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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The staging--and Demme's filming of it--builds toward an orgasmic release of music, rising from the bare-stage simplicity of Byrne, accompanied only by a boom box on "Psycho Killer," to the ecstatic crescendo of "Burning Down the House," by which time the Heads and additional personnel have all arrived on stage for a performance that seems channeled from heaven for the purpose of universal uplift. (God bless Demme for avoiding shots of the luckiest audience in '80s pop history; its presence is acknowledged, but not at the viewer's expense.) With the deliriously eccentric Byrne as ringleader (pausing mid-concert to emerge in his now-legendary oversized suit), this circus of musical pleasure defies the futility of reductive description; it begs to be experienced, felt in the heart, head, and bones, and held there the way we hold on to cherished memories. On those three nights in December 1983, Talking Heads gave love, life, and joy in generous amounts that years cannot erode, and Demme captured this act of creative goodwill on film with minimalist artistic perfection. Stop Making Sense is an invitation to pleasure that will never wear out its welcome. --Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Talking Heads WILDLY ENTERTAINING concert SPECTACULAR is among the GREATEST music films EVER MADE... Entertainment Weekly
The movie rates with Woodstock as the GREATEST ROCK CONCERT FILM one that can be watched as frequently as an aerobics tape. - USA Today
Palm Pictures is proud to present the Blu-ray premiere of the groundbreaking Talking Heads concert film STOP MAKING SENSE directed by Academy Award ® Winner Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs). Entertainment Weekly described, the DVD s generous extras go a long way toward explaining the film s visual appeal: David Byrne and director Jonathan Demme contribute a smart audio commentary. The film has been remastered from the original 35mm source, allowing the brilliance of the visuals to take full advantage of Blu-ray technology.
Customer Reviews
After seeing it, not really knowing much about the quirky, catchy pop music of David Byrne and his brood, the band and the film won me over. The film starts, like the concert, with a bare stage. David Byrne walks out, alone, with his guitar and a radio. Within moments of beginning "Psycho Killer," Byrne's tripping all over the stage, falling all over himself, stumbling into the edges of the film frame. With that, he begins to show some individual, I-am-not-a-rock-star personality. When the staging does come, when the band joins in the fun, that personality expands.
And when it comes time for the giant suit, this film's more than just a concert. It's become a story. The story of the band, the story in the lyrics and a commentary on how abstract visual art and obscure, obtuse music can interact.
Demme never shows the audience through the film, though you can hear them, for the film is just about the band, the stage. It's not about the reaction they get.
It's fascinating, and you'll find yourself a fan of Byrne's music, as a result.
The sound quality of the DVD edition is excellent (especially the bass), as is the picture quality (colors are crisp and the contrast is excellent) - plus it's nice to finally have an edition of the video presented in widescreen.
There's some interesting stuff among the extras, especially the storyboards (which can be viewed either alone, with notes, or in split screen with stills from the completed film). The David Byrne 'self-interview' is artful in its awkwardness, with one David Byrne in a number of different costumes interviewing a David Byrne wearing the big suit. There's a funky montage that works slightly better than the theatrical trailer that is also included; otherwise, they're almost interchangeable.
My only complaint with this re-mastered edition is that the three songs (Cities, Big Business, and I Zimbra) that were included in the original video release have been relegated to bonus tracks, rather than integrated into the film. Not only that, but they are presented in fullscreen/pan & scan format rather than in the widescreen format of the film, and in little more than a straight transfer. The improvements in image and sound quality of the film proper are sadly lacking here. The colors and contrast are dull in comparison, as is the quality of the soundtrack.
Well worth repeated viewings. Fix up them bonus tracks, and you've got a 5-star presentation...
First, to be clear, I love the Talking Heads of this era (and earlier) and this concert. As many have said before, Stop Making Sense is one of the best concert performances ever captured on film. Poorly captured, unfortunately.
I've owned the standard DVD for years, and have viewed it on my Oppo 970 upscaling player at least 50 times. I know (and love) the content very well, warts and all. I eagerly awaited the release on blu-ray to improve the blurry, soft, artifact-laden DVD.
Sadly, on my 106" screen (fed by a Pioneer BPD-51FD blu-ray player though an Epson 1080UB), the video on blu-ray is so similar (poor) to the DVD that I consider it a wasted purchase. What makes it even WORSE than the DVD, is that all the grain, scratches, and film defects are greatly enhanced by the sharpness of blu-ray. When a scratch comes along, it's presented in high definition, making it leap out even more than it does on DVD. The sharp detail of the defects screams out how bad the source really is. Monty Python's Life of Brian was similarly horrific on DVD, but the restoration processing used for the blu-ray transformed it astonishingly to near perfect. I had hoped for SOME similar improvements on Stop Making Sense, but this blu-ray is a dud in my opinion. I see only moments of improved detail, but so little as to be of no consequence. Some reviewers feel that this is part of the films' charm and artistic intent. I respectfully disagree - strongly. The bad video quality just looks like sloppy, inept film making. The concept, direction and performances are wonderful, but the images look like a 4th generation VHS tape. Sadly, apparently all the existing copies of the original film used to master the DVDs and blu-rays are apparently equally awful.
Audio IS improved on the blu-ray, however. Notably, audio lip-sync problems are much better than the standard DVD (particularly on 'What a Day That Was') . Yet this also helps to emphasize how bad the image quality is. Great audio combined with high-def film grain/defects make the soft, crappy images seem worse than ever by comparison.
I wish I'd never bothered to upgrade to this blu-ray, my old DVD is essentially equivalent on a good upscaling player.
Ultimately, Stop Making Sense is an essential, desert-island DVD, although poorly-filmed (picture quality-wise). I adore the content, but wish that there would be an attempt at restoration, even if some purists might object. Until then, the added resolution of blu-ray is a waste, at best. If you own this on DVD, don't bother with the blu-ray version.
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And I will also make an inquiry through Amazon that you have not given specific instructions that the Blue Ray... Read more
If you don't completely love it, return it to the store and tell them I said it was OK. Read more
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