Skip to main content

Stop Making Sense

11 October 2024

In the Playhouse

Cinema

United States | 1984 | English | Concert Film | G

The greatest concert film of all time, Stop Making Sense brings to the screen Talking Heads at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983: David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison, alongside an ecstatic ensemble of supporting musicians. Renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) captures the band at their exhilarating best, in this new and complete restoration for the film's 40th anniversary.

The energy of Jonathan Demme’s 1984 film defies categorisation, and David Byrne in the ‘Big Suit’ is the Chuck Berry of new wave art-rock.

The Guardian

Useful information:

Greatest concert film of all time

Newly restored in 4K to coincide with its 40th anniversary, the 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.

Presented by Sydney Opera House

Trailer

Cast and credits

CREDITS

Director

Jonathan Demme

CAST

David Byrne

Tina Weymouth

Chris Frantz

Jerry Harrison

Plan your visit

You may also like

Mickey 17

1 May 2025

Starring Robert Pattinson (The Twilight Saga, Tenet) and directed by Academy Award Winner Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Mickey 17 is the highly anticipated dramatic and darkly comedic adaptation of Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7.

  • Cinema

Akira

4 May 2025

With a new 4K restoration, Katsuhiro Otomo’s landmark cyberpunk classic returns to the big screen. This ground-breaking film remains a masterpiece of animation today, with scale and ambition that can only be truly appreciated on the big screen.

  • Cinema

ACO: The Four Seasons - A Music Film

1 May 2025

The Four Seasons is arguably the most recognisable piece of classical music ever written. This filmed ACO performance, directed by Richard Tognetti, highlights the symbiosis between Vivaldi’s Venice and the Middle East, interspersing Vivaldi’s masterpiece with music by Australian-Egyptian composer and oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros. This special screening is followed by an insightful conversation with ACO Managing Director Richard Evans and film director Matisse Ruby, plus an audience Q&A.

  • Cinema
  • Classical Music

Checking availability