The film was directed by one of the band’s biggest fans, Jonathan Demme, who captured the band at the height of their powers in 1983. Stop Making Sense was shot in Hollywood at the Pantages Theater, with the band touring in support of their fifth album, Speaking in Tongues.
As NME notes, the entire concert was a tightly choreographed production and something unique at the time. The film’s release was announced via a Tweet which featured frontman David Byrne collecting his famous oversized suit.
The promo clip sees Byrne collecting his suit from a dry cleaners, telling the owner: “It’s been here a while.” Byrne then, quite literally, suits up and recreates some of his moves from the December ’83 concert.
The film is being remastered in 4K, but has no official release date yet. However, there has already been an announcement that alongside the film, there will be a new deluxe edition of its soundtrack. This is due out on August 18th via Rhino Records.
It will be available digitally with a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert as a double LP set. The reissue has been mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren. There will be the addition of two previously unreleased performances of “Cities” and “Big Business / I Zimbra.” This is all accompanied by unseen photos and new liner notes from the band’s four members.
