What's Spike Lee's Favorite Concert Film?

Dispatches from STOP MAKING SENSE IMAX Live event  ‌ ‌ ‌ Welcome to the story behind the story. This is IMAX In Frame   Burning Down the House " I’m going on record, around the world: this is the greatest concert film ever.” —Spike Lee, moderating the 40th anniversary Q&A with Talking Heads, as reported by The New York Times from TIFF   There’s only one thing big enough to overcome a decades-long rift among collaborators: the IMAX re-release of one of the greatest concert films of all time, (which just happens to be about them). STOP MAKING SENSE was shot in 1983 at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. They didn't know it then, but what director Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads were making would go on to have an enduring fan base even 40 years later. STOP MAKING SENSE is mind-blowing in IMAX, especially the sound which elevates a beloved piece of pop culture to the next level of immersion. [Don’t miss STOP MAKING SENSE in IMAX starting September 22nd]( for only one week. To celebrate, we hit theatres with a special IMAX Live event, featuring a reunion Q&A with the band broadcast from the Toronto International Film Festival and moderated by Spike Lee. For a report on the ground, we sat down with [IMAX employee and Talking Heads superfan, Amanda Walencewicz]( to chat about the film, its legacy and of course, the IMAX Live x STOP MAKING SENSE event from TIFF. 1. As The New York Times put it, seeing the film "in IMAX was like seeing it anew." I know you’ve seen this film before, what’s it like to experience a music documentary not only in a theatrical setting, but in an IMAX setting?  I think it makes the music that much more all-encompassing. You’re just there, in the dark, with a hundred other people who also love this band. Especially with this film, where a lot of it takes place on a stark black backdrop, the screen just disappears. I had seen the David Bowie doc, MOONAGE DAYDREAM, in IMAX too, and it was a similar experience where the audio just envelops you. Also, so much of what makes STOP MAKING SENSE great, which David Byrne mentioned in the IMAX Live Q&A, is all those little moments that Jonathan Demme caught between the band members, where they look over at each other or dance together, that you can miss if you’re watching it on a small screen. Here those moments demand your attention more.  2. So much about theatrical exhibition is a communal experience – can you describe a little bit of what the audience was like? What was the energy like in the seats?   The audience was really fun! It was a good mix of people of all different ages, and everyone was in the mood to dance and clap and bob their head to the music. It was funny, everyone even clapped during the intros for each band member, like you would at an actual concert.   3. IMAX is primarily known for its larger-than-life visuals, but we also specialize in state-of-the-art precision sound. This being a music movie, how do you feel the sound impacted the experience? What was it like to experience a concert film with IMAX sound?   I think the great thing about STOP MAKING SENSE in general is that it’s with Talking Heads’ expanded lineup (as opposed to only the four core members), with a super full sound that’s different from the more simply instrumented post-punk they started their career with. So, you have nine musicians spread out across the stage, tons of instruments, and a really layered sound that plays awesomely in IMAX. IMAX’s sound design gets the clarity of each instrument and renders them all really distinct from one another, which Jerry Harrison, the band member who supervised the audio mix for the restoration, alluded to during the Q&A—with IMAX’s multichannel sound he could pick out what each individual musician was contributing to a song. I had seen this movie a few times before, too, once at MoMA in their theatre, and then a couple times at home, but with this new restoration in IMAX, the music is just so powerful. 4. STOP MAKING SENSE is wall-to-wall music. Was there a particular moment or musical number in the film that is your favorite, or something you walked away with renewed love for? What was your relationship to the material before going in? I think “Take Me to the River” is always a stand-out, where they have that extended breakdown and the audience claps to the beat (our audience did too). “Life During Wartime,” too, I think is where the film really picks up, and the energy is totally infectious. In previous viewings, I’d also never taken in Byrne’s expressions as he dances with a lamp during “This Must Be the Place,” but it’s so joyful. I've loved Talking Heads since high school, after buying a secondhand record player and stealing some of my dad’s LPs, (one of which was the Stop Making Sense live album). As a nerdy, artsy high schooler, I naturally found their music to be really cool and angular, full of unique sounds. As I've gotten older and listened to their songs over and over, I’m always just struck by how resonant their songs are about home and love and modern life. 5. To celebrate this release A24 and IMAX hosted a special IMAX Live event – featuring a Q&A led by Spike Lee, reuniting the band after many years – live at TIFF and streamed into IMAX theatres. Do you have a favorite moment from the Q&A portion of the event? How do you feel this added content enhanced your experience of the evening?  It was really cool to hear some of the behind-the-scenes stories about how this movie came together, like why Jonathan Demme was a perfect choice to direct the film, because his experience in ensemble films allowed him to capture the dynamic between all the musicians. Or that to edit the film, they utilized a multi-monitor Betamax video tape system invented by director Hal Ashby to be able to view all the cameras at once before cutting on film. It was also just really touching to see how much love the band still has for this film so many years later, and how amped up Spike Lee was to talk with them. 6. Is there anything else you’d like to recount about your experience? What would you say to someone who has never experienced an IMAX Live event before?  I would say that if you can’t make it to a concert, especially if it’s a show from 40 years ago (!) that you literally can’t get tickets to, this is a different but equally great way to experience the music you love. With how close the cameras are to the performers, you're basically on stage with them.  I can’t afford those kinds of views at a concert just yet. 7. If you could experience any movie in IMAX again, for the first time, what would it be and why? It might be Bernardo Bertolucci's THE LAST EMPEROR. The visuals in that film are stunning, (they shot in the Forbidden City!), and so is the Oscar-winning score, composed by the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto and Talking Heads' own David Byrne. Amanda is the brand marketing coordinator at IMAX. She’s an enthusiast of film photography, contemporary arts, and live concerts. 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