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Byrne Unit: Talking Heads’ 1984 live doc ‘Stop Making Sense’ to screen at the Brattle

Last month, more than 30 screenings of Talking Heads’ iconic 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense were announced across North America in places like Ithaca, New York, and Missoula, Montana. But Massachusetts, oddly, was left out in the cold, though there were some rumors that one of the Boston area’s independent movie houses would fill the void.

That “Road To Nowhere” ends at the Brattle Theatre, as the Jonathan Demme-directed film — widely considered one of the greatest live music documentaries of all-time — will screen at the Cambridge venue on July 11.

The Brattle screening, like the previously announced engagements, commemorate the film’s 30-year anniversary. In 1984, Stop Making Sense was also released as a nine-song live album, and it spent more than two years, 118 weeks to be exact, on the Billboard 200 chart, featuring hits like “Psycho Killer,” “Once In A Lifetime,” and “Burning Down The House.” It was re-released in 1999 as a more comprehensive 16-track collection.

Wrote Fact Magazine back in May when the first round of screenings were unveiled: “[Stop Making Sense] is a unique interpretation of the band at their creative peak, with director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) cutting out the audience and making use of long shots and stark lighting to place the focus solely on the band, including David Byrne in his now-iconic out-sized suit.”

Ticket on-sales and screening time info will be available tomorrow, Wednesday, June 25. Here’s the Brattle listing:

Special 30th Anniversary Screenings!

(1984) Dir Jonathan Demme, w/The Talking Heads
Jonathan Demme’s brilliant concert doc returns one night only—don’t miss this chance to see STOP MAKING SENSE on the big screen! More information including showtimes available on Wednesday, June 25.

Stop Making Sense once screened at the Brattle in 2008 as part of its The 80s Rock movie series. Check out the original 1984 trailer below…

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