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Stop Making Sense

For the soundtrack, see Stop Making Sense (album).

Stop Making Sense
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJonathan Demme
Written byTalking Heads
Jonathan Demme
Produced byGary Goetzman
StarringTalking Heads
CinematographyJordan Cronenweth
Edited byLisa Day
Music byTalking Heads
Production
company
Distributed byCinecom International Films
Island Alive Releasing[1]
Release dates
  • April 24, 1984 (1984-04-24) (SFIFF)
  • October 19, 1984 (1984-10-19) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.2 million
Box office$12.4 million[2]

Stop Making Sense is an independently produced 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by the American rock band Talking Heads.[3] The film was directed by Jonathan Demme and executive produced by Gary Kurfirst, the band’s longtime manager. The film was shot over four nights in December, 1983 at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre while Talking Heads were on tour promoting their 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. Stop Making Sense includes performances of the early Talking Heads single, "Psycho Killer" (1977), through to their most recent hit at the time, "Burning Down the House" (1983). It also includes songs from the solo career of frontman David Byrne and by Tom Tom Club, the side project of drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth.

The band raised the budget of $1.2 million themselves. The four core members of Talking Heads are joined by the backing singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, the guitarist Alex Weir, the keyboardist Bernie Worrell and the percussionist Steve Scales. Stop Making Sense is considered by many critics to be a classic and one of the greatest concert films of all time.[4][5][6] The film is a pioneering example of the use of early digital audio techniques. In 2021, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[7] A special 4K restoration of the film was re-released in theaters in September 2023 by A24.

The film's title is derived from a lyric in the song "Girlfriend Is Better."[8]

  1. ^ "Stop Making Sense (1984)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "Stop Making Sense (1984)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved April 1, 2024.Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ "Stop Making Sense (1984)" – via mubi.com.
  4. ^ "Why Stop Making Sense Remains the Greatest Concert Film". esquire.com. April 27, 2017.
  5. ^ "Cult Movies on Videocassette, 1987 – Siskel and Ebert Movie Reviews". siskelebert.org.
  6. ^ 39 Years Later, Gen-Z Is Making One Perfect Rock Movie Into A Smash Hit - Fatherly
  7. ^ "Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense Added to National Film Registry". Pitchfork. December 14, 2021.
  8. ^ "Stop Making Sense | Lyrics and Credits | About". February 19, 1984.

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