The landmark 1984 Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense is among the 25 films just added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
Each year the Library of Congress selects a number of films for preservation that are considered to have “cultural, historic and aesthetic importance to the nation’s film heritage.”
Directed by the late Jonathan Demme, who went on to win a Best Director Oscar in 1992 for Silence of the Lambs, Stop Making Sense captures the influential New York-based band performing in December ’83 at a series of shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater, during the height of their popularity.
The 88-minute movie features the David Byrne-led group on a sparsely decorated stage performing many of their best-known songs, including “Once in a Lifetime,” “Burning Down the House,” “Psycho Killer” and “Life During Wartime.” The film also includes a rendition of “Genius of Love,” a hit by Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth‘s side project, Tom Tom Club.
A synopsis of Stop Making Sense from the National Film Registry describes it as “infectious and the quintessential get-up-and-dance experience.”
Turner Classic Movies will screen a selection of this year’s entries as part of a television special on Friday, December 17, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
As previously reported, Talking Heads will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Recording Academy’s upcoming Special Merit Awards ceremony, which will take place at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 30, 2022, a day before the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Here’s the National Film Registry’s complete 2021 class, in chronological order:
Ringling Brothers Parade Film (1902)
Jubilo (1919)
The Flying Ace (1926)
Hellbound Train (1930)
Flowers and Trees (1932)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Evergreen (1965)
Requiem-29 (1970)
The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Sounder (1972)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Cooley High (1975)
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
Chicana (1979)
The Wobblies (1979)
Star Wars Episode VI — Return of the Jedi (1983)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)
The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Selena (1997)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
WALL•E (2008)
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