Post by klep on Feb 17, 2020 7:56:40 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/17: Stop Making Sense
DOCUMENTARY WEEK!
One of the late Jonathan Demme's greatest strengths as a filmmaker was his ability to capture the energy and joy of live music, and no film is a greater example of that than his superlative concert film Stop Making Sense. Capturing the Talking Heads at the height of their powers, it's a sterling exhibition of their energy, inventiveness, and sheer talent in their performance.
Demme and the band ease us into the performance. We start with an empty stage, then cheering as a pair of shoes walk into frame, then David Byrne's voice announcing a song, then a beat, then singing, and only then do we pull out to see Byrne on an otherwise empty stage. That stripped-down version of the band's first hit Psycho Killer is the first taste of what's to come. Over the next several songs more is gradually added until the stage is full of people and instruments. It's a build of energy that's infectious, sucking the viewer into the music and the fun.
It helps that the music is phenomenal too. Stop Making Sense was filmed on tour in the wake of Fear of Music and Remain in Light, not only the Heads' strongest albums, but two of the greatest albums of all time. Consequently the show is full of incredibly strong songs and most of the band's biggest hits, all performed with gusto and Byrne's own weird energy.
People usually remember the huge, oversized suit or Byrne serenading a lamp with This Must Be The Place, but for me the most memorable part is Life During Wartime. At this point the show is hitting high gear, with the whole touring ensemble out on stage for one of the band's most popular songs. And in the middle of it, the camera takes a near perfectly straight-on angle of Byrne, divided in two by his mic stand.
It's a Wes Andersonian shot over a decade before Wes Anderson made his first feature. And as we see it Byrne starts wriggling, making these symmetric or pseudo-symmetric movements that make it seem like it's a mirror and not a mic stand splitting him. It's not a visual you could get from any other angle, and Demme was smart enough to capture it. That eye, that playfulness, is what makes Stop Making Sense the great film that it is, and made Jonathan Demme the great director he was.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/24: Mother (2009)
ASIAN FILM WEEK!
This theme was chosen to celebrate Bong Joon-ho's Oscar wins, so I guess it's only fitting that we'll be watching his acclaimed 2009 film Mother, about a woman searching for the person who framed her son for murder. Come join us next week for our discussion of this widely-acclaimed film, available for rent on Vudu and iTunes.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/18: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
This podcast pairing concludes with CĂ©line Sciamma's fantastic new Portrait of a Lady on Fire, about a woman commissioned to paint another woman's portrait as a way to sell her to suitors. Come join us Wednesday for our discussion of this beautiful film, still in theaters.
DOCUMENTARY WEEK!
One of the late Jonathan Demme's greatest strengths as a filmmaker was his ability to capture the energy and joy of live music, and no film is a greater example of that than his superlative concert film Stop Making Sense. Capturing the Talking Heads at the height of their powers, it's a sterling exhibition of their energy, inventiveness, and sheer talent in their performance.
Demme and the band ease us into the performance. We start with an empty stage, then cheering as a pair of shoes walk into frame, then David Byrne's voice announcing a song, then a beat, then singing, and only then do we pull out to see Byrne on an otherwise empty stage. That stripped-down version of the band's first hit Psycho Killer is the first taste of what's to come. Over the next several songs more is gradually added until the stage is full of people and instruments. It's a build of energy that's infectious, sucking the viewer into the music and the fun.
It helps that the music is phenomenal too. Stop Making Sense was filmed on tour in the wake of Fear of Music and Remain in Light, not only the Heads' strongest albums, but two of the greatest albums of all time. Consequently the show is full of incredibly strong songs and most of the band's biggest hits, all performed with gusto and Byrne's own weird energy.
People usually remember the huge, oversized suit or Byrne serenading a lamp with This Must Be The Place, but for me the most memorable part is Life During Wartime. At this point the show is hitting high gear, with the whole touring ensemble out on stage for one of the band's most popular songs. And in the middle of it, the camera takes a near perfectly straight-on angle of Byrne, divided in two by his mic stand.
It's a Wes Andersonian shot over a decade before Wes Anderson made his first feature. And as we see it Byrne starts wriggling, making these symmetric or pseudo-symmetric movements that make it seem like it's a mirror and not a mic stand splitting him. It's not a visual you could get from any other angle, and Demme was smart enough to capture it. That eye, that playfulness, is what makes Stop Making Sense the great film that it is, and made Jonathan Demme the great director he was.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 2/24: Mother (2009)
ASIAN FILM WEEK!
This theme was chosen to celebrate Bong Joon-ho's Oscar wins, so I guess it's only fitting that we'll be watching his acclaimed 2009 film Mother, about a woman searching for the person who framed her son for murder. Come join us next week for our discussion of this widely-acclaimed film, available for rent on Vudu and iTunes.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 2/18: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
This podcast pairing concludes with CĂ©line Sciamma's fantastic new Portrait of a Lady on Fire, about a woman commissioned to paint another woman's portrait as a way to sell her to suitors. Come join us Wednesday for our discussion of this beautiful film, still in theaters.