This movie is an intimately shot and thus presented live performance of David Byrne's Broadway show American Utopia which emerged from his album of the same name, the album from which most of the songs performed are taken. The show itself is part concert, part musical theater, part performance art, but always Byrne's commentary on the human condition, largely of humankind trying to find its place in a world that often does not make sense. That place includes finding those muc... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
Sorry, we can't find any suggestions at the moment.
This movie is an intimately shot and thus presented live performance of David Byrne's Broadway show American Utopia which emerged from his album of the same name, the album from which most of the songs performed are taken. The show itself is part concert, part musical theater, part performance art, but always Byrne's commentary on the human condition, largely of humankind trying to find its place in a world that often does not make sense. That place includes finding those much needed connections to each other in his wish, as a naturalized U.S. citizen, for society to move closer to his vision of an American utopia.
Leave your thoughts about David Byrne's American Utopia.
| EmpireBeth WebbBolstered by Lee’s trenchant, intimate direction, Byrne reframes a peerless setlist of songs as a testament to hope and humanity that implores himself and his audience to keep going. A much-needed source of comfort and joy. |
| TimeStephanie ZacharekA work of great joy and expressiveness, a tower of song with room for everybody. |
| Los Angeles TimesGlenn WhippAmerican Utopia arrives 36 years after Jonathan Demme’s “Stop Making Sense,” which documented three shows the Talking Heads played at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in 1983 and just might be the greatest concert movie ever made. Until, that is, American Utopia. Rank them 1A and 1B. |
| The New York TimesManohla DargisSome filmed stage shows die on the screen from a sheer lack of visual energy and invention. Lee, a master of the art, uses cinema’s plasticity to complement this production, making it come alive in two dimensions. |
| Washington PostAnn HornadayIn American Utopia, Lee brings the same insight and sensitivity to Byrne’s stage show, which bursts forth with an exuberant mixture of optimistic joy and wistful nostalgia. |
| Vanity FairJordan HoffmanAmerican Utopia is an outstanding collaboration between two essential artists; I can’t believe there’s anyone alive who won’t be moved by this document. Byrne’s career is a testament to never resting on one’s laurels, to always searching for creative expansion—but more than anything, American Utopia proves how electrifying he still is as a performer. Same as it ever was. |
| UproxxMike RyanThere’s something whimsical and magical about the whole thing. It is designed to make the viewer feel good. |
| The PlaylistRobert DanielsDavid Byrne’s American Utopia is an ideal world; it’s exhilarating and joyful; and Byrne and Lee actually do make a perfect pair. |
| VarietyOwen GleibermanThere’s nothing ironic about the title of American Utopia. It’s David Byrne and Spike Lee reveling in the majesty, and hidden magic, of the here and now. |
| The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyLee's knack for distilling the energy of live performance is no secret, for example in his terrific 2009 film of the unconventional Broadway musical Passing Strange. But the synergy here between filmmaker and subject — from the avant-funk grooves to the spirit of inclusivity and the urge to heal a broken nation — is simply spectacular. |
