Concert Movies

A24 to Re-Release ‘Stop Making Sense’ in Remastered 4K, and I Cannot Wait

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

Like any other year, 2023 has brought with it a lot of exciting news about the many movies coming our way very soon. But news of one movie really piqued my interest, and that was of A24 acquiring the worldwide rights to the classic 1984 concert film “Stop Making Sense.” directed by the late, great Jonathan Demme, it is set to be remastered in 4K and will be released in theaters sometime before the end of the year.

A24 has since premiered a promo trailer for the film’s re-release which features David Byrne showing up at a dry cleaner establishment to pick up a piece of clothing which sure enough turns out to be the big suit he wore in the latter half of the concert, starting with the song “Girlfriend is Better.” He is pleased to receive it and is quick to put it back on once he arrives at his apartment. To see that it still fits is not a surprise in the slightest and, like everyone else, I look forward to see him rocking and rolling in it yet again.

The only thing which bothers me about this rerelease trailer is that it does not feature the other members of Talking Heads: Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth. Surely, they too are excited about this classic concert film, right? The likelihood of these four ever reuniting remains astronomical, but it would have been nice to see these three featured in this trailer as well even if they were forced to film their appearances separate from Byrne’s.

What I love about “Stop Making Sense” is that it is a motion picture you cannot watch sitting still. Whether you are viewing it on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, your local theater or in 4K, Demme makes you feel like you are watching the show along with those lucky patrons at the Pantages. I did get the chance to see on the silver screen at an arthouse theater in Orange County while I was a student at UC Irvine. The crowd in that theater, however, was quite small, so I hope the next crowd I see it with when it arrives back on the silver screen before the end of 2023 is much, much bigger. Seriously, this film is a great and exhilarating experience to take in with groups of people, and I cannot wait to do so in the near future.

Check out the promo trailer down below.

Phil Joanou on How He Came to Direct U2: Rattle and Hum

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

WRITER’S NOTE: This article is about a screening which took place back in 2012.

Filmmaker Phil Joanou was at New Beverly Cinema when the theatre showed two of his films: “Three O’Clock High” and the U2 documentary “Rattle and Hum.” While most of the evening was spent talking about “Three O’Clock High” as it had arrived at its 25th anniversary, Joanou did take some time to talk about how he was hired by U2 to direct their first music documentary (or rockumentary if you will). The story ended up becoming one of the strangest and funniest ones told on this evening.

Joanou was busy doing post-production on “Three O’Clock High” when his agent got him a meeting with U2 on the day before the band had to leave America for Ireland. They had already interviewed a number of directors already, but Joanou said they hit it off to where they asked him, “can you come to Dublin tomorrow?” He said sure, but he had to call the producer of “Three O’Clock High” to explain why he had to leave post-production on a little early. The producer apparently was not too happy about this sudden opportunity, but Joanou got to go anyway.

Once in Dublin, Joanou said U2 interviewed him for five days about directing “Rattle and Hum.” Where the story goes from there is not what you might expect as the band kind of left him hanging.

Phil Joanou: They would take me to a friend’s house and then Bono and Edge would leave and I would have dinner with the husband and wife. After that they took me to a wedding and they left me there as well. I’m there in Northern Ireland and I’m all by myself at an Irish wedding and I’m like, okay great! I don’t know anyone here. I had to figure out how to get home. So, they would do weird things like that to me. They’d drop me off at a bar and leave me. This went on for five days!

After all this craziness, U2 came up to Joanou and said, “alright, you can do the film.” Joanou said that to this day he still does not know what the criteria was for them hiring him, but he described making “Rattle and Hum” as being an “incredible experience.” Looking back, he described the Irish rock band as having taught him so much while being on the road and in the studio with them.

“Rattle and Hum” was greeted with a critical backlash when it came out as critics accused the band of being too grandiose and self-righteous. Watching it today, however, is a different experience as “The Joshua Tree” tour, as it is presented here, feels far more intimate than any tour they have done since. The musical numbers are exhilarating to watch, especially in black and white, and their journey through the American music scene gives us a number of unforgettable moments. But moreover, it was especially great to see it on the big screen for the first time in many years. Concert movies like these really need to be seen on the big screen to be fully appreciated.