edits were compiled using the restored footage from the cameras, including unseen footage. Jonathan Demme's own extended cut featuring the missing songs, originally released on VHS and LaserDisc, is also included.

== 2023 Restoration ==
As part of the deal with the film's original distributor, Cinecom, the ownership of the rights to ''Stop Making Sense'' reverted back to Byrne, Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison shortly before the 40th anniversary of its original release. Hoping to commemorate the occasion, the group sought out potential companies to partner with on a re-release, eventually settling on [[A24]]. A24 announced they had obtained the distribution rights in March 2023, and revealed plans to release a 4k restoration in theaters the following September.

[[James Mockoski]], a restoration supervisor who primarily worked with Zoetrope studios, was called in by A24. Although seeking out as much of the original materials as possible for the restoration, it was soon reveled that the original [[Negative (photography)|negative]] for the film was missing. For the 1999 re-release of the film, had used scans made from a "copy of a copy" of the film that Demme had donated to the University of Michigan.<ref name=":0">Baine, Wallace. “UCSC Alum’s Detective Work Revives Classic Talking Heads Concert Film.” ''Lookout Santa Cruz'', 11 July 2024, lookout.co/ucsc-alums-detective-work-revives-classic-talking-heads-concert-film/. Accessed 18 July 2024.</ref> Mockoski remarked in a Rolling Stone write up of the restoration that "I wanted to know what they were working with, and she told me that the Talking Heads’ manager [Tomas Cookman] had got everything in from the previous distributor. They sent me a list, and there were almost no film elements included. There might have been, like, one screening print, and that was it. I asked, ‘So, where’s the negative?’ And the answer was, ‘Well, it should all be there.’ Which was … not quite the case. Not at all.”<ref>Fear, David. “Big Suits, Lost Tapes, and Dancing Heads: Inside A24’S Incredible “Stop Making Sense” Restoration.” ''Rolling Stone'', 27 Sept. 2023, www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/stop-making-sense-talking-heads-restoration-david-byrne-a24-40th-anniversary-1234828312/.</ref>

After an extensive search, the original negative for the film was found in an [[Wikipedia:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] film vault, despite MGM not having been involved in the making of the film. The story goes that Mockoski, after exhausting all other options, and even beginning some restoration work on the "copy of a copy" film, called a contact he knew at the vault. Although the vault doubted they had the film in the collection, they still agreed to check. After about 10 minutes, Mockoski recieved a text message from the vault with a photo of the original negative and the message "It’s just been sitting here for 30 years. It’s never been checked out."<ref name=":0" /> 

Similarly, Eric Thorgren and Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison planned to create new [[Dolby Atmos]] sound mixes, initially using materials from the previous distributor and [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Records]]. However, they ran into difficulty when they discovered they did not have the original audience tracks: the original audio was stored in the library of [[Wikipedia:Todd-AO|Todd-AO]], which had since gone out of business and its building demolished. Eventually, it was discovered that Todd-AO's collection was claimed by [[Wikipedia:Sony|Sony]], who transported it to a warehouse in Kansas, where the original audio tracks were found in time to be included in the restoration. Using these original tracks, as well as the post-production overdubs originally overseen by Demme to fix mistakes in the film's recording, Thorgren and Harrison painstakingly remastered the film's sound.

The studio premiered the new restoration on September 11, 2023, in 4K on [[Wikipedia:IMAX|IMAX]] at the [[2023 Toronto International Film Festival]], followed by a Q&A hosted by [[Spike Lee]] with Byrne, Weymouth, Frantz and Harrison in attendance, reuniting the group for the first time since their induction into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2002. 

The film entered first as an exclusive IMAX exhibition on September 22, 2023, before heading to conventional theaters on September 29, 2023, globally. [[Rhino Entertainment]] also released a new remaster of the [[Stop Making Sense (album)|film's soundtrack]], which includes the complete concert for the first time, on vinyl and digitally on August 18, 2023.

==Reception==
On review aggregator [[Wikipedia:Rotten Tomatoes|Rotten Tomatoes]], ''Stop Making Sense'' holds an [[Wikipedia:List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes|approval rating of 100%]] based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 9.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Jonathan Demme's ''Stop Making Sense'' captures the energetic, unpredictable live act of peak Talking Heads with colour and visual wit". It won the [[Wikipedia:National Society of Film Critics|National Society of Film Critics]] Award for best non-fiction film in 1984.

The film is widely regarded as one of the finest concert films ever made. [[Wikipedia:Leonard Maltin|Leonard Maltin]] gave it four out of four, describing it as "brilliantly conceived, shot, edited and performed" and "one of the greatest rock movies ever made." [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film a three-and-a-half star rating, writing that "the {{sic|overwelming}} impression throughout ''Stop Making Sense'' is of enormous energy, of life being lived at a joyous high...It's a live show with elements of ''[[Wikipedia:Metropolis (1927 film)|Metropolis]]''...But the film's peak moments come through Byrne's simple physical presence. He jogs in place with his sidemen; he runs around the stage; he seems so happy to be alive and making music...He serves as a reminder of how sour and weary and strung-out many rock bands have become."

[[Danny Peary]] described ''Stop Making Sense'' as "Riveting...What takes place on stage will make even the most sceptical into Talking Heads converts...[The] performances are invariably exciting, Byrne's lyrics are intriguing. Byrne, his head moving rhythmically as if he had just had shock treatments, is spellbinding – what a talent!...Byrne is known for his belief that music should be performed in an interesting, ''visual'' manner, and this should make him proud." [[Robert Christgau]] noted the "sinuous, almost elegant clarity" of Demme's direction, while writing that the film had pushed the "limits to how great a rock concert movie can be ... as far as they were liable to go." Christgau described it as "the finest concert film" while [[Pauline Kael]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' described it as "close to perfection".

In 1985, the film received the Grand Prix for Best Film at [[Film Fest Gent]].

==Legacy==
The movie version of ''[[Once in a Lifetime]]'' appeared over the opening credits of the 1986 comedy film ''[[Down and Out in Beverly Hills]]''.

''Stop Making Sense'' was parodied in an episode of the comedy series ''[[Documentary Now!]]''. In the second-season episode "Final Transmission", the show sees the New Wave band Test Pattern play its final concert. It includes references to the staging and music styles of Talking Heads, with the band's lead singer (played by [[Fred Armisen]] who would later interview Talking Heads at the Pantages Theater in 2024 for a 40th anniversary screening) parodying Byrne. Gizmodo screened the episode to Frantz and Weymouth in a video released online, where they both expressed amusement and shock at the level of detail gone into parodying the film.

The iconic image of Byrne's [[Big Suit|big suit]] has been parodied on multiple occasions, including a spoof by [[Rich Hall]] impersonating Byrne and his big suit on an episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. Byrne himself made light of his massive suit during an appearance on ''[[The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]]'', where he appeared in a fake ad for "David Byrne's Giant Suit Emporium" promoting his new clothing store while insisting he did not sell giant suits like the one he wore in ''Stop Making Sense''. Byrne makes an appearance in the children's musical comedy special ''[[John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch]]'' performing an original song alongside child performer Lexi Perkel. At one point, Byrne and Perkel wear matching pink suits, Perkel's being several sizes too large for her, in reference to ''Stop Making Sense''.

''Stop Making Sense'' is regularly screened as a cult film in [[Wikipedia:revival house|revival house]]s throughout the world. [[Wikipedia:The Astor Theatre, Melbourne|The Astor Theatre]] in Melbourne, Australia has made a tradition of playing it as part of a "Stop Making Sense Dance Party" every January since 2016. Dancing and audience participation is encouraged, with many turning up in costume and bringing props.

In 2021, ''Stop Making Sense'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

In January 2024, [[A24 Music]] announced a tribute album called ''[[Everyone's Getting Involved|Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense]]'', set for release on May 17. The album features 16 bands and artists, including [[Paramore]], [[Lorde]], and [[Miley Cyrus]], covering the ''Stop Making Sense'' tracklist in order.

==Soundtrack==
{{Main|Stop Making Sense (album){{!}}''Stop Making Sense'' (album)}}


[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:Concert films]]
[[Category:Stop Making Sense]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jonathan Demme]]
[[Category:Talking Heads concerts]]