Stop Making Sense

Yes, I'm discussing the famed 1984 concert film from Jonathan Demme where the Talking Heads delivered a performance that left me exhausted:

My first time watching Stop Making Sense was on an original IMAX screen w/ a LOUD sound system; that was a ***** experience. Somehow, until last night I had only viewed a small amount of Stop Making sense despite knowing (& liking) quite a few Talking Heads songs. Despite that and the incredibly high ratings it has on Letterboxd, it took the surprising A24 release of the 4K restoration for me to finally experience something I ended up loving.

At the same time, there was no better way to have that virgin viewing than on a giant original IMAX screen (my first time at that location in 4 years; there are LieMAX screens more convenient for me in the region) with LOUD sound. Normally I’m not a fan of that aurally but in this case it was appropriate. As for what I experienced: it was incredible. The music, how everyone in the band was full of energy, David Byrne’s gesticulating, David Byrne’s “big suit”, the direction by Jonathan Demme, the staging & presentation… it was all perfect, really.

Then, judging just from old YouTube clips, the restoration job done was superb; the audio and visual were both stellar. This was why the experience last nigh was so magical. This upcoming Friday (at least in the United States) the film will be in regular cinemas but if you are a fan of the concert movie already or you just enjoy the Talking Heads, seeing it even in a LieMAX auditorium would be a transcendent experience. I DO have to note that during Genius of Love, there’s about 20 seconds of a strobing effect; I’m fortunate that the worst effect of that on me is hurting my eyes rather than causing seizures. Other than that I have zero complaints with Stop Making Sense.

I am quite stingy w/ handing out 5 star ratings on Letterboxd… and some I gave way back during my early days I don’t feel that way about now so those films need new reviews from me. However, it was incredibly easy to rate this film as ***** and that will never change. I’ll spare everyone the task of having to read my writings for paragraphs on why I don’t care at all about popular music today; instead, I’ll note that I’m happy with not caring about that when the music from the past includes the Talking Heads.

Regrettably, there was hardly anyone in the massive auditorium last night. The last time I was at the cinema (The Nun II) there was a young woman cosplaying in a habit. I will safely presume she wasn’t on a day pass from the local nunnery as she had a Jurassic Park purse AND her smartphone case cover had Ghostface! Last night, no one was wearing a gray suit w/ white shoes… “big suit” or regular size.