Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

The review is finally here!
For those with short short attention spans..."It's like Pee Wee's Big Adventure mixed with Last Waltz" I highly recommend it! ShazaaaaM!!!
This is definitely a movie and not a generic concert film. You won't see the crowd(*) and you will barely see any closeups of what the guitarist or drummer is doing, it's not an istructional video like a lot of concert films. So beware, I guess...

I post on an internet message board, because I'm a geek, and while chatting there I would always see this movie by the Talking Heads highly recommended. It was always Talking Heads this and Talking Heads that, but because I’m stubborn and won’t listen to recommended music, I have to ’discover’ new music for myself, it never really crossed my mind to watch it. I had only heard a couple Heads songs here and there over the years; “Burning Down the House” and “Take Me to the River”, neither of which really impressed me. So I’m not really sure what compelled me to buy Stop Making Sense, but one day I went and got it anyway.
The first time I watched it I was slightly disappointed, I thought the music was just sorta “eh”, ok. It was way too 80’s even for me, and I love 80’s new wave. But as the film progresses you become drawn in and after you hear the songs in the context of their performance in the film you begin to enjoy them much more. David Byrne's amazing stage presence brings the Heads music alive making it believable. No one else could perform these songs. The way he performs them with such an unglued careless passion makes you able to devote yourself to the music too. Even if you’re not a fan of the Heads music, that’s ok because what makes this concert movie so great is how you feel like you’re not just going from song to song like in other concert movies. The songs aren't of central importance, it doesn’t feel like the whole show is revolving around the crowd or each song, but it feels like a celebration of music. The film never ’breaks character’ like in other concert movies where your emotional context and flow seems to be broken every time the camera pans to some audience members high fiving each other after a song, I mean really, who cares what the fans are doing? No one.
When many other bands try to create a great stage show for a movie or whatever, it often feels far too forced, distracting or just doesn’t work. Stop Making Sense has almost no flashy visuals or over the top set design but still feels like an elaborate production.
What I love most about this movie is simply how introspective it feels. It makes you feel like you’re at the show having a blast, but at the same time you feel like the only one there. The beautiful camera work and lighting make it so easy to remain focused and drawn into the Talking Head’s world. There’s a real magic to the performance and overall visuals which is what I love most about great music, being taken somewhere emotionally. And by the time you reach “Naïve Melody (This Must Be the Place)” you really feel like you’ve reached this place in a journey, from there the movie takes off with fast paced songs and by the end you feel just as exhausted as the band.

*Well, none until the last song, when there's a few shots of the totally awesome 80's audience, yikes.