Talking Heads Movies
A teenage boy tries to hold his family together while the girl of his dreams drives him to distraction in this coming-of-age comedy drama. It's 1978, and Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith) and his family are in a state of flux. Henry's mother has died, and now his father, Shep (David Morse), is trying to find himself by quitting his job, buying a motorcycle, and growing out his hair. Henry's brother, Blair (David Moscow), is similarly trying to expand his boundaries by dating a free-spirited girl and experimenting with drugs. Henry, meanwhile, is just trying to get through high school, but a certain girl is making that difficult for him. Grace Chance (Jordana Brewster) is a pretty girl in Henry's class who enjoys wrapping boys around her little finger; it doesn't take long for her to notice he's smitten with her, and she begins flirting with him and getting him to do whatever she wants, even though she already has a boyfriend whom she has no intention of leaving. Meanwhile, Merna (Ashley Johnson), a cute girl who lives nearby, has a crush on Henry and is clearly a better match for him, but she can't get him to notice her, even after she starts dating an older boy to make him jealous. Nearing Grace received its world premiere at the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Smith, Jordana Brewster, (more)
- 1988
Talking Heads were that rare rock band whose visual instincts were every bit as keen as their musical ideas, and they created a handful of intelligent, entertaining, and influential music videos that stand alongside their excellent record albums as documents of one of the finest American bands of their day. Talking Heads: Storytelling Giants collects ten music videos the band produced between 1980 and 1988; selections include "Once in a Lifetime," "Burning Down the House," "And She Was," "Wild Wild Life," and "Stay Up Late." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Stop Making Sense was the first feature-length documentary effort of filmmaker Jonathan Demme. The director's subject is The Talking Heads, a new-wave/pop-rock group comprised of David Byrne, Chris Franz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. The film was made during a three-day concert gig at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. What emerges on screen says as much about director Demme's taste and sensitivity as it does about the group and its visionary leader Byrne. Though some of the material in Stop Making Sense overlaps with the Talking Heads' earlier concert film The Name of This Band is Talking Heads, one never gets the feeling of by-the-numbers repetition; the group's energy is such that it virtually explodes from the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, (more)
- 1982
Veejay Gerry Todd (Rick Moranis) welcomes Talking Heads and The Plastics to his high-tech variety show "Midnight Video Special" -- only to be defeated by an attack of superior technology from Japanese entrepreneur Tim Ishimuni (Dave Thomas). Also: Johnny LaRue (John Candy) demonstrates his commitment to the feminist movement with his new show "All Girl Friday Night Pajama Party." "One on the Town" anchorman Earl Camembert (Eugene Levy) brings a litany of antiquated pickup lines along as he investigates the singles bar scene. David Brinkley (actually Dave Thomas) delivers a blistering attack against white imitators of black singing groups. And Joe Flaherty as Count Floyd is forced to improvise when the promised Monster Chiller Horror Theater attraction "Blood Sucking Monkeys From West Mifflin, Pennsylvania" fails to materialize. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Talking Heads, The Plastics, (more)
- 1979
This 1979 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Cicely Tyson and features musical guest Talking Heads. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cicely Tyson, Talking Heads, (more)
- 1976
In 1976, Ivan Kral was a Czech exile who was struggling to make a name for himself as musician and filmmaker when he joined the Patti Smith Group and became friendly with underground filmmaker Amos Poe. Poe and Kral were both interested in the punk rock scene that was just beginning to emerge in New York City at venues like CBGB and Max's Kansas City, and they began bringing cameras to shows, shooting silent footage of bands who were beginning to develop potent reputations in the rock underground, including Talking Heads, Blondie, the Ramones, the Heartbreakers, and of course, the Patti Smith Group. Poe and Kral married their silent footage with live tapes or demo recordings of the bands (most of whom had yet to release a record) to create a deliberately rough audio-visual record of the burgeoning punk scene. The result, Blank Generation, is a fascinating bit of musical archeology, preserving for the ages the earliest moments of what would become one of the most important and influential movements in the history of rock & roll. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
