David Byrne Movies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This 1989 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Woody Harrelson and features musical guest David Byrne. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi

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

Dead End Kids is not a belated entry in Leo Gorcey/Huntz Hall manifest, but instead the film adaptation of Mabou Mines' off-Broadway play. The full title is Dead End Kids: A Story of Nuclear Power, and that is essentially that. Scientific articles, interviews and eyewitness accounts are woven together to trace the history and consequences of nuclear energy. The cast includes David Byrne and Phillip Glass, who also wrote the film's music. Though its visual style cannot be described as cinematic, Dead End Kids is one of the best of the many filmed "readings" on the subject of nuclear power that appeared in the mid-1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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, Rovi

This delightful performance video features works by conductor/composer Philip Glass, musician David Byrne, and filmmaker John Waters. ~ 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