Stop Making Sense

In a word, mind-blowing. This film has a careering, hallucinatory energy all its own. Even if you aren't fond of Talking Heads, you should see it (unless you really hate them). In fact, anyone with any interest in music, modern music, staging, drama, or filmmaking should see it. It's a one-of-a-kind example of all of these. It made me like Talking Heads more than ever. I’d always thought of them (especially Byrne) as a bunch of self-absorbed kooks who happened to make interesting music. But the picture reveals them to be uninhibited showmen, who believe in what they are doing and are always trying to give the audience a great show. I'm not much of a concert goer, and I haven't seen many concert films, but it seems to me that with films like this, who needs concerts? Fortunately the theater it was in was up to the technical demands of the picture, meaning first and foremost that it had an excellent sound system, so the music could really take off. It's everything--anthemic, tribal, totemic, mystical, and just plain rocking. It gets people in the theater stomping their feet, snapping their fingers, and I swear it--clapping their hands at the end of the songs. Wow.