One of the greatest concert films of all time will open this month's Cambridge Film Festival at Home programme.
Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense will be this weekend's virtual screening as part of CFF's ongoing ‘A Film I Love…’ series.
Beth Webb, a film and TV journalist, broadcaster and host, has chosen director Jonathan Demme's remarkable 1984 concert movie that captures the enormous energy and joyous highs of the Talking Heads live performance.
A contributing editor for Empire Magazine, Beth co-runs the Bechdel Test Fest, an award-winning celebration of women in film.
In the movie shot at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre in 1983, band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison are joined by Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt in a groundbreaking concert film that is packed with Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
The Cambridge Film Festival at Home initiative is available to everyone throughout the UK.
It features the popular online version of ‘A Film I Love…’ series, which has a 'Pay What You Can Afford' pricing structure for each film chosen by a special guest.
The guest introduces the film and explains why it means so much to them during a Q&A prior to the screening.
Stop Making Sense opens with lead singer David Byrne walking on to an empty stage with just a cassette tape player and an acoustic guitar.
He performs track Psycho Killer to a backing track, and as the concert progresses more band members join him on stage.
The group's set includes Burning Down the House, Life During Wartime, Once in a Lifetime and Girlfriend Is Better, as well as a cover of Al Green classic Take Me to the River.
Shot over a series of concert performances in LA in December 1983, Demme's creative genius and the band's explosive energy is what makes this film an exhilarating and exciting event.
Wall-to-wall music, beautiful cinematography and Byrne's legendary ‘Big Suit’ make this “one of the greatest rock movies ever made”, according to Rolling Stone.
Demme later made psychological horror movie The Silence of the Lambs, winning an Academy Award for best director.
Reviewing the concert movie for Empire, Ian Freer wrote: “Boasting a sublime collaboration that few rockumentaries can muster, Stop Making Sense practically sparks with the synergy between filmmaker and subject.”
As part of CFF at Home, ‘A Film I Love…’ will see fortnightly new interviews and screenings on the festival website at camfilmfest.com
This weekend's Stop Making Sense screening can be seen from Friday, March 5 at 6pm until midnight on Sunday, March 7.
Film journalist Helen O'Hara has then picked director Taika Waititi's Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which will be screened from Friday, March 19 to March 21.
FilmBath’s executive director Holly Tarquini has chosen Speed Sisters, which will be shown from Friday, April 2 to April 4.
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