Stop Making SensePG

Directed by Jonathan Demme | USA | 1983 | 1h 28m

Big songs. Even bigger suit! Director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) captures the intoxicating experience of New York art-rockers Talking Heads performing live at the peak of their powers in 1983. Beginning with frontman David Byrne performing a solo rendition of ‘Psycho Killer’, members of the band join the set one-by-one, song-by-song to create one of the most legendary and joyous live music experiences put to film. Newly restored in 4K to coincide with the film’s 40th anniversary, it is now considered by critics and fans to be the greatest concert documentary of all time.

Join us for a Byrne’s Night double-feature screening of Stop Making Sense alongside David Byrne’s 1986 directorial debut True Stories on Saturday 25th January. Click here to book your double-feature tickets.

Reviews

‘The energy of Jonathan Demme’s 1984 film defies categorisation, and David Byrne in the ‘Big Suit’ is the Chuck Berry of new wave art-rock’
★★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘And even now, how fresh it seems. For all the reverence and influence, how unique as well. The greatest concert movie ever made? Whether truth or fact, it is.’
★★★★★
Danny Leigh, The FT

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Stop Making Sense between October 13, 2023 and January 31, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 5th March)

12:30

My Father's Shadow 12A
Parent + Baby Screening
1h 33m
During Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, two brothers journey across Lagos with their estranged father, discovering the city’s vastness and political unrest. Told through a child’s eyes, this is a vivid and deeply personal debut from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.

Book here

15:30

My Father's Shadow 12A
1h 33m
During Nigeria’s 1993 election crisis, two brothers journey across Lagos with their estranged father, discovering the city’s vastness and political unrest. Told through a child’s eyes, this is a vivid and deeply personal debut from British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr.

Book here

17:45

Hamlet 15
1h 53m
Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) returns home after his father’s death, and is haunted by the ghosts of revenge. Amid political corruption, family loyalty and moral responsibility collide in this gripping, contemporary re-telling of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.

Book here

20:15

The Handmaiden 18
2h 25m | Korean w/ English subtitles
Park Chan-wook’s lush erotic thriller dazzles with deception, desire and double-crosses. Set in 1930s Korea and based on Fingersmith, this modern classic is a masterwork of suspense and sensuality. A bold reimagining of the period drama.

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Tomorrow (Friday 6th March)

15:00

“Wuthering Heights” 15
2h 16m
In 18th-century Yorkshire, brooding outsider Heathcliff falls for Catherine, the daughter of his master, igniting a destructive love story of obsession. Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie star in Emerald Fennell’s (Saltburn) sensual adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel.

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18:00

Soul to Soul U
1h 36m
Documentary about a historic 1971 concert at Black Star Square in Accra, celebrating Ghana’s independence. Over 100,000 people gathered as Ike & Tina Turner, Santana, and other African American musicians created groundbreaking music and experienced Africa for the first time.

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20:30

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 15
1h 53m
A house filling with water. A child who won’t get better. And a husband who’s never there. Rose Byrne delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as a mother whose world is unravelling in Mary Bronstein’s darkly comic portrait of modern womanhood.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!