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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Stop Making Sense

Universal acclaim
Based on 9 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Concert | Documentary
Written by:
Jonathan Demme
Talking Heads
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 18, 1984
DVD: October 26, 1999
Running Time: 88 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: Unrated
Starring David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison
A concert film of the rock band Talking Heads.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Beloved Jimmy Carter Man from Plains Married to the Mob Neil Young: Heart of Gold Philadelphia Something Wild Swimming to Cambodia The Agronomist The Manchurian Candidate (2004) The Silence of the Lambs The Truth About Charlie
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
By common consensus, Stop Making Sense is the best concert film ever made.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
Has there ever been a live concert film as vibrant or as brilliantly realized? I don't think so. [Review of re-release]
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
Part aerobics workout, part self-styled dreamscape, Sense is a hyperactive piece of performance art that begins as the stripped-down dress rehearsal of a garage band and builds into a mighty, exhausting spectacle that shakes as much ass as it kicks. [Review of re-release]
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Stop Making Sense is so beautifully choreographed that in some ways it's more like theater than a rock show. [Review of re-release]
Read Full Review >The New York Times Janet Maslin
Mr. Demme has captured both the look and the spirit of this live performance with a daring and precision that match the group's own.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Corliss
It could as well be called Best Thing of Undetermined Species.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Starting with Mick Jagger, rock concerts have become, for the performers, as much sporting events as musical and theatrical performances. Stop Making Sense understands that with great exuberance.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
It's 88 minutes of solid, inventive music, filmed in a straightforward manner that neither deifies the performers nor encourages an illusory intimacy, but presents the musicians simply as people doing their job and enjoying it.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Steve Morse
But as good as it is, the film falls short of translating the exaltation and near-gospel music feel of the band in full flight. [2 Nov 1984]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jared C. gave it a7:
Pretty good show, but for a movie called Stop Making Sense. It should focus a little harder on how it doesn't make sense.
