Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense is the film-musical event of the autumn

The new restoration of legendary concert film on Talking Heads Of Jonathan Demme premiered at Toronto International Film FestivalAnd David Byrne he was enthusiastic about it. During Burning Down the Houseas a few spectators began to get up to dance, if you looked down the aisle you could see the leader of the group (wearing a full-sized bright blue suit) bouncing upright in his seat as he watched himself on the screen.

All four core members of Talking Heads (Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth And Jerry Harrison) gathered for the screening on the IMAX screen at the Scotiabank Theatre, which was broadcast simultaneously in IMAX theaters around the world, before A24 officially releases this edition of the film, restored to its former glory on the occasion of 40th anniversary, in IMAX theaters on September 22nd and in all other theaters on September 29th. (Sorry, Taylor Swift: the musical film event of the autumn is this).

The official reunion of the band was significant, given that the relationship between its members has not always been happy. As recently as 2020, for example, Frantz spoke badly of Byrne upon the release of his autobiography Remain in Love, claiming that Byrne often took sole writing credit on songs that he said the entire band had written together. The other night, Frantz took a different tack during the Q&A moderated by Spike Lee: “It’s great to be here with my bandmates tonight,” he said, to applause from the audience.

The audience, of course, was there to enjoy the experience: to see in a new guise the film shot over the course of three evenings at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles in 1984. From my seat in the same row, I saw Lee get up and walk over spin on the notes of Once in a Lifetime; Plus, I noticed at least one spectator imitating Byrne’s legendary dance moves with precision.

On the IMAX screen, the image it was so clear you could make out everything roadies on stage. The audio it was so clear that you could isolate facets of the songs that you previously risked not hearing. Do you want to focus on the work of keyboardist Bernie Worrell? Now it’s possible.

During the post-screening chat, guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison praised the progress that allowed this version of the film to come to life. “The fact that there is new technology meant that we almost had the burden of adapting and bringing the film up to what people are now able to hear in theaters,” he said. Byrne added: “During the screening, I thought: ‘This is why we go to the cinema. It’s not like watching it on your laptop.”

Lee’s questions were frank and direct. Sometimes, he almost didn’t do any. For example, he addressed the topic of Byrne’s famous oversized clothes by shouting: «Dave! Fat clothes! The origin?”.

The evening was also marked by absences. While the producer was present at the screening Gary Goetzmanwho occasionally shouted answers towards the stage, Demme died in 2017 and the TIFF screening was attended by his widow, Joanne Howardand the son, Jos Demme. “I miss Jon,” Frantz said. “He would have been delighted to see (and listen to) this film tonight.” Then he added: “And I miss Bernie too.” Worrell died in 2016.

Byrne explained that Demme shot the documentary as a ensemble film, in which you become familiar with each character individually before they all blend together. “Because of that, I think one of the reasons for the lasting power of the film is that you can see that we’re having a lot of fun on stage,” Harrison observed.

Lee interjected: «Can I add that, in addition to having fun, we also loved each other?». Harrison agreed. «We loved each other and we had fun, and we involved the audience and told them: “You’re part of it too”», he said, his throat constricted by crying. “And I think that every time someone watches it, the film brings back that wonderful emotion.”

That was certainly the case at TIFF, and will soon be the case for an even larger audience.