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Stop Making Sense ()

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Considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
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Photos and Videos

84 photos | 2 videos

Cast verified as complete

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...
Self - Keyboards
Alex Weir ...
Self - Guitar and Vocals
Steven Scales ...
Self - Percussion (as Steve Scales)
Lynn Mabry ...
Self - Backing Vocals
Ednah Holt ...
Self - Backing Vocals (as Edna Holt)
...
Self - Bass / Percussion / Vocals
...
Self - Guitar / Keyboards / Vocals
...
Self - Drums and Vocals
...
Self - Vocals and Guitar

Directed by

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Jonathan Demme

Written by

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Jonathan Demme ... ()
 
Talking Heads ... ()

Produced by

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Gary Goetzman ... producer
Gary Kurfirst ... executive producer

Music by

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David Byrne
Chris Frantz
Jerry Harrison
Talking Heads
Tina Weymouth

Cinematography by

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Jordan Cronenweth

Editing by

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Lisa Day

Editorial Department

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Barry Dresner ... apprentice film editor
Greg Goetzman ... post-production best boy
John Guidone ... negative cutter
Catherine Peacock ... assistant film editor
Barbara Pokras ... additional editor
Jim Prior ... assistant film editor
Brian Ralph ... negative cutter
Scot Olive ... colorist: HD remastering (uncredited)

Production Management

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Charles Myers ... production manager (as Charles A. Myers)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Michael Looney ... second assistant director
Joe Viola ... first assistant director (as Joseph A. Viola)

Sound Department

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David Byrne ... re-recording supervisor
Mike Carver ... boom operator
Alan Chinowsky ... live recording engineer
Jonathan Demme ... re-recording supervisor
Walter A. Gest ... re-recording recordist
Gary Goetzman ... re-recording supervisor
Jerry Harrison ... re-recording supervisor
Steve Maslow ... re-recording engineer
Michael Minkler ... re-recording mixer
Mark Wolfson ... sound consultant
Billy Youdelman ... production mixer
Rick Coberly ... sound (uncredited)
Stan Horine ... sound (uncredited)
Charles Butch Watson ... sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Frank DeMarco ... special effects master
Dave Sarger ... assistant special effects

Visual Effects by

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Bill Hansard ... special visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department

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Billy Beaird ... grip (as Bill Beaird)
David Byrne ... lighting design
Mike Chevalier ... camera operator
Jeff Cronenweth ... second assistant camera
Beverly Emmons ... lighting design
Bob Fine ... electrician
Anthony Francesco ... first assistant camera (as Tony Francesco)
Dave Friedman ... still photographer
Lloyd Gowdy ... electrician
John Graham ... film loader
Michael Greenlee ... electrician
Cary Griffith ... key grip
Khan Griffith ... grip
Frederick Hamm ... second assistant camera (as Fred Hamm)
Charlie Hammerschmitt ... camera operator (as Charlie Hammerschmidt)
Daniel Hernández ... electrician
Ernest Holzman ... second assistant camera (as Ernie Holzman)
László Horváth ... grip (as Lazlo Horvath)
Susan C. Ingram ... second assistant camera (as Susan Ingram)
Stephen V. Isbell ... grip (as Steve Isbell)
Robert Isenberg ... camera operator (as Robert Eisenberg)
Johnny E. Jensen ... camera operator (as John Jensen)
Kevin Jewison ... first assistant camera (as Kevin Jewson)
Horace Jordan ... first assistant camera
Thomas Kessler ... electrician
Joe R. Marquette Jr. ... camera operator (as Joe Marquette Jr.)
Joseph Martens ... electrician
Rick Martens ... gaffer
Steve McLean ... first assistant camera
Fred Muncey ... best boy
Andy Romanoff ... video assist coordinator
Phillip R. Sarabia ... grip (as Phil Sarabia)
Art Schwab ... first assistant camera
Bernie Schwartz ... grip
Robert Seaman ... camera operator
Bing Sokolsky ... first assistant camera
Robert C. Thomas ... camera operator (as Robert Thomas)
Greg Walters ... film loader / second assistant camera (as Gregory Walters)
Doug Willis ... dolly grip
Mario Zavala ... second assistant camera
Joe Martens ... lighting technician (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Gail Blacker ... costume: David Byrne's big suit
Laura Langdon ... wardrobe

Music Department

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Nancy Fogarty ... music editor
Jim Henrikson ... music editor
Joel Moss ... music mixer
Mark Wolfson ... music coordinator (uncredited) / music mixer (uncredited) / music producer (uncredited)

Transportation Department

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Walt Freitas ... transportation
Wayne Nelson ... transportation

Additional Crew

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Gerry Bakalian ... film liaison
Clive Brinworth ... stage crew
David Byrne ... conceived for the stage by
John Chimples ... slide wrangler
Robin Citrin ... production assistant
Rick Coberly ... monitor man
Bryan Curry ... production assistant (as Brian Curry)
Pablo Ferro ... title designer: main title sequence
Michael Fish ... production assistant
Jeffrey Hooper ... stage sound
Hans Kastensmith ... stage coordinator
Adelle Lutz ... creative
Cathy Malcolm ... production assistant
Eileen McGuire ... accountant
Sandy McLeod ... visual consultant
James T. Mockoski ... Restoration Supervisor
Matthew Murphy ... road manager
Sean Myers ... production assistant
Eric Parkinson ... production assistant
June Petersen ... production associate
Jim Piccirillo ... production assistant
Dave Powell ... stage crew
Abigail Rosen ... chief light
Dave Russell ... stage manager
Ken Ryan ... auditor
Nook Schoendfield ... stage light
Jeff Shaw ... stage crew
Tommy Smith ... stage crew
W. Thomas Snyder ... key production assistant (as Tom Snyner)
Lou Stone ... production assistant
Butch Watson ... stage crew
Mark Wolfson ... engineer (uncredited)

Thanks

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JoAnne Akalaitis ... special thanks (as Joanne Akalaitis)
Hal Ashby ... special thanks
Jeff Ayeroff ... special thanks
Steve Baker ... special thanks
Susan Doi ... special thanks
Katie Elliott ... special thanks
Kate Gaffin ... special thanks
David Gary ... special thanks
Nadia Ghaleb ... special thanks
Wendall K. Harrington ... special thanks
Elliot L. Hoffman ... special thanks (as Elliott Hoffmann)
Craig McKay ... special thanks
John Moran ... special thanks
Nick Newton ... special thanks
Bert Padell ... special thanks
Robert Raring ... special thanks
Stephanie Spruill ... special thanks
Andrea Starr ... special thanks
Michael Tronick ... special thanks
Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

This 1984 film was directed by renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme and is considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time. Stop Making Sense stars core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt. The live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.

Plot Keywords
Taglines Why stop making sense? Why a movie? Why a big suit? Where do the odd movements come from? What will the band do next? See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense (United Kingdom)
  • 别假正经 (China, Mandarin title)
  • Stop making sense (Finland, Swedish title)
  • Не ищи смысла (Soviet Union, Russian title)
  • Stop making sense (Finland)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 88 min
Official Sites
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Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget $1,200,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend United States $21,051, 30 May 1999
Cumulative Worldwide Gross $5,027,479

Did You Know?

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Trivia The footage was culled from several different shows. In order to minimize the amount of cameras in the frame, one show was shot completely from one side of the stage, and the next night was shot from the other side. See more »
Goofs The concert was edited together from three shows and, it being a "live" show, things not planned happened. The first night, David Byrne put on the baseball cap that was thrown on stage from the audience; the next night, it can be seen next to the drums so that he can put it on again. See more »
Movie Connections Featured in Stop Making Sense/Falling in Love/Paris Texas (1984). See more »
Soundtracks Psycho Killer See more »
Quotes David Byrne: Thanks! Does anybody have any questions?
See more »
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