The late director Jonathan Demme made many memorable films, from “Something Wild” to “The Silence of the Lambs.” But one of his best remains the 1984 Talking Heads documentary, “Stop Making Sense,” a joyous, exuberant celebration of the New York band’s brainy yet kinetic post-punk groove that ranks as one of the best concert docs ever.

Now, with the rerelease of “Stop Making Sense” in IMAX and 4K, it has been made even better.

Recorded over a series of performances at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles in late 1983, the film is notable because Demme keeps the focus squarely on the music. He never veers from the stage to capture any backstage bickering, behind-the-scenes banter or tour bus drama. And with the possible exception of a floor lamp, to which frontman David Byrne becomes a giddy Fred Astaire to its silent Ginger Rogers, there are no special effects or props.

On top of that, Demme only sporadically offers us fleeting glimpses of the audience, even though, by the end, it’s obvious the crowd is in a state of absolute delirium.

But when you have a frontman as compelling as Byrne, a wiry, gangly spasm of a man in the throes of Saint Vitus’ dance, there’s really no need for much else. Demme often shoots Byrne in discomfiting close-ups and utilizes long takes instead of the then-popular, quick-cutting style of MTV, giving both the visuals and the music room to breathe.

And the music is wonderful. By the time of the filming, the Talking Heads’ style had evolved from the spare, nervous rock of the group’s early quartet days to the pan-global, polyrhythmic punch of a nine-piece band featuring Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, Brothers Johnson guitarist Alex Weir andTina Turnerpercussionist Steve Scales.

But it takes a while before the music is in full effect. Demme and Byrne are all about the seduction as much as the payoff.

The film starts with Byrne’s foot-stomping solo take on “Psycho Killer,” and, slowly, the rest of the Heads — bassist Tina Weymouth, guitarist Jerry Harrison, drummer Chris Frantz — and backing musicians fill in over the course of several songs. But by the end, through propulsive versions of “Burning Down the House,” “Girlfriend Is Better,” “Take Me to the River” and, especially, the undulating “Crosseyed and Painless,” “Stop Making Sense” becomes one big musical circus, with Byrne as its jittery ringmaster in an oversized suit. And in this rereleased version, it’s all made more immediate with the IMAX 4K presentation and a new sound mix from Harrison.

Yet, as wonderful as all this new technology is, it would be nothing without Demme’s simple framing, the band’s musical intensity and Byrne’s lanky, restless cool. Those were the film’s strengths 40 years ago, and they remain so today.

Same as it ever was.

Cary Darling is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle.