“Stop Making Sense” A music movie that you can “experience” created by Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme

A movie where you can experience the concert itself

Demme said that she used `` The Last Waltz '' as a reference before making the film, but the biggest difference from this movie is that interviews with musicians are excluded. The Last Waltz showed footage of The Band's farewell concert, but interspersed with interviews with the five members (in the case of the film, this allowed the band to trace their path). (I could see the story) But Stop Making Sense aims in a different direction. According to Demme's statement, published in the aforementioned book, ``Talking Heads,'' ``I personally prefer long cuts even when it's not a music movie, especially when it comes to movies about charismatic musicians.'' , all the more, we need cuts like this.The ideal film would be a film that allows you to experience the concert itself.''

Demi may have realized that ideal with ``Stop Making Sense.'' At the beginning, David Byrne appears on stage to the applause of the audience, and begins to sing `` Psycho Killer '' with the sound of a rhythm box recorded on a cassette tape. Vern is the only one there, wearing white socks and white sneakers. At times, she appears to be playfully staggering, which is said to be a nod to the Fred Astaire movie ` `Semi-Finals '' (51).

For the second song, bassist Tina took the stage and performed ``Heaven,'' a beautiful song with a slow tempo, along with Byrne . The third song is ``Thank You for Sending My Angel,'' with drummer Chris Franz joining in and the rhythm being outstanding. For the fourth song, Jerry Harrison comes out with a guitar and performs ` `Found a Job .'' A guitar and bass collaboration that is said to be inspired by minimalist musicians such as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. The edgy sound draws you in.

As you can see from this structure, as people gradually appear on stage, the structure of the band becomes ``visible.'' Since then, three black musicians and two black female vocalists have gradually appeared. When I first saw it, this composition seemed very innovative. When each character appears, the spotlight is placed on that person, and the audience feels a sense of familiarity with that person.

"Stop Making Sense" (c)Photofest / Getty Images

Once the members were all together, the hit song `` Burning Down the House '' was played (a song that entered the top ten in the United States). The lyrics "Burn down the house!" are so surreal and meaningless. However, according to Demme, ``David's songs have a magical power, and that's what makes this movie so great. It's the layers of words and images that make you feel something. So enjoy that feeling.'' Bye” (from audio commentary)

The title ``Stop Making Sense'' means ``Stop giving it meaning!'' and is taken from the lyrics of ` `Girlfriend Is Better,' ' which Byrne sings in the second half wearing a Big suit. . I guess all you have to do is interpret the image of each word fragment in your own way, as if it were some kind of abstract art. As I surrender myself to the mysterious world created by nonsense lyrics that ignore consistency, a different perception begins to emerge within me.

When the audience is exposed to visual images of Byrne's music, they will feel like they have been reborn as a new version of themselves (this kind of "reincarnation phenomenon" can be experienced both in this film and in " American Utopia "). The particularly impressive song `` Once in a Life Time, '' which appears in the second half, is about the bewilderment of a man who finds himself in a world he doesn't understand. I feel like I've traveled somewhere.

The film's cinematographer is Jordan Cronenwes, known for the overwhelming visual beauty of Blade Runner (1982). He avoided lighting that gave the impression of color as much as possible, and painted the stage black everywhere, saying, ``Paint it black!'' The result is a slightly surreal image in which only the characters on stage stand out clearly (especially from the middle onwards). By purposely shooting only the songs and performances on stage without making the audience aware that there are seats, they become part of the audience at the concert venue, and when the audience seats are shown for the first time, they share the joy with the people there. . You can truly experience the excitement of a live venue.

Pablo Ferro was in charge of the movie's title design. Handwritten black letters have been typed onto a white screen, but this is said to be a modified format (with slightly darker handwriting) of the design letters used in Stanley Kubrick's ` `The Strange Love '' (1964). .

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