David Byrne Movies
David Byrne, a true renaissance man, has been the leader of an intellectual new wave rock-band Talking Heads, an actor, a filmmaker, screenwriter, and composer of musical scores. Born in Dumbarton, Scotland, he was raised in Baltimore after moving to the U.S. at the age of seven. As a young man, he studied photography, performance and video production at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1984, he and the Talking Heads were the subject of Jonathan Demme's concert film Stop Making Sense. He then tried filmmaking with his off-beat satire of Texas life True Stories (1986). Some of Byrne's quirky songs have appeared in feature films as well. In 1987, he and co-composers Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su won Academy Awards for their musical score for Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. He directed the 1989 documentary Ilé Aiyé, and made memorable contributions to Heavy Petting that same year. Over the ensuing years, he contributed to the score for many films including Magicians of the Earth, The Book of Life, and Young Adam, as well as the Sean Penn starring This Must Be the Place, which took its title from an old Talking Heads tune. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Fifty-year-old retired goth rocker Cheyenne (Sean Penn) travels from London to New York to visit his dying father, and then journeys across the United States on a mission to seek revenge against the elusive ex-Nazi war criminal who persecuted his dad in Auschwitz. Despondent after two of his young fans commit suicide, Cheyenne retreats to his Dublin mansion and begins living off of his royalties alongside his down-to-earth wife Jane (Frances McDormand). Later, he receives word that his father is dying in New York City. Although they haven't spoken in 30 years, he boards the first available flight to bid his dad farewell. Unfortunately, Cheyenne arrives too late. Upon reconnecting with his cousin Richard (Liron Levo), however, the morose musician learns that his father, a Holocaust survivor, had been tracking Auschwitz guard Aloise Lange (Heinz Lieven) around America for decades. Filled with ennui yet determined not to let Lange escape unpunished, Cheyenne vows to pick up the mission his father left uncompleted. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Penn, Judd Hirsch, (more)
Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog uses a disturbing triple homicide that took place in Conroe, Texas, as a springboard to exploring capital punishment in this challenging, thought-provoking documentary. In late 2001, Texas teens Jason Burkett and Michael Perry were arrested for a pair of murders related to a car theft gone horribly awry. Ten years later, Perry sits on death row awaiting execution, and Burkett languishes in prison with a lifetime sentence. Through interviews with the condemned man, his partner-in-crime, friends and relatives of both, local policemen, and the prison official in charge of carrying out executions, Herzog presents an unflinching portrait of the capital-punishment process, one that raises numerous questions about the high price we pay in our quest for justice. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2010
David Byrne is a visual artist as well as a musician, and ever since his early days as a member of Talking Heads, he's wanted his concerts to be more than just a static performance. In 1984, Byrne and filmmaker Jonathan Demme redefined the boundaries of the concert film with the Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense, and more than 25 years later Byrne has teamed up with David Hillman to create Ride, Rise, Roar, which documents Byrne's 2008-2009 concert tour, in which he performs new material written in collaboration with Brian Eno as well as favorites from his solo career as well as his tenure in Talking Heads. Using costumes and inventive choreography, Byrne and his musicians and dancers give his music a stage presentation as exciting as the music, and Hillman presents the spectacle on stage as well as a look at how the show was put together, including interviews with Byrne and his collaborators. Ride, Rise, Roar was an official selection at the 2010 Silverdocs Documentary Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2010
- PG13
- Add Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps to Queue Add Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps to top of Queue
Ambitious young investment banker Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf) discovers that greed is still the name of the game when he forges a fragile alliance with onetime Wall Street hotshot Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) shortly after Gekko is released from prison. Having served eight years for securities fraud, money laundering, and racketeering, Gekko emerges from prison to find that his daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), prefers to remain estranged, and that his former Wall Street cohorts are still raking in the cash. Flash-forward to 2008, and Winnie is dating a proprietary trader named Jake Moore (LaBeouf), who expresses a passion for green energy while working for his mentor Louis Zabel (Frank Langella), of Keller Zabel Investments. Despite heading up one of the most prominent investment firms in the country, Louis Zabel is forced to personally fight for the future of Keller Zabel before the Federal Reserve after the company's stock takes a hit due to persistent rumors that it's being dragged down by debt. Denied a bailout from the government, Keller Zabel soon falls victim to a hostile takeover lead by powerful investment bank partner Bretton James (Josh Brolin), of Churchill Schwartz. His job on the line and his mentor out of the picture, Jake discovers that Gordon Gekko is out promoting his new book "Is Greed Good?" and decides to attend a lecture being given by the author at Fordham University. According to Gekko, greed is now sanctioned by the government, and the U.S. economy is on the verge of collapse as a direct result of leveraged debt and wild conjecture. When Jake goes behind Winnie's back to try and repair her relationship with her father, Gekko reveals his compelling theories on the likely reasons for Zabel's downfall. Later, as Jake begins plotting to avenge his mentor, Gekko starts to reveal his true colors. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, (more)
- 2007
In the late '60s, musician Tom Zé was one of the few Brazilian musicians striving to maintain the vitality of his native country's traditional music by introducing socially conscious lyrics and flamboyant pop-rock stylistics into the familiar formula. The result was a new form of music that came to be known as the Tropicalismo movement. Later, when devoted fan and fellow musician David Byrne reissued the music of Zé, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Os Mutantes, American fans began to get a grasp on just how much this innovative musical form influenced not only popular music, but politics as well. In the following years, Zé collaborated with such popular acts as Chicago's Tortoise while attracting an increasingly large audience. A perpetual innovator, Zé even foreshadowed the "mash-up" craze by mixing Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" with the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and infusing the tunes with an infectious samba flavor nearly 30 years before the rest of the world caught on. At the turn of the 21st century, Zé was still going strong, and now filmmaker Decio Matos Jr. offers a look at precisely how the enduring musician has managed to buck the fly-by-night trends and remain relevant for decades. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Filmmaker Katharina Otto-Bernstein offers a detailed look into the world of avant-garde theater icon Robert Wilson, whose visionary works and collaborations with such varied artists as Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg, and Tom Waits have established him as one of the world's most respected theater artists. From his early childhood in Waco, TX, to his influential work with the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds to his internationally acclaimed "Einstein on the Beach" collaboration with Glass, his ill-fated CIVIL WarS performance, and the Black Rider collaboration with Waits that would later vindicate the failure of CIVIL WarS, Otto-Bernstein takes a linear look at Wilson's life and career while also offering informative interviews with the artist's many collaborators and, of course, extensive conversations with the man himself. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Wilson, Suzanne Wilson, (more)
When the power of punk merges with the creative freedom offered by public access television, the programming that follows is sure to turn viewers on to a whole new lifestyle. Now the show that changed the way hip New Yorkers looked at television in the late '70s is back with a vengeance as Glenn O'Brien's TV Party gets ushered into the new millennium along with a little help from old friends Iggy Pop, George Clinton, David Bowie, Mick Jones, and a whole host of the hottest cutting-edge musicians of the era. Co-hosted by O'Brien and Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, TV Party proved that music television doesn't have to cater to the hottest pop sensation of tastiest flavor of the week to make for compelling viewing. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2005
- PG13
- Add Duck to Queue Add Duck to top of Queue
An aging societal outcast and a motherless duck set out to find shelter and meaning in a future where people are separated by as many degrees as they are connected. The year is 2009, and the last public park in Los Angeles has been closed to the public. The city is a desert, and dispossessed widower Arthur Pratt (Philip Baker Hall) has outlived his usefulness. A retired history professor who spent all of his savings caring for his beloved late wife, Arthur sets out to the park where his son and dearly departed are buried to pay his final respects before ending his own life. Arthur's grim westward march hits an unexpected hitch, however, when an orphaned duckling that has recently cheated death adopts the homeless septuagenarian as a surrogate mother figure. Once again displaced when their park becomes a landfill and their pond is drained, the unlikely pair embarks on a Sisyphean journey to find shelter and meaning in a world where their lives seem to have little value. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Philip Baker Hall, Bill Brochtrup, (more)
- 2003
- NC17
An amoral young man wends his way into the lives of a handful of damaged souls in this adaptation of British Beat Generation writer Alexander Trocchi's first novel. Written for the screen and directed by David Mackenzie, Young Adam begins with the discovery of a barely dressed woman's corpse by two barge workers, Joe (Ewan McGregor) and Leslie (Peter Mullan). A taciturn drifter, Joe hoists the body ashore with little distress, and the ensuing police investigation does little to ruffle his day-to-day existence on the barge. But his behavior becomes more and more erratic, and as he begins a torrid affair with Leslie's downtrodden wife Ella (Tilda Swinton), flashbacks reveal a similarly cruel encounter he once had with a young woman named Cathie (Emily Mortimer). Young Adam premiered at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival before securing berths at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals later that year. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, (more)
- 2001
The concert video Live from Austin, Texas: David Byrne contains the full performance the former Talking Heads frontman gave that was edited down for his appearance on the popular music program Austin City Limits. The concert, held in November of 2001, contains a number of solo songs as well as selections from the Talking Heads songbook. The set list includes "Once in a Lifetime," "Life During Wartime," and "Nothing But Flowers." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Byrne
- 2001
Actor, artist, and filmmaker Caveh Zahedi decided to keep a video diary for the year 1999, recording one minute of his life each day from January 1st through December 31st; eventually, he edited his record of the year down to a tidy 79 minutes, and In the Bathtub of the World is the result. Zahedi shares his inner thoughts (and a number of private moments), as well as glimpses of his work and his encounters with a number of other creative people, including musicians Jonathan Richman and David Byrne, writers John Ashbery and Czeslaw Milosz, and filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Caveh Zahedi
Hal Hartley directed this French-produced comedy about the Second Coming of Christ (Martin Donovan), with Thomas Jay Ryan in the role of Satan. While a gambler (David Simonds) and a waitress (Miho Nikaido) talk with Satan in a hotel bar, Jesus arrives at JFK airport with Magdalena (PJ Harvey). Jesus has been sent down to end the world by breaking the Seven Seals on a computer disk in a bowling alley locker room. Made in digital video blown up to 35mm, this film is part of the French "Collection 2000 Seen By" television series of one-hour films about the Millennium (and the only one by an American director). Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Donovan, PJ Harvey, (more)
- 1995
The title of this riotous exploration of philandering has no apparent bearing on the actual story that takes place in Melbourne, Florida, a small town near Cape Canaveral and centers on an abusive husband who beats up his wife Karen and then leaves her to burn to death in a fire. The husband, Josh is a photographer and after leaving, he soon hooks up with the insatiably sexy Angela. She is fleeing her crazed husband. The two click sexually and go at it at every opportunity. Both of them have fantasies about the same beautiful woman. Later, Josh encounters Angela's husband Dennis, who swears he will kill Josh. That is not the couple's only worry, as Karen and her lesbian biker-chick lover have just showed up for vengeance. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1994
Marking Natalie Merchant's last performance with Ten Thousand Maniacs before going on to pursue a solo career, this episode of MTV: Unplugged serves as a greatest hits album of sorts. Featuring fan favorites like "Like the Weather", "Trouble Me", and "These Are the Days", this 14-song compilation serves as a comprehensive guide to Ten Thousand Maniacs' success with both pop culture and the indie rock scene.
~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- 1991
In this frequently surrealistic romp, a satire on sex, politics, and the business of filmmaking, two young women get together after discovering sufficient provocations in their lives to deliberately set out to wreak havoc in the world around them. Joelle (Anouk Grinberg) has just been thrown out of a moving car by her abusive man-friend, when Camille (Charlotte Gainsbourg) encounters her. Joelle's bitter exclamation Merci la Vie, or "thank you, life" echoes something of Camille's feelings, and the two decide to go on a rampage, picking up and seducing numerous men and then doing things like destroying their cars. Eventually, they set their sights on a "higher" goal and decide to do in an entire town. Meanwhile, it becomes evident that a sinister medical researcher, Dr. Worms (Gérard Depardieu), has infected promiscuous Joelle with a sexually transmitted disease he invented for the sole purpose of becoming the man who finds its cure, which he hopes will make him beloved, famous and rich. At some point, an elaborate series of flashbacks enter the story, and in one sequence, Camille attempts to persuade her feuding parents to get back together long enough to conceive her. Reviewers noted that logic is not a strong point in this film, but they found its fast pace and bright performances vastly entertaining. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anouk Grinberg, (more)
The original, full-length Red Hot and Blue album gets the royal treatment in this release that not only offers the best-selling release in its entirety, but some exciting extras as well. All of the artists are here, including David Byrne, Erasure, the Neville Brothers, Tom Waits, U2, and Annie Lennox, and in addition to offering 19 memorable music videos by such directors as Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders, special appearances by Richard Gere, Jean-Paul Gaultier, John Malkovich, and others ensure that the popular AIDS benefit and tribute to Cole Porter will be a noteworthy addition to the collection of any music fan. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1990
In this documentary, commissioned by the Centre George Pompidou of France, filmmaker Philip Haas explores the religious and artistic activity of four of the world's indigenous peoples. In the first segment, he follows the work of aborigines as they enact a vision from the dreamtime in an earth-painting entitled "The Giant Woman Dreaming." In the next, he goes to another part of Australia to film the making of another aboriginal sacred exertion in the form of a tree-bark painting entitled "The Lightening Man." The third segment takes him to Madagascar to film the messenger sculptures which the local people put on the tombs of relatives, which are said to carry messages back and forth. It is entitled "Young Man's Dream." The last segment explores the significance of images painted in the house of a man living in Papua, New Guinea. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Musician and filmmaker David Byrne travels to the Bahia region of Brazil to explore the African Spirit Cult of the Candomblè in this impressionistic documentary that seeks to explore the ways in which the Candomblè have influenced Brazilian culture. As the rhythms of sacred drums and bells permeate the music, art, dance, religion, and poetry of the people, the divination rites of the Candomblè invite Orishás (deities) to visit the living and bless the planet. In addition to offering authentic ritual music recorded during actual Candomblè ceremonies, this release also features music performed by Byrne in collaboration with a variety of Brazilian musicians. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1989
This 1989 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Woody Harrelson and features musical guest David Byrne. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, David Byrne, (more)
Jeff Daniels stars in this tedious situation comedy concerning the middle-aged terror of illness and mortality. Scripted by Joe Eszterhas, Daniels plays Southern Californian Ray Macklin, who thinks he will live forever but realizes the fallacy of his idea when his best friend drops dead in front of him after issuing the set-up to the old joke, "Why don't Italians like barbecues?" (Which begs the question, "Why can't Joe Eszterhas write funny scripts?" The answer: "He did. Showgirls.") Anyway, after that shock trauma, Macklin becomes convinced that he is set to suffer the same fate and, as a result, becomes a raving hypochondriac. As Macklin continually clutches his chest and checks his heart monitor, he sinks himself deeper and deeper into the mindset that he is doomed, even though his tests turn out fine. All of this comes to a head in a bizarre dream sequence in which Macklin imagines Heaven as a Hawaiian resort populated by extras from a Federico Fellini picture. At that point, he wills himself to return to consciousness after surgery to remove his appendix. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Melanie Mayron, (more)
Those of us who had to suffer such "instructional" films as Dating Do's and Don'ts in high school will be especially entertained by Heavy Petting. In the visually sarcastic manner of the nuclear-age documentary The Atomic Cafe, the film assembles masses of information and misinformation about teenage dating rituals of the 1950s. Clips from contemporary movies, TV programs, commercials, and "sex hygiene" short subjects are used throughout; perhaps once upon a time these vignettes could have been taken seriously, but here they're only good for howls of laughter. Interspersed among the vintage footage are interviews with such children of the 1960s as David Byrne and William S. Burroughs. One look at the 1950s as depicted in Heavy Petting, and it's easy to see how the sensuous, psychedelic '60s came to be. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Byrne, Sandra Bernhard, (more)
- 1988
Those not living in the area may not be aware that a protracted, if relatively low-intensity civil war has been going on in the Philippines for many decades. Ultra-right wing and neo-fascist groups are tolerated by Manilla, while socialist, leftist and communist guerillas have regularly been hunted down by government troups. This documentary explores the situation in the Philippines while clearly siding with the leftists. Viewers will find the murderous opinions of Jun Pala, a popular disk jockey and admirer of Hitler, particularly shocking. This conflict is complicated by the fact that while most of the population on the main islands of the Philippines is Christian, many people living in more remote areas (where most of the guerillas hold sway) are either Moslems or animists. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Michelle Pfeiffer is Married to the Mob in this comedy. The wife of Mafia hitman Alec Baldwin, Pfeiffer regularly chastizes her husband for his underhanded line of work. Baldwin refuses to entertain any thoughts of quitting the mob-and besides, he's got a good thing going with Nancy Travis, the promiscuous girl friend of gang boss Dean Stockwell. When Stockwell catches on to Travis' peccadilloes, he murders both his mistress and the unlucky Baldwin. At Baldwin's funeral, Stockwell is overwhelmed by Pfeiffer's beauty, and immediately begins plying her with expensive gifts. But Pfeiffer is through with this sort of thing, and with her young son in tow, she leaves town, hoping to start life anew. Upon making the acquaintance of bumbling, seemingly sincere Matthew Modine, Pfeiffer is convinced that Modine is just another mob flunkey. But it's even worse: Modine is an FBI agent, ordered to get to Stockwell by using Pfeiffer as bait. Reluctantly (he's grown quite fond of her himself), Modine blackmails Pfeiffer into setting up a rendezvous with Stockwell. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Modine, (more)
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