What it’s about
Filmed over the course of a three-day stint at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater, this concert documentary celebrates the inspired pop energy of New Wave pioneers Talking Heads David Byrne, Chris Franz, Tina Weymouth, and Jerry Harrison as they are joined onstage by a succession of phenomenal players, including keyboardist Bernie Worrell.
Why we love it
Jonathan Demme's infectious first musical outing captures the ecstatic fervor of the Talking Heads at the very peak of their fame, but it is much more than a filmed performance. Working from an idea hatched by super-quirky frontman David Byrne, “Sense” opens with Byrne's solo rendition of “Psycho Killer” (accompanying himself on boombox) and builds, song by song and player by player, to a roof-raising climax with “Burning Down the House.” Demme's film is an uplifting, concept-driven dance party that avoids all the clichés.