Talking Heads have a tape they want to play — again. Ahead of its 4k re-release in theaters in September, A24 has shared a new trailer for the band’s indelible concert film Stop Making Sense. Check out the clip below.
Widely regarded as the greatest concert film of all time, director Jonathan Demme made Stop Making Sense from the footage of three shows Talking Heads played at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood in December 1983. Featuring all of the band’s biggest songs up until that point — “Psycho Killer,” “Burning Down the House,” and “Life During Wartime” among them — the concerts were highly choreographed and pioneered the use of digital audio, moving beyond a straightforward live recording. Backing members Lynn Mabry, Ednah Holt, Alex Weir, Bernie Worrell, and Steve Scales (and David Byrne’s oversized suit) added to the movie’s power as well.
Before its theatrical re-release, Stop Making Sense will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11th. Astonishingly, all four members of Talking Heads — David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison — will reunite for a live Q&A at the festival moderated by Spike Lee. The event will mark the band’s first public appearance together in more than 20 years.
Stop Making Sense will premiere in IMAX on September 22nd before receiving a wider release on September 29th. Tickets are now on sale.
Talking Heads will keep the 40th anniversary celebration going with a Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition) soundtrack, due out August 18th. The package will feature “Cities” and “Big Business / I Zimbra,” two previously unreleased songs, as well as a 28-page booklet with previously unpublished photos and new liner notes from all four band members. Pre-orders are ongoing.
Listen to the band’s Jerry Harrison discuss Talking Heads’ upcoming reunion on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast:
