Stop Making Sense, Revisited
I've been a fan of 1984's STOP MAKING SENSE, the brilliant Talking Heads concert film, since MTV ran the clip of "Once in a Lifetime", playing it endlessly in '84/'85. Soon after, I got my first VCR and bought the RCA VHS, which I also played endlessly, to the point that the tape almost broke. Regrettably, I never got to see the movie on the big screen at that time, letting several opportunities pass as it played midnights at the local arthouse, The Carefree. Not sure why.
I know every beat, every cut of it. I've seen it enough times to count the seconds in anticipation before guitarist Alex Weir looks over his shoulder at keyboardist Bernie Worrell, who grooves his head and shoulders in an acknowledging bob. I have heard a few different audio mixes (found on the DVDs and Blu-rays), noting something different each time.
This was especially interesting as I was watching A24's restoration re-release (derived from the long missing original negative) back in September at the Cinemark in Boca Raton. Worrell and Jerry Harrison's keyboards made some "new" (to me) sounds. Steve Scales' percussion seemed to have more thunder, as did Chris Frantz's drums. Back up singers Edna Holt and Lynn Mabrey's voices filled the theater with a bellowing excitement that surpassed what I'd experienced at home. The big screen allowed me to catch clearer views of bassist Tina Weymouth's and mastermind David Byrne's facial expressions. The film was as familiar as anything I've ever seen or heard, yet a whole new experience.
That's great art. Director Jonathan Demme really did create something unique. As my friend Stephen remarked as we were driving back, it's a movie in its own genre. Concert documentaries are often static and even sterile. When filmmakers go for energy it's too frantic, for style it's too arty. Regardless of how good the performance is. Demme knows exactly what to capture and when. How long to hold a shot. How not to be obtrusive. He did his homework, initially inspired by a performance he and producer Gary Goetzman witnessed on the previous TH tour. He also seemed to form some kind of telepathic bond with the musicians, a symbiosis I doubt I'll ever see elsewhere. It's that special. Filled with joy. Incredible energy.
I am sorry I missed the IMAX presentations, the first of which was followed by a simulcast of the reunited quartet being interviewed by Spike Lee in Toronto, but just having STOP MAKING SENSE on a standard theater screen was enough to realize a long held desire, to see what I always recognized as cinema in a real cinema. A film that is electric enough to work as a live concert, and there have been many reports of folks getting up and dancing in the aisles. I almost did that myself.
I, like so many others, am holding out the slender hope that the quartet, whose eventual break up in the early '90s was less than amicable, will play together again. But just seeing them in the same room, sharing in the joy of recollection of their beautiful creation, is quite encouraging and satisfying. Possibly enough.
P.S. - This theatrical remastered version does not feature the bonus songs, "Cities" and the medley of "Big Business" and "I Zimbra", which were edited out of the original film but re-inserted into it for the original VHS. They have since been available as extras on subsequent disc releases. Their audio was remastered for the recent soundtrack re-release.
While maybe the film flows better without them, it still would be cool to finally see some cleaned up footage of these performances, which are as bouncy as anything else in the movie. Maybe on the new Blu or 4K to come?
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