The film was shot over four nights in December 1983 at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre while Talking Heads were on tour promoting their 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues.

Stop Making Sense includes performances of the early Talking Heads single, "Psycho Killer" (1977), through to their most recent hit at the time, "Burning Down the House" (1983).

The four core members of Talking Heads are joined by backing singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, guitarist Alex Weir, keyboardist Bernie Worrell and percussionist Steve Scales.

[8] With each successive song, Byrne is joined by more members of the band: first by Tina Weymouth for "Heaven" (with Lynn Mabry providing harmony vocals from backstage), second by Chris Frantz for "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel", and third by Jerry Harrison for "Found a Job".

Performance equipment is wheeled out and added to the set to accommodate the additional musicians: back-up singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, and guitarist Alex Weir.

[9] All tracks are written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, except where noted.All tracks are written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, except where noted*Songs available as extra features on DVD/Blu-ray releases, but not part of the main feature.

Demme had considered additional shooting on a soundstage made to recreate the Pantages Theatre, but the band declined to do this, as they thought the lack of audience response would have hindered the energy of their performance.

[22] Similarly, Eric Thorngren and Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison planned to create new Dolby Atmos sound mixes, initially using materials from the previous distributor and Rhino Records.

Eventually, it was discovered that Todd-AO's collection was claimed by Sony, who transported it to a warehouse in Kansas, where the original audio tracks were found in time to be included in the restoration.

[22] The studio premiered the new restoration on September 11, 2023, in 4K on IMAX at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by a Q&A hosted by Spike Lee with Byrne, Weymouth, Frantz and Harrison in attendance, reuniting the group for the first time since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense captures the energetic, unpredictable live act of peak Talking Heads with colour and visual wit.

He jogs in place with his sidemen; he runs around the stage; he seems so happy to be alive and making music...He serves as a reminder of how sour and weary and strung-out many rock bands have become.

"[36] Robert Christgau noted the "sinuous, almost elegant clarity" of Demme's direction, while writing that the film had pushed the "limits to how great a rock concert movie can be ... as far as they were liable to go.

It includes references to the staging and music styles of Talking Heads, with the band's lead singer (played by Fred Armisen) parodying Byrne.

Gizmodo screened the episode to Frantz and Weymouth in a video released online, where they both expressed amusement and shock at the level of detail gone into parodying the film.

The Astor Theatre in Melbourne, Australia has made a tradition of playing it as part of a "Stop Making Sense Dance Party" every January since 2016.

[47] In 2021, Stop Making Sense was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

[50][51] The album features 16 bands and artists, including the National, Paramore, Lorde, and Miley Cyrus, covering the Stop Making Sense setlist in order.