Rating: 
Summary: Energy-filled, spectacular and creative!!!
Review: This concert starts off with a lone David Byrne with acoustic guitar and tape player doing an incredible version of "Psycho killer." Near the end of the song the tape player spins out of control and David trips and loses control of his balance and then regains his footing when the tape comes back to it's regular cadence. This first song is indicative of his performance throughout the entire concert - brilliant and creative. Everyone else involved in the performcance is also very energetic. I have never seen a performance where so many band members are dancing for such a long time as I have here. This is the most energetic performance I've ever seen. At one point David runs around the stage four times and then comes back to the mic and continues running in place. David makes the oddest moves with his body throughout. There is no doubt that David and the talking heads were on the top of their game that night in December of 1983. I love the two female dancers/singers that offset David's quirkiness with their cool dancing. The one thing about this video that I noticed first is that it gets better and better with each new song or with each new band member until the climax with "Burning down the house." This is the best concert I've seen on video or on real life. I never get tired of watching it either. If you haven't decided on buying it yet then consider this: before my brother saw this video he did not care for the talking heads but when we got half way through watching this video he said to me -"I wonder if I can find any of their live stuff on the internet. They're a really great band." This video is just awesome. See for yourself what everyone has been talking about. Favorite performances: "Thankyou for sending me an angel", "Cities," "Life during wartime," "What a day that was," and "Naive Melody."
Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: I'd forgotten what an excellent concert this was. If you've got a DVD with 5.1 stereo--you should own this. It's the next best thing to being there.
Rating:
Summary: still magical after 19 years
Review: Well I first saw the movie Stop Making Sense in 1983or 1984 in Greenwich Village NY. It was the most electric rock concert movie I had ever seen. I recently rented it on DVD. Amazing...still electric after 19 years. The Heads had the right chemistry--of course David is one of those rare talents that just light up the music. I hadnt noticed that, in addition to being one of the most brilliant performers to grace a rock stage, he is also a pretty good guitar player. Fave song? Home--still fresh. Also, you can let your kids watch this DVD--theres nothing really objectionable about it. Its pure energy.
Rating:
Summary: Can't seem to face up to the facts
Review: It's always so hard for me to describe why I love something. If I break down a wonderful book, a poem, a song, or a movie into it's various elements it loses something and becomes good and well-made and competent, but it's no longer inspiring. Stop Making Sense has fantastic songs executed sublimely by nine performers. This is all captured with low-key perfection by Jonathon Demme and edited with low-profile naturalism by Lisa Day. (I think Billy Wilder said that every time you notice a "great shot" in a movie it automatically means it isn't one. None of the shots are noticeable in this movie, only the performances.) But none of these reasons makes Stop Making Sense what it is! Like all masterpieces it's indefinable and more than the sum of its parts.
Rating:
Summary: Great Show!
Review: I'd never seen this before and was totally blown away. Byrne's spastic movements and the band's faultless musical performance make this an enjoyable show, even if you're not the greatest Talking Heads fan. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: you don't have to be a fan
Review: you don't have to be a fan of the talking heads to be captivated by this video. I first saw this because I couldn't find anything else interesting to rent at the video store and didn't know much about the group, and I was glued to my seat. If you are a fan you'd probably give it 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Sheer artistic brillance.
Review: I own and have seen quite a few Musical DVD's and this is my favorite. I would go see this at a theatre!! Even if you don't really like Talking Heads you must have respect for the how excellent this dvd truly is. David Byrne is a genius and his creativity is only amplified by director Jonathan Demme.
It starts out with Byrne walking out with a guitar and boom box in a dirty warehouse which looks it is getting remodeled. The brillance? You can only see below his knees until a verse in, Its amazing how he taps his feet and bends his knees to the music wants to get you moving. When a new song starts a new band member comes out too till they are all there and do a stunning rendition of "Burning down the house". Simply Amazing! Setting amplifies the mood with excellent lighting which causes the band members shadows to become giants on the board lining the back wall! Pictures show in the background on approiate songs and David Byrne voice is simply amazing as he changes his voice from a great higher pop sound to a low dark song one after the other. This is the standard by which all concert Movies should try and measure up too. The only musical talent that even comes close to Byrne is Ben Folds, Who also has a DVD with his previous band Ben Folds Five, Which by the way is a very good DVD just not nearly as artistic as This (but nothing is). David Byrne's Solo albums have been great everytime and I still think he is the most talented,original,creative person alive on this earth today. No questions about it. Here is to Talking Heads and all the joy they have brought me over my life. I have been watching them with thier video Story telling giant since I was 2. I should also mention im 15 years old and that even if there music isnt the same as most today, The sheer talent shines through and reaches me like no other. Don't delay buy this DVD today.
Rating:
Summary: The best concert film ev...yada yada yada...
Review: You've heard it all before..."Sense" is the best concert film ever made, and one of the greatest rock films ever. And the most uncanny thing about all of these claims is that they're absolutely true. "Sense" is a terrific film...a perfect snapshot of an eclectic, ingenious rock band at their peak, filmed as if it were a feature film and not a concert video. Demme's insistence on long shots of the band members works wonders...it allows the performance to breathe and gives a bird's eye view of the festivities. Cronewith's cinematography is spellbinding...I'm reminded of the blood red background and eerie fog of "Swamp," which perfectly suits this demonic song delivered in cackly baritone by Byrne. Or the incredible shot during the coda of "Once In A Lifetime" of backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt leaning *very* far back as keyboardists Jerry Harrison and Bernie Worrell jam and Byrne proselytizes to the audience, clad in hornrims and scientist coat. Mabry and Holt look like androids as they reel up to a standing position, perfectly in sync, while Harrison and Worrell are shrouded in a peculiar fog that makes them look as if they are floating on clouds. And Byrne's neurotic tics and bent genius lead the way. An incredible moment in an incredible film.And of course there's the music. It is certainly one of the best live performances ever captured on tape, by one of the best bands of all time (though, to be fair, a certain amount of post-production overdubbing was engaged in by the band members in 1984). While not *flawless* (Harrison makes a few synth flubs near the end of "This Must Be The Place," for one), it is breathtaking and captures T Heads at their absolute peak. A bit of a greatest hits show, with some highlights from their then current album "Speaking In Tongues," the music all hangs together wonderfully. The extended lineup all cook on funky numbers like "Crosseyed And Painless" and "What A Day That Was," scorch the earth on the new wave gospel of "Slippery People" and treat more somber numbers like "This Must Be The Place" with a gentle, human sensitivity. And of course, there is the absolute highlight and centerpiece of the film (at least in this reviewer's opinion): the double whammy of "Burning Down The House"--T Heads' then current hit--and "Life During Wartime." These two performances are like manna from heaven...the band all hit their marks perfectly. In "House," Worrell burns the synth to the ground with bizarre noises and funky fills...Byrne, Weir and Harrison all give a driving guitar rhythm...Harrison, Mabry and Holt mirror dance while Weir and Byrne drip with sweat. Percussionist Steve Scales dances around and even finds time to give the camera a silly mug. In "Wartime," Byrne plays at being aerobic instructor. His sinewy, bizarre movements and jogging in place give the song an energy that never lets up. Exhilarating for band and audience alike. And herein lies the charm of this film...nine players on stage, of different races, genders and personality types, all coming together to give one incredible performance. All are represented at one time or another in the film. There are also some great bonus materials, such as a self-interview with David Byrne, where he masquerades as several different characters interviewing himself in the big suit, and gives suitably Byrne-esque pseudo-intellectual answers (he answers at least three of the questions with "I'll tell you later"). The sound of the DVD itself is quite nice, though fans of the original film and video will need to get used to the new 5.1 mixes. I personally prefer the "studio mix," which, ironically, sounded much more "live" to me than the "feature film" mix. So then, why do I give this DVD only four stars instead of five? Well, frankly, there are some aspects of the disc itself that are a bit disappointing. The transfer itself looks okay, but I'd only give it three and a half stars out of five. There are little white flecks occasionally, and a few very egregious flaws, most noticeable when Mabry, Holt and Scales first emerge on stage (there are marks that scroll up and down the screen for a few seconds). There are also a few scenes where the holes in the top right side of the screen (which are used in theatrical prints to denote a scene change) haven't been digitally edited out. Also, without explanation, some lines in the movie have been changed. Near the end of "Place," where Byrne once uttered a cheery "uh-huh!" into the mic, it has been replaced with the same exact "hey!" he delivers later. Frantz's "too much of that g** damn snow white...all night!" during "Genius" has been replaced with the wholly inoffensive "and everything's just jumpin' outta sight...all night." Quite why they decided to change these lines is not known, and, in the case of Byrne's "hey!" just seems downright bizarre. The last irritating aspect is the fact that the bonus songs are on a separate track, so that once you enter that section following the film, you can't skip back into the film. Furthermore, I don't understand why they were cut in the first place. They were in the running order of the videocassette for years, and are terrific performances in and of themselves, so why not leave them in for the DVD release? But, as Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap once said, "that's nitpicking, isn't it?" If you're a fan of Talking Heads, the 1980s, music, fine films or art, you must have this in your collection. All gripes aside, it's an incredible piece of filmmaking that will stand the test of time and remains fresh after almost 20 years. Certainly the best concert film ever made (yes, I said it again), and the second greatest rock film ever made (behind "A Hard Day's Night"). Five + stars for the film, four for the DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The Finest Rock And Roll Concert Film Ever Made
Review: Although Martin Scorsese's "The Last Waltz" may be the finest documentary ever produced of a rock and roll band's demise, Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense" remains the finest filmed rock and roll concert. This is a brilliantly conceived, beautifully photographed tribute to the "Talking Heads", capturing them at the height of their artistic and popular acclaim. Lead singer/guitarist David Byrne is absolutely spellbinding to watch, from the opening notes of "Psycho Killer" to the very end. Demme and his cinematographer successfully record the fine chemistry between Byrne and his original bandmates Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison, as well as the other supporting musicians in the band.
Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal
Review: I just can't say enough about this DVD. The sound is utterly incredible, and the filming is beautifully done. I couldn't imagine how anyone would not enjoy this Talking Heads' DVD. The energy from all the musicians is obvious, and their love of playing is what transcends the Talking Heads from just a good band to a great live ensemble of performers. It's obvious that they enjoy entertaining the audience. I absolutely love this DVD. It's infectious. I found myself watching this DVD three times in just one week. That's not something I typically do, but, the energy is so invigorating, I'm drawn back to it. Stop Making Sense is an absolute must have for any music lover.
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