Talking Heads made a rare united showing together, with Spike Lee interviewing the ensemble at the Toronto International Film Festival. David Byrne sat alongside Jerry Harrison, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth to talk about the band’s experience with the Jonathan Demme-directed Stop Making Sense, their landmark 1984 concert documentary.
The screening marked the premiere of the newly restored Stop Making Sense, which got a 4K update for its 40th anniversary. During the post-screening Q&A, Lee called Stop Making Sense “the greatest concert film ever,” and connected with Tina Weymouth over a mutual appreciation for bass players. The group also spoke to the expanded roster of personnel who joined them in Stop Making Sense, noting the late keys player Bernie Worrell as an essential presence in the film.
Byrne discussed Demme’s approach to shooting Stop Making Sense as an “ensemble film,” as well as the famous oversize suit he wore. Lee further quizzed the band members on their favorite performances from the picture, which was adapted from their 1983 touring show, down to the presence of crew members rolling gear across the stage.
The TIFF reunion was the first time all four core members of Talking Heads have been together publicly in more than 20 years, when they performed at their 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. The group dissolved as Byrne committed to more solo pursuits in the early 1990s, and as a result, Byrne has largely been estranged from his former colleagues since. Byrne has more or less confirmed accounts of his demanding tendencies, telling Anderson Cooper earlier this year that around the time of Stop Making Sense, “I might not have been the most pleasant person to deal with at that point.”
Stop Making Sense hits IMAX theaters on September 22, getting a wide release a week later. Its album companion got a deluxe-edition reissue earlier this year. The movie was added to the National Film Registry in 2021.
Source: pitchfork.com
