David Byrne's American Utopia

David Byrne and eleven musicians play with not a single cable on stage. Every instrument is portable; the drummers carry the kit in pieces on their bodies, nobody stands still, and instead of scenery there is only a curtain of chains. They all wear the same grey suit and go barefoot. The repertoire runs across Byrne's whole career, the Talking Heads years and the solo work together. Spike Lee directed. It is a record of the Broadway version of the tour built on Byrne's 2018 album American Utopia. Lee announced the project in June 2020. HBO handled US distribution and Universal Pictures international. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September 2020 and went to HBO and HBO Max on 17 October 2020, followed by a limited theatrical release in September 2021 and a Criterion Collection edition in December 2025. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 98 percent. Critics called it a joyously cathartic celebration, and one assessment named it the right movie for 2020 for how it handles connection against isolation. It won a Special Tony Award and several Emmys including lighting design and sound mixing, with Grammy and Directors Guild nominations as well. Who it is for: viewers who like concert films, Talking Heads and stage design as a subject in itself. Who it is not for: anyone who will tire of the talking. Byrne speaks at length between songs and those passages take up a real share of the film.