Stop Making Sense, a review by Antares
Stop Making Sense (1984)
95/100 - I am awash in a sea of shame. Back in the late 70's, a friend turned me on to the Talking Heads and they instantly became my favorite band during the ensuing 80's. So for me to have never seen this outstanding concert film is incredibly embarrassing. What amazed me most about the concert was how polished and expressive the band had become in just 5 short years. I had seen them live in August 1979, as they were promoting their third album,
Fear of Music, and they pretty much just stood still behind their microphones and played their instruments. Don't get me wrong, it was one of the best concerts I've ever attended, but man, I wish I had seen them on their
Speaking in Tongues tour now! Demme does an amazing job of capturing the intensity of the performances with many different camera angles, which put the viewer right on stage with the band. What I found most incredible was the fact that never once do you see any of the other cameras he's using in any one shot. It's as if they were invisible. It's a shame that all concert films aren't shot in this manner. It was refreshing not to have to listen to inane interviews with either ego-maniacal band members or drugged out, wasted concert goers. There's no back stage footage or scenes of the roadies and sound crew doing sound checks in the empty concert hall, before the show. This is how I want my concert films!!!
As for the music... well ... it's the Talking Heads!!!! They were the most creative band of the 80's and it shows here. I loved the way the film began with just David Byrne coming out on stage with a small boom box and playing
Psycho Killer. Usually it irks me to no end when a performer messes around with the way they play their most famous songs, but here, it works magnificently as it it acts as a precursor to the introduction of other band members, each coming on stage one at a time with each successive song. The playlist for this concert was heavily ladened with songs from the
Speaking in Tongues album, and while it's a very good album, it means that a few other great songs aren't going to be played. That is why I give this film a score just south of perfection. I could have done without the token Tom Tom Club song, catchy as it is, because I'd much rather have heard
The Great Curve or
For Artists Only instead. The latter, a song which would have fit nicely right after the four song introduction set I mentioned, would have acted as a bridge to the conceptual performance that was to follow.
What the color coding means...
Teal = Masterpiece
Dark Green = Classic or someday will be
Lime Green = A good, entertaining film
Orange = Average
Red = Cinemuck
Brown = The color of crap, which this film is(From Antares' Short Summations on July 26th, 2013)
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May 17, 2024, 09:57:29 AM
