Stop Making Sense: Think Of It As A Musical, Not A Concert Film | Film Analysis

[@zacspearman]

I'm reading that David Byrne book How Music Works at the moment, and in the chapter about this film he mentions how the exaggerated suit and having the stagehands do their work in full view of the audience was directly inspired by Japanese/Eastern theatre where they don't value naturalism as much.

[@TakeMeToYourCinema]

Yeah, there is a lot of influence of Kabuki and Noh in there - especially in the gestures and movements as well. Is 'How Music Works' any good, I've been curious to read it.

[@zacspearman]

There's enough interesting and insightful info to overcome the parts which sometimes read like slightly lengthy entries in an encyclopaedia. If you're musical and know what all that terminology really means it will be all the more readable. Still worthwhile for me, 7/10 perhaps

[@travislloyd6761]

0:46

[@SUD8800]

Brilliant review! David Byrne is a freaking genius

[@TakeMeToYourCinema]

Thanks a lot. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@DarrellGrob]

Very interesting review. I've had a tradition of watching SMS every Xmas Eve since 1985, so I've seen it A LOT. I've always thought it was a visually stunning. One of my favorite songs is Found A Job, where Demme had a camera focused in on Byrne, Harrison, and Weymouth from stage right and allowed them to fill the shot from downstage to upstage, an angle not usually seen of a concert live or on film. Also, the exclusive use of white light throughout the concert was a great choice. Nice job.

[@AngusAngus]

3 minutes in and already supremely impressed. Cannot wait to see the 40th anniversary rerelease in Imax tonight!!!

[@TakeMeToYourCinema]

Correction: the end credits state 'all songs in Stop Making Sense written by David Byrne, [et al]'. This is incorrect. I know it is incorrect. I'm not sure how I let that oversight past. Apologies.

[@Andrew_Whiteford]

it’s really about the anguish of shopping for a new suit...

[@glennkammerer795]

40th anniversary re-lease and remaster coming out this fall! woo hoo!

[@jamesfarrell8339]

Great insight into one of the greatest Rock concert films. I thought it was just me who really appreciated this film. I am glad others love it like do. Thanks for putting this together and giving me a deeper appreciation for this film. I really appreciate it. Have a wonderful day.

[@maxvetter1336]

I will say that you are certainly not alone. If you look on Letterboxd, this is the highest rated documentary of all time.

[@NTJordan]

Interesting video. This is a topic I have given very little thought to, but it's impressive that he was able to take such influence from cinema. Good video!

[@TakeMeToYourCinema]

N.T. Jordan Yeah, it’s not the sort of thing that people normally give too much thought too, but when the film is as well made as Stop Making Sense is, there’s clearly more to it than meets the eye.

[@katewintie8271]

Incredible... no words other than that really

[@lynnpehrson8826]

Byrne said the suit was to make his head small. I think this is suggesting the protagonist is essentially learning not to overthink things and live in moment. Imo the lyrics to crosseyed and painless, once in a lifetime, this must be the place deal with this. Many talking heads song deal with Byrnes anxieties

[@MPHORROCKS]

Very enlightening! One of my favourite films but had never analyzed why it works so brilliantly! Thanks! :)

[@watchstrap1]

Very enjoyable review,I also noticed there is hardly any equiptment,i.e Amps,cables coming from keyboards,However you label it ,it"s a fantastic piece of art which still looks and sounds great today.

[@pl5bnsf]

Very interesting analysis. Would like to know how much of the end result as laid out in this analysis was planned vs how much it just happened? I always wondered at the song order. Putting two high energy songs in the middle (Burning then Wartime) seemed tiring for the performers with lots of concert left. Guess it just had to be that way, and we are all better for it!

[@keithkahn-harris6503]

It's a great analysis but perhaps neglects the story of the rest of the band and their relationships with eachother ànd Byrne. Each of the band members are established as individual characters. One of the most affecting parts of the film is 'Heaven', which brings out Tina Weymouth's complicated relationship with Byrne. Also, the Tom Tom Club segment helps to bring out the joy from which Bryne is excluded in the first part of the film.

[@yourfairyking]

Genius of Love always felt like a distraction before Girlfriend is Better. No relevance to the "plot" really.

[@SuperQdaddy]

Its a work of art !

[@K.J.734]

I would love to see & hear that concert on a big screen ( AMOLED would be nice) & through a kickass sound system. 🤘❗

[@SolaceEasy]

If you had done your research you would have known that the idiosyncratic dancing matched his moves in the music videos for the same songs. There's even more to research on the various dance moves and why David chose them!

[@ammaleslie509]

It's a floor wax It's a dessert topping It's a floor wax and a dessert topping. It's a concert film AND a musical.

[@timpeters9616]

It's a wonderful and beautiful piece of spectacle, which I've watched multiple times...but I don't think it really works as a musical, because I don't think it has a narrative.

[@steelyd2]

Of course it has a narrative. Byrne starts out as a stuffy anxious guy who is trying to figure out who he is. His band members come out one at a time and help him find himself through music. It’s beautiful

[@troygaspard6732]

I was 16 when this movie came out. It would be over 20 years before Demme would go down this road again with Storefront Hitchcock.

[@AntBalzano]

Important

[@nathanhiggins3677]

What is the word you say at 4:43? "High contract ____ lighting design" ?

[@TakeMeToYourCinema]

Nathan Higgins high contrast lighting design

[@nathanhiggins3677]

Thanks :)

[@MarcoDelDottore]

"High contrast *chiaroscuro* design" it's an italian word "in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark" See Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiaroscuro

[@BartholomewCounty]

David is a performance artist.

[@frankmcphillips427]

great thought want inyo this brilliant respect

[@Tamar-sz8ox]

Nice1

[@surfinmuso37]

This is interesting, but to analyze it in such a way takes all the fun outa it.

[@MatauReviews]

That's subjective... I think you fail to see that to analyze art is fun for many people

[@MillerVanDotTV]

IMO you’re overthinking it

[@louisecasserley4104]

Seriously, why even try to take apart something so fabulous.

[@edomoeli1347]

to attempt to understand what makes it so fabulous?

[@yaniratangoart]

Interesting, David Byrne also copied Kid Creole and the Coconuts entire wardrobe and stage set performance from late 1970s and early 1980s. We can see this on KZbin. Large zoot suit and theatrical performances...

[@louisecasserley4104]

Your commenting is just a big waste of words.

[@TakeMeToYourCinema]

Thanks for your comment

[@Lifesizemortal]

Just because Byrne incorporates a few laughable bar tricks amidst this mostly plain concert doesn't make it a musical. It's a concert film that just barely dresses itself in theatrics in order to appear as something "more".