Talking Heads reveal their favourite movies
Talking Heads are primarily remembered for their pioneering new wave sound, but their contribution to the arts stretched far beyond music. In 1984, they delivered the best concert film of all time with Stop Making Sense. Between frontman David Byrne’s iconic big suit and an appearance from the Tom Tom Club, the performance was a feat in concert cinema so impressive that it has earned a 4K restoration with A24 to honour its 40th anniversary.
The band’s love for film didn’t stop there. David Byrne went on to direct True Stories in 1986, a surrealist commentary on American suburbia. Over 30 years later, he collaborated with beloved Do The Right Thing director Spike Lee on a concert film of his Broadway show, American Utopia. Byrne has also contributed to numerous film soundtracks, from scoring The Last Emperor with Ryuichi Sakamoto to collaborating with Mitski on a track for Everything Everywhere All At Once.
It’s safe to say that the members of Talking Heads share an appreciation for cinema, one which is demonstrated in their favourite movies, which they recently divulged during an interview with Letterboxd. Spanning everything from a 2023 documentary about cyber heists to a Scorsese mob classic, their choices were expectedly wide-ranging.
Byrne’s choices included the 1946 collaboration between Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, A Matter of Life and Death, and Gillo Pontecorvo’s celebrated 1966 war film, The Battle of Algiers. Perhaps his more surprising picks, Byrne also named Billion Dollar Heist, a documentary from 2023 about the Bangladeshi Central Bank theft.
He explained his love for the genre, sharing: “I love documentaries. During the pandemic, I watched a lot of documentaries because I think dramas were just going to upset me before bedtime.” Byrne also slipped sci-fi classic Star Wars into his top four, rounding out his more serious choices.
Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz both shared their love for Old Yeller, but Weymouth also divulged her love for a chick flick, sharing, “I love that movie with Diane Lane called Under [the] Tuscan Sun. It’s just a feel-good movie.” The bassist also picked out Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob, Federico Fellini’s Juliet of the Spirits, and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. On the latter, she stated, “That was such a great depiction of the dichotomy between the wealthy and the, you know, those who have and those who don’t.”
In addition to Old Yeller, Frantz shared his love for the 1960 drama House of Usher and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. He also picked out a film by Demme, dubbing Something Wild as “Melanie Griffith at her peak, I would say – one of her many peaks.”
Keyboardist and guitarist Jerry Harrison had perhaps the most eloquent thoughts on film to share, picking out a Czech film called Closely Watched Trains. He shared, “I saw it when I was in college at the Brattle Street Theatre, which, in Cambridge, would feature foreign films. And it was right at a time where in, let’s say, Hollywood and contemporary filmmaking, they started doing jump cuts, moved the story along. A train pulls out of the station, and the camera follows it out and then watches the smoke settle.”
He concluded, “In this time, to have this sort of ability to linger on the shot and still keep your attention was really remarkable.” Harrison rounded out his picks with Michelangelo Antonioni’s Red Desert, Francis Ford Coppola’s epic Apocalypse Now, and Godfrey Reggio’s experimental Koyaanisqati, a true cinephile’s selection.
With their wide-ranging musical influences, it’s no surprise that Talking Heads are equally as adventurous with their film picks. Check out the full list of favourites below.
Talking Heads’ favourite movies:
- A Matter of Life and Death (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1946) – Byrne
- Billion Dollar Heist (Daniel Gordon, 2023) – Byrne
- The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) – Byrne
- Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) – Byrne
- Juliet of the Spirits (Federico Fellini, 1965) – Weymouth
- Under the Tuscan Sun (Audrey Wells, 2003) – Weymouth
- Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019) – Weymouth
- Married to the Mob (Jonathan Demme, 1988) – Weymouth
- Old Yeller (Robert Stevenson, 1957) – Frantz
- House of Usher (Roger Corman, 1960) – Frantz
- Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) – Frantz
- Something Wild (Jonathan Demme, 1986) – Frantz
- Closely Watched Trains (Jiří Menzel, 1966) – Harrison
- Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964) – Harrison
- Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) – Harrison
- Koyaanisqati (Godfrey Reggio, 1982) – Harrison
