Music DVD Poll Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

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Rate the DVD "Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense"

  • 6

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 5

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 3

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 - poor mix, visuals & presentation

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 - waste of plastic

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    35

neil wilkes

2K Club - QQ Super Nova
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
4,365
Location
London, England
TalkingHeads_StopMakingSense.jpg

Please rate the DVD above, and where possible what you paid for it.
 
At the risk of getting my head chopped off, I voted an "8" even though I own the BD, not the DVD.
This show does look and sound great. It just isn't all that surroundy. Mostly ambience and audience in the rears.
There are rare discrete moments, like the off-stage backup singer for the 2nd song.
There is an optional "5.1 Studio Mix" and I really can't hear much distinction between it and the "5.1 Feature Film" option.
If you want a great sounding, well-shot and directed musical performance, nab this. I can't recommend the show highly enough.
If you're hoping for an uber-discreteathon, you should pass.
 
Love this show to bits, but agree with edisonbaggins above... this is a solid mix but nothing extraordinary. The energy from the stage is preserved in surround, yet I also cannot find much difference in the 5.1 mixes. Have been playing this one for about a year and am glad to see that my opinion is shared! They've left Chris Frantz' way-off timing on the intro to 'Life During Wartime' unfixed, unlike the CD remaster from 1999 which was fixed/muted.

In the end, this is essential concert viewing and listening that my entire family loves, teenage kids included. (y)
 
I have the original Japanese laser disc which I heard was worth holding onto and avoiding this DVD.
 
what is the difference on the Jap laser?

At least one non-sung drug reference was removed from "Genius of Love" in the later mix. It's been so long that I can't remember the details, but it REALLY stood out at the time. I have no idea why it was done..."We went insane when we took cocaine" remains in the lyrics. It's possible that it was done to appease the MPAA or some other hate group (I believe the change was also made to the 35mm reissue prints), assuming that whatever was done for the re-release also required a re-submission to the censor board.

Fading memory says that the first reel is out of sync on the Japanese Laserdisc. It also incorporates the bonus tracks into the film itself while subsequent releases place them separately. Which is preferable is a matter of opinion.

It was always odd to me that there was never a US Laserdisc release. I spent a fortune for the Japanese one and for the Japanese version of Laurie Anderson's "Home of the Brave".
 
A few facts about the LD:

The old Dolby Surround doesn't match what could be done with a strong 5.1 mix today, but it has good separation and some rich bass--which I found lacking on the DVD regardless of the mix, possibly due to compression.

What's most important about the LD, though, is that it is FULL SCREEN, while the LD has a matted screen which masks the image on the top and bottom but offers not a lot to the sides (it was not a Panavision film; it was shot in presumably standard ratio). Normally, a full screen version of a movie would be inferior, but for this film, you get to see things and perspectives that are hurt by their loss on the DVD (even if, in the theater, there was still *some* masking of the image depending on the location you saw it at).

It must also be noted that, from the outset, the mix--and later, mixes--were not entirely live; some studio or mix sweetening was done to many if not most of the tracks. Again, this is not necessarily a negative, because the band pretty much made their definitive versions of many of these tracks for this film, leaving some of the studio versions seeming to lack the vitality and presence heard here (which is fairly amazing when you consider how many times some of these were played by the Heads before they made the film).

I think this is one of the great concert movies. But I'm not sure the DVD lives up to that greatness in spite of the new mixes. I always come back to the LD, because of the reasons noted above. And, it's a big grungier and darker in look--think a more up-close approach to RUST NEVER SLEEPS--than the DVD seemed to me.

ED :)
 
Interesting, thanks for the info, I've always loved the film
 
It might be nice for somebody to compare the DVD to the BD. I'm not sure the BD suffers from the same limitations as the DVD.
Maybe though. I found the BD pleasant enough, but wasn't looking out for some of the issues described.
 
I waited until a couple of years ago to get the BD version , which has 2 (or more , I think) MCH mixes-found them very interesting and good , as in immersive...

Can't compare it to any other since I only had the cassette when it came out...
 
I'm rating the Second Sight import BD

Wow, Awesome set list. Very well recorded. Visuals are very cool too.

5.1 DTS-HD MA sounds awesome (both Studio mix and Audience mix)

Genius of Love almost steals the show for me

This is how all concert films should look and sound.
 
Despite my caveats above, this is nonetheless a DVD not to be missed, simply because it's such a great concert assemblage to begin with. This is the one Heads disc I'd recommend to anyone who'd never heard them before.

ED :)
 
yeah, I don't own this, nor have I seen it. The blu-ray is cheap.

Run don't walk to check this one out. Sound is amazing. Mix is good. Performance is maybe the best ever caught on film. I first saw it on VHS and that was great too.
 
Wow, time for me to upgrade to the Blu-ray! Great film. I was lucky to catch a performance of this tour at Blossom Music Center near Cleveland ('83? '84?) and it remains once of my fondest concert memories. Brilliant show.
 
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