New to home theaters, this movie is a unique experience – one that makes even Martin Scorsese and Taylor Swift look old!

Taylor Swift is currently breaking a record number of records with her music extravaganza “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” and making her mark on a genre: the often overlooked concert film! Especially now that concert recordings are a dime a dozen, it becomes abundantly clear what an art it is to capture a concert in such a way that you can watch it again and again.

It is not without reason that celebrated filmmakers worked in this unsung genre, including Martin Scorsese. His rock documentary ‘The Band’ is considered one of the best concert films of all time – but is regularly surpassed in the charts. This was sold out in home theaters for a long time, but is now celebrating its comeback: Starting this week, the best concert film in history is finally available again on Blu-ray.”Stop making sense“!

Directed by “Silence of the Lambs” director Jonathan Demme, “Stop Making Sense” combines several performances from new wave rock band Talking Heads into a captivating, energetic Greatest Hits concert.

This means the classic has something in common with ‘The Eras Tour’: just as Swift’s tour and accompanying film represent a jaunt through all of Swift’s albums, “Stop Making Sense” is a journey through time through the history of the Talking Heads. But much more!

“Stop Making Sense”: Be part of the band!

“Stop Making Sense” begins with Talking Heads frontman David Byrne walking onto a rudimentary stage alone. He plays a cassette, sings “Psycho Killer” with rough electric beeps and plays acoustic guitar. As the songs progress, the remaining members join in, the arrangements become more complex, the set design more elaborate, the performances more eccentric – an oversized suit is even used!

Performances that seem like we are playing mice in the rehearsal room turn into sophisticated, multimedia mini-theater pieces and ultimately pure ecstasy – without ever losing the intimacy of the opening with unforgettable hit songs such as “Once In A Lifetime” and “Burning Down The House”.

When the film was first released in 1984, ‘Stop Making Sense’ was repeatedly described in the press as the best concert film of all time. Legendary critic Pauline Kael weighed in even said the film was “almost perfect”. And this audiovisual experience still hands down the title of ‘best concert film’. Recently back again – and up He is the only representative of his genre with a perfect 100%!

The author of these lines would also choose ‘Stop Making Sense’ as the best concert film at any time without batting an eyelid. Without a doubt: there are concerts that give him even more musically. He puts “Hans Zimmer Live” in the Blu-ray player more often than Demme’s concert film masterpiece, because Zimmer’s set list, filled with groundbreaking film music, inspires him so much.

But if you look not just at the first half of the term ‘concert film’, but at the whole package, “Stop Making Sense” is an unsurpassed masterpiece: The brilliant concert dramaturgy with the increasingly densely populated stage and the increasingly elaborate instrumentation is beautifully complemented by Demme’s directing work!

Because Demme and ‘Blade Runner’ cameraman Jordan Cronenwerth largely leave the audience out of the picture. Instead, the camera slowly creeps across the stage at first, as if we were taking the perspective of a silent band member. Demme’s imagery mutates gently and stylishly until it becomes downright theatrical and, as it were, a star in the spotlight again – but the audience remains a peripheral figure that we only occasionally glimpse.

Only at the very last moment do we fully experience the audience in all its cheering splendor – and become part of it. This dramaturgy is exquisitely conceived and almost flawlessly executed, as well as seven Demme and film editor Lisa Day provide numerous characterful comments on the filmed live performances:

Through small gestures, quickly exchanged glances and unconscious actions, unspoken stories are created parallel to the set list, making each band member their own character. The consequence of this: “Stop Making Sense” makes the band’s infectious liveliness and joy of playing as tangible as the feeling of completely disappearing into your own work for the entertainment of countless people and being completely emotionally absorbed..