Making sense of the concert film

At Hyde Park Picture House, in collaboration with Jumbo Records, the Sound & Vision strand celebrates the fusion of music and film. This month, we’re bringing Jonathan Demme’s iconic Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense to the City Varieties.  

Songs on screen

For the uninitiated, a ‘concert film’ is a film (or audio-visual experience) that showcases a live musical performance, often from the perspective of a concertgoer or from behind-the-scenes. From the early days of comparatively simplistic and primitive concert movies, filmmakers have been toying with the genre and over the years it has evolved into a distinct cinematic experience that blends film, music, and art.

The genre has seen international auteurs like Wim Wenders, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme or Jean-Luc Godard working with bands to document their process, observe a gig, or do something more experimental and unique. These iconic filmmakers have not only worked with global stars like The Rolling Stones, but explore the work of more niche bands like Buena Vista Social Club (in Wim Wenders’ film of the same name), introducing them to new audiences and reinvigorating critical acclaim.

With an eye for cinema and an ear for song, musicians themselves have been known to go behind the camera, too! Aside from starring in concert films and music documentaries himself, Ringo Starr directed Born to Boogie, which depicted T. Rex, Elton John and Ringo performing together at the Empire Pool in 1972, complete with a variety of surreal vignettes. It also holds the title as the only existing recording of a full Marc Bolan and T. Rex concert. The film was released via The Beatles’ Apple Films label, a perfect example of the cross-pollination between music and cinema!

The evolution of concert films

Since the introduction of sound in cinema with The Jazz Singer, film and music have been hand-in-hand. This first ‘talkie’ was not using synced audio throughout – as we know it today – but rather utilised recorded music for scenes of live performance and singing.

The first movie to be labelled as a ‘concert film’ was arguably Concert Magic in 1948, which featured violinist Yehudi Menuhin performing at the Charlie Chaplin Studios.

In 1946, Menuhin’s musical skills had been utilised to great success in The Magic Bow, a biopic about violinist Niccolò Paganini. Menuhin recorded the music in the studio before production, in order to replace lead actor Stewart Granger’s mimicry, with the score becoming the film’s most-lauded asset. Entered into the Cannes film festival the same year, The Magic Bow had an international release, touring cinemas across the UK – including in Leeds, at the former Odeon Theatre.

Concert films of this era were often short, observational documents of live performances, stripped back without any significant narrative elements.

A new era

Though rooted in a rich history, the concert film is still alive and well, with recent phenomena like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour hitting cinemas worldwide, allowing new fans to experience the ‘live’ show and tour attendees to relive the magic. Acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson recently filmed Cameron Winter’s (of Geese) much-talked-about solo performance at Carnegie Hall, set to premiere at the New York Film Festival and BFI Film Festival later this year.

In 2021, The Beatles: Get Back saw a wealth of unparalleled footage from Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s Let It Be (1970) reworked and remastered by Peter Jackson for the new four-part series; it documented the highs and lows of the band’s creative process in the studio, and climaxed with one of the most memorable (final) concerts put to celluloid – The Beatles’ rooftop gig.

The line between a ‘concert film’ and ‘music documentary’ is a blurry and debatable one, but they often share qualities and complement one another. Garth Jennings’ recent fusions of archive footage, live performance and interview – like Moonage Daydream and Pulp: What Do You Do for an Encore? – reflect the genre-blending of the contemporary concert film in a more self-reflexive and post-modern era.

Concert films throughout the years have treated cinephiles and music fans alike to some of the most iconic images in music history – including David Byrne dancing around in an oversized, boxy grey suit to the tune of Speaking in Tongues (1983). Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense has only grown and brought in new fans since its original release, now distributed by indie titan A24. A veteran of the genre, Byrne also collaborated with Spike Lee for David Byrne’s American Utopia in 2020.

For this year’s Freshers season, Stop Making Sense is being screened at City Varieties Music Hall, bringing the moves of David Byrne into one of Leeds’ oldest surviving venues! You can find out more and book tickets here.