![]() ![]() musician who travels the world in order to find himself. musician Stew’s semi-autobiographical, Tony-winning musical about an aspiring L.A. Although it’s little-seen, 2009’s Passing Strange was a revelation, Lee basically toning down his considerable visual style to faithfully reproduce L.A. Shot during its recent acclaimed Broadway run at the Hudson Theatre, American Utopia is directed by Spike Lee, who before this gave us this century’s best filmed-theater movie outside of the recent Hamilton. It’s a cheering reminder of what human beings can do when they’re at their best. Were there any movies before this?”) American Utopia, which premieres on HBO on October 17th, is a magic trick and an absolute delight. (“Hell, maybe this is the greatest film I’ve ever seen. But what’s so fantastic about both films is that, when you watch them, the confidence of their execution and the depth of euphoria they generate is such that you temporarily lose any sense of perspective. I can make a case that David Byrne’s American Utopia is the best film of this year, and like with my Stop Making Sense argument, it’s one I can’t fully back up. Byrne’s cultural importance hasn’t been as towering since - the group broke up only a few years later - but all the joy I feel watching Stop Making Sense has only been matched by one other concert film. I say “performance” because in the film he seems to be playing a rock star, except it’s the nerdiest one ever conceived - he’s both mocking the job’s traditionally macho tendencies and savoring the pleasure of delivering brainy popular music to a mass audience. A geek leading the world’s funkiest band, Byrne gives a performance that’s equally thrilling and funny. The Talking Heads’ frontman was, of course, David Byrne, and much of the pleasure in Stop Making Sense comes from simply watching him gyrate and groove, shake and stare. If art is about capturing what life feels like, Stop Making Sense is as affirming as any film I could name. We’re a terrible species, but we can also sing and dance, and when we get together with like-minded souls, we can generate incredible songs that articulate a whole range of emotions more powerfully than mere words could. Like any terrific musical - say, Singin’ in the Rain - Stop Making Sense is, above all else, a celebration of what human beings can do. A document of a handful of December 1983 shows Talking Heads played in L.A., Stop Making Sense is one of the great pick-me-ups - it’s so joyous that it leaves me near tears on several occasions during its runtime. It’s one reason why I adore that 1984 concert film, which brings together music, theater, dancing, performance and moviemaking into one glorious 88-minute package. (If you argue instead for dance or music, drama or painting, I will reply that the cinema incorporates all of these arts).” “The cinema is the greatest art form ever conceived for generating emotions in its audience,” Roger Ebert wrote nearly 30 years ago. ![]() ![]() I could make a case that Stop Making Sense is the greatest film ever made. ![]()
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