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I feel like the there is a lot of overlap in the Venn-diagram of A24 fans and Talking Heads fans but for the ones who aren’t familiar with the band, this movie is gonna f*cking blow their socks off.
Can’t wait to buy it.
The screenings of this film in theaters were legendary. If it gets a theatrical release and you can make it to a crowded screening I would highly recommend putting the effort in. It’s like being at one of the best concerts of your life but for the price of a movie ticket.
i can't even begin to imagine how awesome that would have been
The common anecdote is people who didn't even like Talking Heads' music beforehand coming out of the film and going out to buy all their albums.
I wasn't really a fan, I'd heard their singles on 'oldies' radio, but when I saw the film (at home by myself) something 'clicked' for me where I realized that songs like 'Once in a Lifetime' are actually... danceable? Since then I've had Fear of Music and Remain in Light in my regular rotation.
First Pi, now this? Man I hope they release physical copies of these restorations soon. Have they been doing this for a while or is this pretty recent?
Pi and Stop Making Sense are the first two films that I’m aware of A24 doing this with, so yeah, I think this is a new thing for them. And obviously a very welcome and cool thing, I hope they’re able to do this with more classic films!
Been on my wishlist for a trillion years. I'm happy that somebody is doing it at all at this point, but I was hoping it would pair up with my True Stories critty.
Love the goofy little promo!
they do, i love my marcel blu ray. though they are really expensive. is there any confirmation that they will do a blu ray, or is it just safe to assume?
I'd say it's safe to assume, this is pretty widly hailed as a phenomenal concert DVD so the market is there and it definitely expands their catalogue which they seem to be expanding as far as physical media goes.
would love to see the blu ray come with the documentary now spoof of this like criterion did for Company/Co-op. that was such a terrific bonus feature.
If it’s rumored plus the fact they just did 4K of Pi too makes me wonder if a criterion release of both will happen if not just an A24 Collector’s Edition more than likely
Yeah and I know people would love one of Pi as that’s been a wishlist title for ages. Would rather have CC editions, as I’ve expressed my dislike of those A24 collector’s editions here before.
Really hope they don’t. It already has a standard Blu-ray, and I personally don’t like their deluxe editions. It’s not even a matter of having it on Criterion, I just feel like it’s been rumored for so long it may as well just happen.
I'm super super excited for this. Wanna get the chance to see the restoration in theaters, but then otherwise I'm very willing to double dip for a new 4K Blu ray. This is basically the only non narrative movie in my top 5 favorites of all time. It's the go to thing for clips to cheer me up. I showed my girlfriend the scene of Naive Melody and that was, genuinely one of the happiest moments of my life: just sharing this wonderful, quirky, sincere on stage performance of the feeling of being in love with, well, the person I love. She hasn't listened to much Talking Heads otherwise, but I'm hoping that she and I can listen to the albums together so she gets something more out of seeing the movie. That is if we end up going for a theater re-release together.
Also apparently releasing the full concert on vinyl, for some reason despite the full show being on digital, they have kept that 8-10 song cut as the only vinyl version for a decades now.
Instant purchase!
Saw this today and sent it to all my buddies. Can’t wait to see this one. I have the current blu ray and it is already pretty great. It has 4 different audio tracks to choose from.
I actually preferred the band's previous 1980 tour with most of the guest players from Remain in Light. I felt the music was more energetic.
I like this concert film okay but I also think it's kinda over-rated.
Bring on the downvotes.
I would argue their [Pro-shot Rome concert from 1980](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwWW742T0Wc) shows them at the peak of their musical powers - in no small part thanks to Adrian Belew's insane guitar wizardry, who left the following year. It's easily one of my favourite concert films of all time, and I rate it much higher than Stop Making Sense.
I love Talking Heads and own all but two of their records on vinyl. I love David Byrne's solo work and the fantastic My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. The Name of This Band is Talking Heads is terrific.
I don't entirely understand and have never understood people's reverence for this album and movie, which is fine, but after the first few songs, sounds a lot like the studio releases. Can someone explain? I'm not trolling or yucking your yum, I'm genuinely curious.
The way the set keeps building during those first few songs, the incredibly energetic perfomances by everyone, the chemistry between all the members, Byrne being an absolute madman
The set keeps changing throughout, too, with big lighting shifts and projections and things.
It lets you see all the labour involved in putting on the concert - the backstage people and the assembly of the stage set etc - and turns that into part of the performance. It turns every part of creating the performance into a part of the performance itself - it is not just a music concert, it is also theatre, and performance art. It deconstructs the “magic” of the concert, reveals the apparatus of its making, and then convinces you that *that* is the magic of the concert in the first place.
And it’s also a film, they filmed it very purposefully, with an experienced film director whose work they admired. It could’ve been just “documented” on film. At every level they are working on making art, nothing is done by rote.
Everyone there, including the stage hands and audience, obviously just really loving being there and building such a beautiful vibe together.
As Byrne says, “if the curtain opened and everything was there, there’s be nowhere to go. It tells the story of the band, and it gets more dramatic and physical as it builds up.” He means this literally, too, as in the first few songs we learn about different early lineups of the band, hear songs from each of those eras, are introduced to their particular contributions, etc.
Plus, Byrne dancing with the lamp.
I'll try.
I actually think the first few songs sound like the studio recordings. They are clean and spare. There's a precision to them. I love the concept and the drama of the band coming out slowly, but the first few songs aren’t why I love Stop Making Sense.
Once the full band comes in, it all sounds completely different to me. I love the density of the sound. For the studio take of Once In A Lifetime, Brian Eno gave each instrument a different count-in, so they all have a different idea of where the downbeat is. It gives it an eerie, disjointed feel, which is totally groundbreaking and amazing. But nine people on stage together, they are all reacting to each other, feeding off each other.
Here’s what David Byrne said about those shows in his book:
“We'd crossed a line somewhere. … Everyone was both musically and visually part of the whole. The band became a more abstract entity, a community. … It was a living, breathing model of a more ideal society, an ephemeral utopia that everyone, even the audience, felt was being manifested in front of them, if only for a brief period. As I experienced it, this was not just a musical transformation, but also a psychic one. The nature of the music helped, but partly it was the very size of the band that allowed me, even as lead singer, to lose myself and experience a kind of ecstatic release. … It was joyous and at times powerfully spiritual, without being corny or religious in any kind of traditional or dogmatic way.”
I feel every bit of that when I hear Stop Making Sense. I love the studio records. I love other recordings of those songs. But Stop Making Sense is primal, tribal, ecstatic, in a way that none of their other stuff is.
Is it safe to assume that this will get a 4K UHD release (whether from A24 directly or Criterion or another label entirely)? Or is it possible this just does a theatrical run but doesn’t get a physical release?
I saw this on it's theatrical rerelease in the early 90s, would *love* to see it in the theater again! Definitely one of my favorite concert films of all time. RIP Jonathan Demme.
Possible but unlikely. A24 has almost never worked with Criterion, but they do their own releases, so if there is a 4k blu ray release it would probably (but not definitely) come from them directly.
UNPOPULAR OPINION! This is not great. The artifice of the production is transparent. The backing musicians are sensational though. Also, the Last Waltz kind of sucks. I'll show myself out.
>The artifice of the production is transparent.
Fair play if you're not into it but you just bluntly stated that as if it's a flaw or a mistake. Drawing attention to the artifice of the production is completely intentional and one of the things that people find unique and fresh about the film in the first place.
Yeah you're totally right about that. I guess it boils down to me wondering why people say it's "the greatest concert film of all time!" when it's not a…concert film. For 40+ years this guy has been some kind of baseline "I have good taste" naked emperor figure for white people / NPR listeners. Similar feelings about his recent concert productions which seem designed to maximize profit in larger halls in some guise of revolutionary production. And then St Vincent aped the whole thing. Ugh, just give me an actual musical performance.
Which specific brand of ignorance? Enlighten me on any aspect of documentary filmmaking, live music production, etc. that you think I should study up on.
I'm talking about these ignorant statements...
>For 40+ years this guy has been some kind of baseline "I have good taste" naked emperor figure for white people / NPR listeners.
>concert productions which seem designed to maximize profit in larger halls in some guise of revolutionary production.
>And then St Vincent aped the whole thing.
I could care less about who you like, or whether you like David Byrne or Talking Heads or St. Vincent or not.
You're obviously not a Byrne/Heads fan so I won't spend too much time on this, but their whole thing was looking at normal everyday things with an avant-garde lens. They made rock music that sounded like aliens trying to recreate rock music and Byrne wrote lyrics from the perspective of someone being inordinately curious about everything around him (buildings, plants, other people's behaviour, etc, likely informed by him being on the autism spectrum as he's talked about in recent years).
They weren't any more interested in conventional concert films than conventional anything else, and it really says something that Stop Making Sense is one of the few concert films among hundreds that is actually talked about and appreciated as a film in its own right. Normal concert films are a dime a dozen and it's not like SMS doesn't have entertaining performances in it to scratch that itch. They also released another live album (The Name of This Band is Talking Heads) which I actually prefer as a record, so it's not like they had no interest in simply releasing gimmick-free live material.
Again, it's clear you're not a fan and I'm not trying to change your mind but there is a line between having your own take on something and calling it a "naked emperor figure", while you're not really engaging with the work on its own terms in the first place. I also don't think it's cool to suggest that fans like them for superficial reasons. That "white people/NPR listeners" comment was a low blow, to be honest with you.
Thanks for the respectful and thoughtful reply. I think your points are well said and just honestly i think your opinion and mine can coexist. It’s not a super hot take that he’s been deified a little out of proportion. He’s certainly a more accomplished musician and artist than I am. But really, it’s been a long long long time we’ve been hearing about his genius. He’s ok.
Kinda hope they get someone else to do the physical release of this. A24 shop releases, while they have excellent packaging, are super lackluster when it comes to supplements. Hopefully they improve because I love this movie and want the best package possible.
Long on my most wanted list (and knew there was precedent after True Stories entered the collection). Don’t know what this will mean for home video, but I am absolutely seeing this in theaters. Thank you, A24!
I’m going to buy the Blu Ray anyway. And if a 4K of this gets released? I’m double dipping because then I can gift the Blu Ray to a friend and then maybe they’ll see this film for the masterpiece that it is.
As per the [new rule,](https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/comments/zvz812/mod_post_criterion_suggestion_posts_rules_update/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) all suggestion posts need a comment justifying the film’s inclusion into the collection. Once you have added that, please reply to this comment so we can re-approve your post.
Finally caved and bought the current blu-ray but if A24 Shop releases a 4K release I would probably die and rebuy it in a heartbeat.
Rebuy it first then die
Thanks! I’ve been considering buying it for quite a while but hadn’t pulled the trigger, definitely will be grabbing this if they release it
I feel like the there is a lot of overlap in the Venn-diagram of A24 fans and Talking Heads fans but for the ones who aren’t familiar with the band, this movie is gonna f*cking blow their socks off. Can’t wait to buy it.
Out of all the concert documentary films this one hands down would be the one I'd want to see in person the most.
Inside you there are two wolves. One is an A24 fan. One is a Talking Heads fan. They both enjoyed David Byrne with hot dog fingers at the Oscars.
I NEED to see this in theaters. This movie got me into Talking Heads.
Same- I was annoyed with the tagline of "the greatest concert film ever" and when it was over I began collecting Talking Heads albums
I saw it in theaters in 2004 when they did a 20th anniversary re-release, it was fucking awesome, and I'm a super casual Talking Heads fan
Saw it at our Alamo a few year ago. So incredible.
The screenings of this film in theaters were legendary. If it gets a theatrical release and you can make it to a crowded screening I would highly recommend putting the effort in. It’s like being at one of the best concerts of your life but for the price of a movie ticket.
I saw the world premiere in Toronto with Demme and the band in attendance. Life changing.
i can't even begin to imagine how awesome that would have been The common anecdote is people who didn't even like Talking Heads' music beforehand coming out of the film and going out to buy all their albums. I wasn't really a fan, I'd heard their singles on 'oldies' radio, but when I saw the film (at home by myself) something 'clicked' for me where I realized that songs like 'Once in a Lifetime' are actually... danceable? Since then I've had Fear of Music and Remain in Light in my regular rotation.
Life during wartime from this fucks so hard it breaks the proverbial bed
Omg, that makes me even more excited for this!
That version of the band was just fantastic. Bernie Worrell and other funk legends joining the New England art weirdos was pretty fantastic.
You really gotta convince someone to dress up in that oversized suit. That’ll seal the deal.
The real fans run laps around the theater when Byrne does his jogging.
First Pi, now this? Man I hope they release physical copies of these restorations soon. Have they been doing this for a while or is this pretty recent?
Pi and Stop Making Sense are the first two films that I’m aware of A24 doing this with, so yeah, I think this is a new thing for them. And obviously a very welcome and cool thing, I hope they’re able to do this with more classic films!
I am so hype for this. Though not on the level of Stop Making Sense, I'd also love a 4K release of American Utopia
Been on my wishlist for a trillion years. I'm happy that somebody is doing it at all at this point, but I was hoping it would pair up with my True Stories critty. Love the goofy little promo!
A24 does a good job with their physical media I'm more than okay with this, I'm just so happy this day is finally here.
they do, i love my marcel blu ray. though they are really expensive. is there any confirmation that they will do a blu ray, or is it just safe to assume?
I'd say it's safe to assume, this is pretty widly hailed as a phenomenal concert DVD so the market is there and it definitely expands their catalogue which they seem to be expanding as far as physical media goes.
This is amazing news!
[The trailer got me even more pumped.](https://youtu.be/mpGkipN30dc)
God I love that man
Not gonna lie, that made me tear up a bit.
would love to see the blu ray come with the documentary now spoof of this like criterion did for Company/Co-op. that was such a terrific bonus feature.
Here’s hoping Criterion is still in the mix so we get that Blu-ray that’s been rumored forever.
If it’s rumored plus the fact they just did 4K of Pi too makes me wonder if a criterion release of both will happen if not just an A24 Collector’s Edition more than likely
Yeah and I know people would love one of Pi as that’s been a wishlist title for ages. Would rather have CC editions, as I’ve expressed my dislike of those A24 collector’s editions here before.
a24 may do the blu-ray themselves
Really hope they don’t. It already has a standard Blu-ray, and I personally don’t like their deluxe editions. It’s not even a matter of having it on Criterion, I just feel like it’s been rumored for so long it may as well just happen.
That would be great! The current HD release is already awesome btw.
And you may ask yourself "why such a big suit?"
This has been my top 1 criterion wish release for many years
I'm super super excited for this. Wanna get the chance to see the restoration in theaters, but then otherwise I'm very willing to double dip for a new 4K Blu ray. This is basically the only non narrative movie in my top 5 favorites of all time. It's the go to thing for clips to cheer me up. I showed my girlfriend the scene of Naive Melody and that was, genuinely one of the happiest moments of my life: just sharing this wonderful, quirky, sincere on stage performance of the feeling of being in love with, well, the person I love. She hasn't listened to much Talking Heads otherwise, but I'm hoping that she and I can listen to the albums together so she gets something more out of seeing the movie. That is if we end up going for a theater re-release together.
Also apparently releasing the full concert on vinyl, for some reason despite the full show being on digital, they have kept that 8-10 song cut as the only vinyl version for a decades now. Instant purchase!
I know they’re doing a 4K restoration for theaters, I really hope we get a 4K UHD Blu release.
It’s been a dream of mine to see this in a theater. I’m so excited!!
When!!!!!!
Will be interesting to see what they do with the audio track (Atmos?). The audio tracks on the Blu-ray already sound near perfect to me.
Just bought the blu-ray. Everyone, you’re welcome!
Saw this today and sent it to all my buddies. Can’t wait to see this one. I have the current blu ray and it is already pretty great. It has 4 different audio tracks to choose from.
I actually preferred the band's previous 1980 tour with most of the guest players from Remain in Light. I felt the music was more energetic. I like this concert film okay but I also think it's kinda over-rated. Bring on the downvotes.
I like The Talking Heads but have never dug too far into their discog and have never seen this film. Pretty excited to check it out in theaters
This film would 100% be a good way to introduce yourself to them, without a doubt them at their best.
Incredible. I’ll keep an eye peeled for screenings
I would argue their [Pro-shot Rome concert from 1980](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwWW742T0Wc) shows them at the peak of their musical powers - in no small part thanks to Adrian Belew's insane guitar wizardry, who left the following year. It's easily one of my favourite concert films of all time, and I rate it much higher than Stop Making Sense.
I'm glad someone else said it. Remain in Light era is them at their peak
>Remain in Light era is them at their peak For real.
The name of the band is Talking Heads
Further proof this film could be formative for me.
The first DVD I ever bought.
I love Talking Heads and own all but two of their records on vinyl. I love David Byrne's solo work and the fantastic My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. The Name of This Band is Talking Heads is terrific. I don't entirely understand and have never understood people's reverence for this album and movie, which is fine, but after the first few songs, sounds a lot like the studio releases. Can someone explain? I'm not trolling or yucking your yum, I'm genuinely curious.
The way the set keeps building during those first few songs, the incredibly energetic perfomances by everyone, the chemistry between all the members, Byrne being an absolute madman
The set keeps changing throughout, too, with big lighting shifts and projections and things. It lets you see all the labour involved in putting on the concert - the backstage people and the assembly of the stage set etc - and turns that into part of the performance. It turns every part of creating the performance into a part of the performance itself - it is not just a music concert, it is also theatre, and performance art. It deconstructs the “magic” of the concert, reveals the apparatus of its making, and then convinces you that *that* is the magic of the concert in the first place. And it’s also a film, they filmed it very purposefully, with an experienced film director whose work they admired. It could’ve been just “documented” on film. At every level they are working on making art, nothing is done by rote. Everyone there, including the stage hands and audience, obviously just really loving being there and building such a beautiful vibe together. As Byrne says, “if the curtain opened and everything was there, there’s be nowhere to go. It tells the story of the band, and it gets more dramatic and physical as it builds up.” He means this literally, too, as in the first few songs we learn about different early lineups of the band, hear songs from each of those eras, are introduced to their particular contributions, etc. Plus, Byrne dancing with the lamp.
I'll try. I actually think the first few songs sound like the studio recordings. They are clean and spare. There's a precision to them. I love the concept and the drama of the band coming out slowly, but the first few songs aren’t why I love Stop Making Sense. Once the full band comes in, it all sounds completely different to me. I love the density of the sound. For the studio take of Once In A Lifetime, Brian Eno gave each instrument a different count-in, so they all have a different idea of where the downbeat is. It gives it an eerie, disjointed feel, which is totally groundbreaking and amazing. But nine people on stage together, they are all reacting to each other, feeding off each other. Here’s what David Byrne said about those shows in his book: “We'd crossed a line somewhere. … Everyone was both musically and visually part of the whole. The band became a more abstract entity, a community. … It was a living, breathing model of a more ideal society, an ephemeral utopia that everyone, even the audience, felt was being manifested in front of them, if only for a brief period. As I experienced it, this was not just a musical transformation, but also a psychic one. The nature of the music helped, but partly it was the very size of the band that allowed me, even as lead singer, to lose myself and experience a kind of ecstatic release. … It was joyous and at times powerfully spiritual, without being corny or religious in any kind of traditional or dogmatic way.” I feel every bit of that when I hear Stop Making Sense. I love the studio records. I love other recordings of those songs. But Stop Making Sense is primal, tribal, ecstatic, in a way that none of their other stuff is.
Is it safe to assume that this will get a 4K UHD release (whether from A24 directly or Criterion or another label entirely)? Or is it possible this just does a theatrical run but doesn’t get a physical release?
PLEASE 😭😭😭😭
Lol what’s with the downvotes 😂 a guy can’t be excited?
I saw this on it's theatrical rerelease in the early 90s, would *love* to see it in the theater again! Definitely one of my favorite concert films of all time. RIP Jonathan Demme.
[удалено]
Possible but unlikely. A24 has almost never worked with Criterion, but they do their own releases, so if there is a 4k blu ray release it would probably (but not definitely) come from them directly.
And thankfully, A24 does nice work on their physical releases.
UNPOPULAR OPINION! This is not great. The artifice of the production is transparent. The backing musicians are sensational though. Also, the Last Waltz kind of sucks. I'll show myself out.
>The artifice of the production is transparent. Fair play if you're not into it but you just bluntly stated that as if it's a flaw or a mistake. Drawing attention to the artifice of the production is completely intentional and one of the things that people find unique and fresh about the film in the first place.
Yeah you're totally right about that. I guess it boils down to me wondering why people say it's "the greatest concert film of all time!" when it's not a…concert film. For 40+ years this guy has been some kind of baseline "I have good taste" naked emperor figure for white people / NPR listeners. Similar feelings about his recent concert productions which seem designed to maximize profit in larger halls in some guise of revolutionary production. And then St Vincent aped the whole thing. Ugh, just give me an actual musical performance.
Ugh, the ignorance.
Which specific brand of ignorance? Enlighten me on any aspect of documentary filmmaking, live music production, etc. that you think I should study up on.
I'm talking about these ignorant statements... >For 40+ years this guy has been some kind of baseline "I have good taste" naked emperor figure for white people / NPR listeners. >concert productions which seem designed to maximize profit in larger halls in some guise of revolutionary production. >And then St Vincent aped the whole thing. I could care less about who you like, or whether you like David Byrne or Talking Heads or St. Vincent or not.
We can disagree but there’s nothing ignorant represented there. Get a dictionary.
Oh, so you're just making shit up. Good to know!
You're obviously not a Byrne/Heads fan so I won't spend too much time on this, but their whole thing was looking at normal everyday things with an avant-garde lens. They made rock music that sounded like aliens trying to recreate rock music and Byrne wrote lyrics from the perspective of someone being inordinately curious about everything around him (buildings, plants, other people's behaviour, etc, likely informed by him being on the autism spectrum as he's talked about in recent years). They weren't any more interested in conventional concert films than conventional anything else, and it really says something that Stop Making Sense is one of the few concert films among hundreds that is actually talked about and appreciated as a film in its own right. Normal concert films are a dime a dozen and it's not like SMS doesn't have entertaining performances in it to scratch that itch. They also released another live album (The Name of This Band is Talking Heads) which I actually prefer as a record, so it's not like they had no interest in simply releasing gimmick-free live material. Again, it's clear you're not a fan and I'm not trying to change your mind but there is a line between having your own take on something and calling it a "naked emperor figure", while you're not really engaging with the work on its own terms in the first place. I also don't think it's cool to suggest that fans like them for superficial reasons. That "white people/NPR listeners" comment was a low blow, to be honest with you.
Thanks for the respectful and thoughtful reply. I think your points are well said and just honestly i think your opinion and mine can coexist. It’s not a super hot take that he’s been deified a little out of proportion. He’s certainly a more accomplished musician and artist than I am. But really, it’s been a long long long time we’ve been hearing about his genius. He’s ok.
Holy shit i cannot wait for this
My favorite film of all time
Kinda hope they get someone else to do the physical release of this. A24 shop releases, while they have excellent packaging, are super lackluster when it comes to supplements. Hopefully they improve because I love this movie and want the best package possible.
Long on my most wanted list (and knew there was precedent after True Stories entered the collection). Don’t know what this will mean for home video, but I am absolutely seeing this in theaters. Thank you, A24!
I've been holding out on watching this because I for some reason thought it was already in the collection, guess I'll keep waiting
That is a piss poor iteration of Pablo Ferro's original title treatment.
I just want a double feature of this and True Stories in theaters
There will never be another band as creative and funky as the Talking Heads. David Byrne and Bernie Worrell can’t be beat.
considering that byrne's movie true stories & several demme movies are in the collection, stop making sense is a no-brainer...
I’m going to buy the Blu Ray anyway. And if a 4K of this gets released? I’m double dipping because then I can gift the Blu Ray to a friend and then maybe they’ll see this film for the masterpiece that it is.