Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (131)
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This definitely confirms it: David Byrne has been having an uninterrupted existential crisis for the last 45 years. It’s truly amazing that his satire on American capitalism seems as relevant as it did in the 80s. Unlike Jerry Seinfeld doing bits about iPhones, it doesn’t feel like he is trying to bend to be more relevant to the times, but more like he has always known what we needed. I think it is because he was always an outsider. He often sings about waking up to a realization or seeing his world through a different lens. The world has evolved but it hasn’t fundamentally changed, just as his message evolved but remains the same. This is Spike Lee’s best movie…
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No one gets it like David Byrne gets it, an artist who somehow translates alienation and disenfranchisement into positivity, decency, inclusion, and shameless dancing. A genuinely inspiring person with more good songs than just about anyone who started after 1975. I felt my heart pause and grow a little when “Slippery People” started. Spike Lee does a lot that Jonathan Demme didn’t do in STOP MAKING SENSE—overhead cinematography, pitiless closeups on faces and feet, an acknowledgement of the audience. It’s with purpose—it’s not a surrealist exercise, it’s a communal jubilee. What a bookend.
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david byrne helping me rediscover what being happy feels like, same as it ever was. really wishing i could go to his house and never come back home right now.
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put this on across two separate nights while cooking risotto. my review of david byrne’s american utopia is that i shouldn’t have put as much butter in the risotto
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feels reductive to just call david byrne a musician when i think he’s really the world’s greatest children’s television host with a brain that probably functions like one of those extremely complicated million-gear machines you see in a children’s book. he’s raffi for adults. his work rides a very goofy line of earnest loving optimism and sarcastic cynical criticism, like an alien who doesn’t understand why we do the things but has come to love our patterns all the same. maybe i just think of his work as childish because it always makes me feel childlike; untethered and happy, swaddled in the comfy and smart way he speaks but encouraged by the exuberant, full and constructed feeling of his music…
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AMERICAN UTOPIA might be the most joyful thing that made me incredibly sad. 2020! Time isn’t holding us. Time isn’t after us.
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I don’t think there is anyone in the world like David Byrne and I wouldn’t want there to be. Gave me the same feeling as Stop Making Sense of somehow breathing just a bit more oxygen than the world would usually allow, feeling your heart beat a little, a lot bigger. One Fine Day cracks me open. It’s all fucking glorious, will rewatch to death.
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Even in an era when rock shows were all about orgiastic excess, former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne made a warm and inviting spectacle out of his own smallness. The signature image from Jonathan Demme’s totemic concert documentary “Stop Making Sense” finds Byrne getting lost inside his own comically large silver business suit; maybe it was a Kabuki-like expression of a man being swallowed alive by runaway capitalism, or maybe — as Byrne maintains — he just wanted to make it look like his head had shrunken down to a funny size. Not that it was ever big to begin with. As radical in his humility as he was humble in his radicality, art rock’s very own Mr. Rogers welcomed…
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Sstevie 8 月 24, 2026
David Byrne’s American Utopia streaming exclusively on HBO Max ○ く|)へ 〉 Hamilton streaming ￣￣┗┓ exclusively on Disney+ ┗┓ ヾ○ｼ ┗┓ ヘ/ ┗┓ノ ┗┓
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Made me watch out because I may have got what I was after.
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oh to be david byrne exiting stage door after yet another night of giving the world pure joy and cycling off into the nyc lights. (achieved rare cinema audience applause 👏)
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Painful
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KKeaton 8 月 21, 2026
Spike and David are the two great American men
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david byrne greedy with the best concert film of all time award
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What a guy
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Its no stop making sense You definitely feel the absence of the joyous friendship of the band that was such a big draw for that previous film And yet Byrne’s presence as post punks Mr Rogers is enough to still sort of hold it together – was definitely surprised by how good some of Byrne’s solo stuff was But for me, it’s just a bit too didactic, just a bit too woke 1.0, a bit too libbed up for my…
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a pice of art one of the best koncert films i have ever watched
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Just a beautiful film of a beautiful, hopeful, sweet but rigorous and intelligent concert. Music as art, as politics, as hope.
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LLouise 8 月 20, 2026
I want to dance with David Byrne. Both of us barefoot and in business suits 🩶🩶
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Wonderful stuff. Such a well produced show with great musical performances, a strong political message (Spike Lee Joint), and what it means to be human in our ever advancing world. Poor show to to the two women sitting in front of me who stared at each other after the Janelle Monae protest song and walked out. Apologies if that was a coincidence, but then why would you leave before Road to Nowhere?
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joy is an act of resistance
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“What we humans like looking at most is… yeah, other humans. More than a bicycle. More than a beautiful sunset and, probably, more than a bag of potato chips. So, I thought about the show and wondered, ‘What if we could eliminate everything from the stage, execpt the stuff we care about the most?’. What would be left? It would be us… and you.”- David Byrne
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Llizfeingold 8 月 20, 2026
been telling my friends that i am “apologetically myself” and david byrne says “unfortunately, i am what i am” so we’re quite similar in that sense. end credits made me homesick new york take me back one day!
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And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?” I’d say it’s because I saw the concert 8 years ago and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, so when I got the chance to watch this on the big screen at the cinema, I took it. Such a good show. David Byrne is an icon. Also spotted Zawe Ashton dancing in the crowd during Road to Nowhere. Love that she was at the recording.
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“We’re only tourists in this life, only tourists but the view is nice” Oh my effing god. HANNAH WHY DIDN’T YOU GO TO LATITUDE YOU BIG IDIOT. I’m in Copenhagen on my first ever solo trip (haven’t mentioned it), it was raining a lot today and I stumbled upon an indie cinema showing this and I thought fuck it and THANK GOD I did. I’m on such a high I feel like that one Anthony Bourdain clip walking through the…
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Llorrie 8 月 19, 2026
could not resist seeing this again, this time at my fav cinema! nice to see the intro this time (the odeon didn’t bother showing it grrr). toe jam and blind stood out to me this time, just so fun 🙂
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L
Hvis alle bare var som David Byrne, havde verden været et smukkere sted. Og lidt for autistisk.
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G
papa k bday cinema watch saw this live 8 years ago in brighton and was lovely to rewatch up close and remind myself what a goat david truly is
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Too many closeups of bare feet 😳
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Hard not to smile watching this concert.
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Mad that this was never released in the cinema, this is probably THE peak of COVID cinema – hell yeah David Byrne bby
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HHarry 8 月 19, 2026
Fuckin incredible experience on the big screen. Stop Making Sense is my favourite film ever so I knew I’d love this. David Byrne and all involved are tremendous. Really cool that Spike directed this too.
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a long while back, we were debating going to New York to see American Utopia on Broadway, this never happened as life stuff got in the way, and then, more commonly to us all, covid happened I then remember us watching the concert film pretty much as soon as it was available – this was one of the most rememberable Covid nights, filming the screen like we were actually at a concert, experiencing a rare bit of joy, hope & escapism…
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I LOVE DAVID BYRNE!!!!!!!
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Thanks Mr. Byrne, just the greatest
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Good music, didn’t care for the message.
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Start Making Sense. When I was first getting my autism diagnosis, I also started getting into Talking Heads. David Byrne’s lyrics just resonated with me in a way most musical artists don’t. It might be the way he views things as an outsider or as someone on the autism spectrum looking in that gives the words he says more meaning. Stop Making Sense had so much unrestrained physical and creative energy I was almost afraid of getting into Byrne’s later…
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Never listened to Byrne’s music before, never really given Talking Heads a go, so went into this about as blind as possible. Walking the shit out of the balance between quirky and cool, Byrne makes the idea of togetherness, harmony, friendship, play, whatever, look so fucking good, it’s intoxicating. 5 or so songs into this thing, I was sold. Lost half a star to me due to the political talking sections in-between the songs in the second half. Not because…
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Var meget underholdt i den første halvdel, men så blev jeg mæt, og derefter føltes det lidt dragged.
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I’m pretty sure David Byrne legally can’t do anything bad in his career. Can’t wait to rewatch this like a thousand times, instant classics for me
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I’m positive that 100% of the people who need to embrace Byrne’s message will never see this production. Too bad. The band is awesome.
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FFilmhouseEdin 8 月 17, 2026
These screenings will have a recorded introduction from David Byrne. Book tickets for two or more of our David Byrne films in the same transaction to receive a discount! Extra screenings added due to popular demand! Showing tonight, Tuesday 18th, Saturday 22nd and Thursday 27th August. “Do we get stupider as we grow up?” In his wildly popular Broadway show American Utopia, David Byrne reflects on human connections, life and how on earth we work through it. He joins the dots…
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JJoshPit 8 月 17, 2026
The implication being, of course, that this time his suit is regular size but his shoes are so big that he can’t even wear them and that they may in fact be so big that he couldn’t even get them outside of the store where he bought them from.
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in many ways we’re all in our own large gray suits just trying to figure out what life actually means. simply a triumph.
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didn’t watch this, actually watched the edp445 documentary with my boys and this was the first thing that popped up under “edp445”
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The coolest man on the planet in an uplifting, minimalist, inventive collaboration.
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I don’t know if there was a gas leak in my screening because I cried, I shit you not, like 5 times. The opening performance of Here was genuinely so devestating and powerful. Have not felt anything like that in a while. Fucking love Byrne so fucking much.
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K
A great film if the show, far better than the average film of concert/shows, Spike Lee should get asked to do more of these for other artist. It can be difficult to remember this was filmed in front of an audience in a theatre, it’s only when you see the back of people’s heads popping into frame you that you realise that a paying audience were attending (no love to the fat guy in the front row who jumps up…
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I mean I literally don’t have much to say, obviously not as mind blowing as stop making sense but when david byrne is singing and dancing and laughing in a beautifully shot exploration of endurance and connection you obviously rate it 5 stars and can’t wait until you can watch it again I really really hope they’ve managed to shoot something like this for who is the sky, I’m desperate to have that show immortalised also no offence to the og recording of slippery people but all live versions of it go SO much harder
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Q
Music and storytelling, superbly staged. Unfair to single out a single aspect, but oh that rumbling bass.
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A great day to be alive and watching this on the biggest screen in the UK. I think the perfect combination of David Byrne’s music and Spike Lee’s direction comes during I Zimbra, but also a shout out to the euphoric WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH HIM at the audience during Slippery People and the staging of Burning Down the House and Once in a Lifetime. Ok yes fine I just loved all of it.
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Like most people rn I find it hard to feel hopeful or optimistic in this post irony late stage capitalist hellscape but this really made me feel something. The links he made between neuroplasticity, that James Baldwin quote and utopian ways of thinking ❤️ Healing is relational and we will resist fascism
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Eelin 8 月 16, 2026
i loved this (of course). wanted to see it for the first time at a cinema, and finally got to – in imax (wild). i could watch a huge david byrne for days and days on end and never get bored
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Every number exquisitely shot. I’m so glad this got a theatrical run, finally! Seen at: BFI IMAX
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2nd viewing, this time with my partner who cried 3 times. It’s a different beast to Stop Making Sense, with which it will naturally be compared, but ultimately ends with the same fizzing euphoria. Can’t wait to watch again, ideally as high as that one guy in the audience at the end.
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Joyous and moving and delightful. Content warning: camera shots of feet from the wet dreams of Quentin Tarantino
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I admit I shed a tear during this must be the place – it reminds me of my friends
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Wish I’d seen this live. Full of energy and passion.
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we’re untethered, we can go anywhere, we choose the crowd. makes my chest cavity ache like it only did when I first discovered that music and film could feel like something bigger than my experience of them, an instant antidote to years of learned cynicism and knowing better. I wish I was a camera, I wish I was a postcard, I welcome you to my house, you didn’t have to go far.
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An absolute marvel. An unfiltered genius handing over his incredible show to another genius to make it cinematic, and he completely nails it. The focus on the band is invigorating and brings so much joy to it all. “Most of us are immigrants, and we couldn’t do it without them” Top 5 performances in no particular order: I Know Sometimes a Man is Wrong/Don’t Worry About the Government Hell you Talmabout Glass, Concrete and Stone Toe Jam I, Zimbra
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At the end of the film, there’s a girl in the front row giving the weakest round of applause I’ve ever seen and I can’t help but wonder how much that front row ticket cost her…
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Near the start, David Byrne half-jokingly poses the question – do we get stupider as we grow up? Well, he certainly doesn’t seem to have. The show is just really joyful and full of optimism about the power of human connection. You’re presented with his lovely, positively sweet worldview through his between-song musings, and then of course there’s all those wonderful songs. It’s not all fanciful ‘wouldn’t it be lovely if…’ though, the darker side of America is there too,…
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FFrancesca de Rochefort 8 月 16, 2026
Since this wasn’t properly released into cinemas here in 2020 for obvious reasons, it was nice to take the chance to catch up on it 6 years late, even if it has by now already aged into an artifact of a very specific era in time. David Byrne has long been a personal hero and Stop Making Sense is not just my favourite concert film but one of my favourite films of any variety, but despite this show’s inexorable motioning…
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Nnorms28 8 月 16, 2026
Sheer heartfelt genius
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I smiled throughout. And jigged about in my cinema seat; I’d have got up to dance had I not been on one of the front rows. Pure joy and artistry.
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An excellent concert film which missed a theatrical release due to Covid. Screened on one day in IMAX worldwide. A great document of a cracking show. Loved Toe Jam, Lazy and Blind.
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I will always adore how woke David Byrne and his monologues are in this.
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Crosseyed and shoeless Maybe should give this five stars, but I’m held back by Stop Making Sense existing. Watched this alone on Blu Ray in January 2021, during the darkest lockdown. It was a bloody tonic then. Very glad to be able to see it now on the big screen. Seeing it a month after seeing Byrne at Latitude was an extra treat. Occasionally indulgent, frequently spiritually uplifting and always a bop. We are so lucky to be living in a world with David Byrne in it.
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wonderful really
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IMAX Couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Stands as an equal to Stop Making Sense. Alike in that it’s also an example of audiovisual filmmaking mastery – the Criterion 4K upgrade is mythical stuff. I had forgotten all of this besides the tracklist; oh my god. The depth of every frame, the camerawork, the blocking, the lighting, the choreography, this is a seminal work of performance art for the 21st Century. Time isn’t holding us. Time isn’t after us. source: bfi imax
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seeing and hearing this in imax was a religious experience. nobody captures joy, community, and connection like david byrne. i can’t rest now until i’ve seen stop making sense in imax too.
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Phenomenal choreography from the band and David Byrne’s voice gets better and better
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Jj_stapling 8 月 16, 2026
holy shit
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Watched at the imax. Teared up twice and felt strong urges to applaud after every song
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FINALLY got to see it! And what a joy it was.
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10 days later… “Gig viewing experience” at homemcr in theatre 2. The projector beaming through the haze giving it more atmosphere although the average age there did seem high. Hearing the reaction to people seeing it for the first time was incredible when it’s a gig and you can whisper about how skilled the guitarist and bassist is. Shout out to the two dancing all the way through at the front as of it was dance off
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@ Redheaded Stranger
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he loves to ride his little bicycle.. so cute
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does he know?
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David Byrne’s American Utoepia 🦶🏻
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92
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Still prefer Depeche Mode
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Hell yea what a good film and it was so cool to see on the big screen
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Woah he really grew into his suit
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Woman in my row was smiling laughing clapping & it made me emotional
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Got see David’s dogs on the big screen
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David Byrne, I love you
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u cannot play the X-Press 2 x David Byrne version of Lazy and expect me not to start violently tapping my foot in the cinema. took all my will power not to get up n shake my hips in the aisle. that man knows his way around a concert film alright !
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I have one brain cell left and it’s a barefoot David Byrne singing This Must Be The Place on loop
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K
david byrne can have five stars when he puts this show on again and lets me come and see it live with my own eyes
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So aparently DB is still fit as fuck in his 70s so we will have that in common I suppose.
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The man moves with as much energy as when he first sung these songs. He has always danced as if he is his current age though
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we’re only tourists in this life
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quite possibly the best shot film ever made i have a lot of feelings about david byrne, mainly about how he is too often reduced to silly autistic man in big suit, but i am not going to parse them all out on letterboxd. beautiful and joyous film experience.
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K
Evie tearing up at the end because “he looked so cute” cycling off in his puffer coat and scarf was my favourite
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The Rex
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I love you David Byrne
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O
“what we humans like looking at the most is other humans”. incredibly captivating, optimistic, and raw. David Byrne is a brilliant artist and communicator in many ways, the visual minimalism of this performance allows you to really connect with the messages and artists on stage – it is beautifully human and provocative.
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Only person to watch this before stop making sense
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David Byrne lures an unsuspecting audience into a theatre to give them a lecture on socialism in between his groovy musical sets – I have no choice but to stan David Byrne is proof that serving cunt has no age limit, my future is bright 🙂↕️ Ps. I want one of those grey suits
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Ppolfilms 8 月 13, 2026
Meh it was enjoyable at least I knew the songs. Didn’t feel very spontaneous Primary school class assembly vibes with the bare feet and general song-talking-song structure
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we are so lucky to live on the same planet as david byrne. go see this. that’s all
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made me realise that i am attracted to a customer at work because he reminds me of david byrne…. we’re on a roadd to somewherereee
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inevitably not captured anywhere near as well as Stop Making Sense, but the show itself is unreal – can only imagine how electrifying it was to witness in person. hope they’ve done a pro-shoot of the Who Is The Sky tour as well
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Musical genius – loved it AGAIN
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big screen slay
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I went to the concert version of this show at the Hammersmith Appollo in 2018 and it continues to be the best live show I’ve ever seen. A mesmerising combination of live performance, stage choreography, lightwork and shadowplay throughout. I was sat in one of the middle balconies of this venue, and very much received the full extravaganza of what this show was capable of achieving. Having finally seen a screening of this at Birmingham’s Mockingbird cinema, I’m struggling to…
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Perhaps being reductive but Natalie I think this might be up your alley! Feel like I’m doing a little bit of reverse separating-art-from-artist in that I quite like David Byrne (although I do have some probably completely misguided reservations), but I think some of the songs here are just kind of not very good and sometimes he comes off as trying to sound more interesting than he is or something. Overall not a bad experience and there’s some really great…
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Eternally grateful to have David Byrne on this planet.
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I’m on the Road to Nowhere
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OK now I wish I wasn’t such a skinflint and had actually gone to see this live cause it is pure ART and would have definitely been worth the extortionate ticket price (David and his crew might be real life angels)
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Bbadnun 8 月 5, 2026
Love
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Home. This is where I want to be, pick me up and turn me round. 🎶 Pure joy and enlightenment.
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Just brilliant
- Synopsis
- A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
- Director
- Spike Lee
- Writer
- David Byrne
- Studio
- Participant, River Road Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Todomundo
- Country
- USA
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2020
- Runtime
- 105 mins
- Canada10 Sep 2020
- Russia06 Jun 2021
- Denmark10 Sep 2020
- Poland15 Nov 2020
- UK14 Dec 2020
- Japan28 May 2021
- Finland10 Sep 2020
- USA17 Oct 2020
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