But the image forever in people's minds is Lopez dancing around in the forest with green lasers behind her. [12], The video doubled boosted sales of the Thriller album,[8] which sold a million copies a week following the video debut[12] and became the bestselling album of all time. Epic saw it as a novelty song;[9] Yetnikoff asked, "Who wants a single about monsters? Between his Mad Hatter costume and the trippy adventures of Alice as she tries to escape Wonderland, the video is ful of memorable scenes. The Library of Congress described it as the most famous music video of all time, and it has been named the greatest video by various publications and readers' polls. [8] According to Landis, Ola Ray, a former Playboy Playmate, was cast as she was "crazy for Michael" and had a "great smile". The horror mini-movie also directly led to Thriller flying off store shelves again. When the series was re-broadcast as part of The CBS Late Movie however, the original title sequences and music were restored. A night at the movies turns into a nightmare when Michael and his date are attacked by a hoard of bloodthirsty zombies - only a "Thriller" can save them now. It's a weird video, but that's why it's unforgettable. Lesley Sharp stars as a detective who faces impossible choices in a murky world where loyalties are tested and lines are blurred. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. [14] He initially imagined the werecat would resemble a black panther, but added a longer mane and larger ears. And his "Hammer pants" are iconic. "We came to the conclusion that if Michael was going to dance, it would be a hell of a lot easier for his monster to have two legs instead of four." 6 Vogue Madonnna. A defense barrister is faced with the proposition: what can you do when you have defended the indefensible? [19] The success transformed Jackson into a dominant force in global pop culture, and cemented his status as the "king of pop". In a 2009 interview with Billboard, Bey said she was surprised by the reaction. The 13-minute film that resulted changed the music video for ever, becoming less a promo clip than a cultural phenomenon. In attendance were celebrities including Diana Ross, Warren Beatty, Prince, and Eddie Murphy. And then 4 months later it was spoofed on the very first episode of ITV's Spitting Image. The simple black-and-white video features Beyonc in a leotard flanked on either side by a dancer in a similar outfit. At the end, everyone gets out of their cars and walks before mysteriously vanishing. He really was childlike. I think that video by MJ is just big, but it isn't that fantastic. At the end of the credits, they all dance back into their graves, with one of them gruesomely grimacing at the screen. "Thriller" was a watershed moment in music video. Jurassic World: Dominion is the third film . Amazon Studios. Avril Lavigne's disastrous romp through a mall was every teen's dream in the early 2000s. J-Lo brought in the new millennium with her video for "Waiting for Tonight." In the 1980s, millions of consumers were purchasing their first VCRs. [8] At the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, Thriller won the awards for Viewers Choice, Best Overall Performance and Best Choreography, and was nominated for Best Concept Video, Best Male Video and Video of the Year. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. 3 Take On Me A-ha. MTV paid $250,000 and Showtime $300,000 for the rights to the documentary, Jackson would take care of upfront costs, and the video was able to go ahead, with the label coughing up $100,000. I remember watching it in a pub called "Woosters" (aka as wasters) in Lady Lawson Street in Edinburgh. "[21], Vinny Marino of ABC News said that the video's selection as the "Greatest Video of All Time" was a "no-brainer", and that it "continues to be considered the greatest video ever by just about everyone". Throw Katy Perry and her dancers in clothing covered in sweets, dress Snoop Dogg in a cupcake suit, make the setting a board game called Candyfornia, and you've got yourself the basis of the "California Gurls" video. Joseph denied this. PopCap agreed to remove the Thriller zombies and replace them with generic disco-dancing zombies. [9][14] Brian Clemens' own favourite episode, "A Coffin for the Bride" (US: Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill), featured a performance from a young Helen Mirren.[15]. Jackson called his assistant, John Branca, and ordered him to destroy the negatives. In 2011, one of the two jackets worn by Jackson in the video sold at auction for $1.8 million. Before my time, but I gather it was shown on Channel 4 late at night. There's shots of them on a boat in a "storm," there's memorable camouflage outfits, and a truly special dance break in front of a temple. features a band called the Love Below performing on a London show as a bunch of women scream in excitement. In the present, Jackson and his girlfriend are watching the werecat film in a theater. The video won for video of the year at the MTV VMAs. Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" has two iconic videos. Thirty years ago this week on 21 November it was first shown to the public. Ray Tintori, who did MGMT's Kids is really good, too. John Landis was in London in 1983 when Michael Jackson called to ask if he was interested in making a video for Thriller, the title track of the album he'd released a little under a year before. [16] The director of photography was Robert Paynter, who had worked with Landis on Trading Places. She gets a tattoo and a belly button piercing. The "Work It" video is filled with some interesting CGI work, memorable dance moves, and some wild cameos that include Timbaland and Eve. The promotional video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" starts off with the striking, yet simple shot of the four band members sitting in darkness and singing the a capella part of the song. afraid (he hasn't really got much of a "front" yet). Director: Scott Cooper | Runtime: 128 minutes. [4] The series evolved from Clemens' previous work, in particular two films in a similar style: And Soon the Darkness (1970) and Blind Terror (aka See No Evil, 1971); the latter shares plot similarities with the Thriller episodes "The Eyes Have It" and "The Next Voice You See". If youd like to join in, please sign in or register. At one point, the boy tries to cut his antlers off to be accepted, but she stops him. The Spice Girls video for "Wannabe" is entirely one-shot and shows the girls taking over the St. Pancras Grand Hotel in London. [12] Nina Blackwood, a former MTV executive, said music videos improved after Thriller, with more storylines and more intricate choreography. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. When antler boy runs to his side, he realizes that the man has deer hooves for legs. "Everybody Hurts" is a heavy song, and the corresponding video highlights the emotional lyrics. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in November 1982 and spent months at the top of the Billboard 200, backed by successful videos for the singles "Billie Jean" and "Beat It". [10] Makeup artist Rick Baker decided to turn Jackson into a werecat "because I just didn't want to do another werewolf". The second stars Bush in a red dress doing the same memorable dance moves and emotive faces, but instead of a room, she is in the middle of the woods. 2, and Madonna's Vogue at No. The signs on the theater are as follows: The main sign reads "Vincent Price's Thriller". at the Disco's first music video features a wedding where the bride's family is asleep and have their faces and eyelids painted. It starts with the boy band as puppets being controlled by a giant woman. "She had such a great smile. The comic book character later attempts to join her in the real world and eventually does. The stories were often set in the London commuter belt. It features Mars, Ronson, and their crew dancing through streets with choreographed moves and bright jackets. Jackson was all in, especially after Landis said he could probably get An American Werewolf in London makeup master Rick Baker involved. See production, box office & company info, The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018), At the Movies: Christine/Silkwood/Sudden Impact/Thriller, Palace Theater, 630 S Broadway, Los Angeles, California, USA. On principle, though, it should be up to the parents to decide , in a situation where a film is being shown that is above the age range for that class. The big turning point was Thriller.". [8] In a statement published in Awake!, a magazine published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Jackson said: "I just intended to do a good, fun short film, not to purposely bring to the screen something to scare people or to do anything bad. 's Bad Girls and that's got to be one of the best videos ever. There are also shots of her and her band performing at a skate park. Jennifer Beals turned down an offer to play Jackson's girlfriend. Jackson embraces her, but turns to the camera and grins, revealing his werecat eyes. During the elaborate production of this music video. The video features lead singer Amy Lee dreaming of falling from her apartment window. The black-and-white video features various scenes of the siblings together and alone, reacting emotionally and with anger at certain moments. The Thriller video sent album sales into orbit, with Jackson's label Epic reportedly shipping a million copies a week in its immediate aftermath. [10] At the time, commercial directors did not direct music videos, but Landis was intrigued. Then it shifts to the musicians performing on stage. I remember watching it on C4 late at night. This ground-breaking video is the toast of MTV and will forever be remembered for what is the greatest music video of all time!! As fun as Smash Mouth's song is, the video is even more wild. Additionally, Landis equates the process of man turning to beast, in "Thriller" and in other werewolf-based movies (such as the director's own An American Werewolf in London), with puberty. Back in 1983, the video was preceded by a disclaimer from the singer, who said: "Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult." "Due to my strong personal convictions," the disclaimer credited to Michael Jackson reads, "I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult." They won the MTV VMA for video of year. Could you want anything more in a video? Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" is an incredible video. She screams and wakes up, realizing it was a nightmare. TheOddOne - no, I know . "I recall everybody at college talking about it; about how it was like a mini-movie and how much it had cost. My Chemical Romance is on a float leading the parade of masked figures in what looks to be a wasteland. The short film was packaged on home video with The Making of 'Thriller' (1983) as "Making Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'", which became the world's best-selling VHS musical. In 2009, it became the first music video inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Her use of religious symbols caused controversy, and the Vatican even condemned it. Landis had helmed several big movies, including the horror-comedy An American Werewolf in London, whichJackson so enjoyed (per Vanity Fair) that he wanted the director to tell another werewolf story and helm his "Thriller" video. Directed by Spike Jonze ("Her"), the "Buddy Holly" video places the band in Arnold's Drive-In from the show "Happy Days." From the movie theater setting that resulted in the popular "Michael Jackson eating popcorn" GIF to the choreographed zombie dance, it's 14 minutes of pure enjoyment. "Thriller" was one of the first music videos to show that the medium carried the potential for greatness, and not only did critics acknowledge its importance, but they kept doing so for years afterward. Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here). Later, she's on the same ball nude, except for the boots. Vestron paid an additional $500,000 to market the cassettes. Sessions had been previously sparsely attended, so Garcia introduced elaborately choreographed dance routines, and before long, as many as 1,500 inmates reported to the prison yard to learn some moves. This did not stop him being threatened with expulsion from his church because of the film's subject matter. Taking place on New Year's Eve, the video shows J-Lo and her friends getting ready for a party. [10] It includes home video footage of a young Jackson dancing and footage of his performances from The Ed Sullivan Show and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. Early music videos were usually shot on video, not film, adding a cheap look to a cheap production a singer or a band might do little more than stand in an unadorned studio and lip-sync to their recording. "Thriller" remains a classic, as well as an unprecedented moment in music and film, and it wasn't easy to pull off. "Everyone experiences these physical transformations in their bodies and new, unfamiliar sexual thoughts in their minds. Fifteen years ago, it was deemed suitable only for late-night viewing, and even boycotted by a then fledgling MTV network in the US. A particular trademark of the series' storytelling was to hook the viewer with a simple yet totally baffling situation, of the kind seen in films such as Les Diaboliques (1955). Garcia taped and uploaded videos of the sessions to YouTube, and in 2007, the one of the "CPDRC Dancing Inmates" doing the "Thriller" dance hit big and went viral. We didn't get a Channel 4 signal until late 84 so missed out entirely! It was in all the papers but it was quite funny how Radio 1 avoided the subject. [25] In a poll of over one thousand users conducted by Myspace in 2010, it was voted the most influential music video. All Rights Reserved. [12][18] After each broadcast, MTV advertised when they would next play it, and recorded audience figures ten times the norm. The main point of the video is that Gaga is being sold for sex, and the video switches between various scenes including one where she's dancing in an all-white outfit in a bath house and one where she is dancing for the men bidding as she's dressed in diamonds. Fall Out Boy's video for "Sugar, We're Goin Down" alternates between the band jamming and a love story between a boy with antlers and a normal girl. T. (Pretty Young Thing)," all hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, with "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" going the extra mile, all the way to #1. The record was a major hit that sold millions of copies and spawned numerous hit singles, which, in turn, led to more album sales. 9 with Earth Song from his 1996 album HIStory. The girlfriend leaves, scared by the film. The clips promoting "Thriller" helped turn MTV into a vital cultural force, solidified Jackson's stature as the "King of Pop," and significantly raised both the quality and expectations of music videos. The "Honey" video starts with Mariah Carey as a Bond-esque spy named Agent M who is being held hostage by an organization known as D.U.N.C.E. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like What happened to record and tape sales between 1978 and 1979?, Robert Pittman gathered videos from a variety of record companies and used them, along with a crew of veejays, as the basis for a new cable station called _____., MTV's target audience of rock-pop fans caused them to reject many _____, and critics began to question . [11], Landis's wife Deborah Nadoolman, who had recently worked on the film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), designed the costumes, including Jackson's red jacket. Most of the video is a close-up shot of Sinad's face as she sings the song. "In many ways, it wasn't something you really wanted to aspire to," he says. "[8] According to Vanity Fair, Jackson preferred "benign Disney-esque fantasies where people were nice and children were safe", which ensured the video would be "creepy-comical, not genuinely terrifying". So in the beginning of the video, Michael has a message stating that "Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film is no way endorses a belief in the occult". It won a Grammy as part of a long-form video project titled "Rhythm Nation 1814 Film.". Goofs On June 27, 2011, the red jacket Jackson wore in this video sold for 1.8 million dollars at Julien's Auctions of Beverly Hills. Branca wouldn't do it, and he instead locked up the footage and gave Jackson the idea to let "Thriller" out, but just with a denouncing disclaimer tacked on to the start. In one scene, Michael's right "cat's eye" contact lens is askew and not in straight. 7 Fastlove George Michael. Between the visuals and the overall story, West's artful vision is memorable. The video's budget was five hundred thousand dollars. The video won a Grammy for best long-form video. However, Ray sued Jackson on May 6, 2009, less than two months before his death on June 25. [10] Landis felt Jackson should become scary and creepy, but not ugly. pg-13 147m. MC Hammer's video for "U Can't Touch This" is extremely simple. Jackson died about six months later, and his estate settled with Landis in 2012. Outlander. [8], In 2009, Landis sued Jackson in a dispute over royalties for the video, saying Jackson had failed to pay him 50% of the proceeds. [11] Landis and Jackson conceived a short film shot on 35mm film with the production values of a feature film, with a budget of $900,000, much larger than any previous music video. "[11], Thriller was the first time Jackson had interacted with a woman in a video, which Landis described as a "breakthrough". [28] The National Film Preservation Board coordinator, Steve Legett, said the video had been considered for induction for years, but was chosen mainly due to Jackson's death that year. The suit alleged that Landis didn't receive his promised 50-percent cut of the profits and that Jackson and company acted with "fraudulent, malicious, and oppressive conduct" in withholding what The Hollywood Reporter said amounted to about $2.3 million. [8] Entertainment figures including Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, Rock Hudson and Jackie Kennedy Onassis visited the set. This idea was replaced with a two-legged monster, as this made it easier for him to dance. Blink-182 does parodies of the Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, NSYNC, and more as the camera flashes to different scenes. Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video is a cinematic masterpiece. According to Vanity Fair, Vestron Video helped offset the high production cost of "Thriller" by paying for the VHS and Betamax distribution rights for the Making Michael Jackson's Thriller documentary and then gave it a $29.95 retail price tag. Told from Eva's perspective, the film follows her earlier days as a mother and her ongoing . It's full of genius symbolism and won Lamar a Grammy for best video. Dinsdale Landen is the only actor who plays the same named role that of private investigator Matthew Earp in two episodes, "An Echo of Theresa" and "The Next Scream You Hear", although Reg Lye plays an unnamed 'Caretaker' in both "Spell of Evil" and "Good Salary - Prospects - Free Coffin" who could conceivably be the same character. [1] It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. It was the first music video to be selected. There's running on a moving train, there's dancing in a blue room, there's a dog chase, and a car chase. [38][39] The description of the Dancing Zombie in the game paraphrased the disclaimer at the end of Thriller. "The thrill is gone," suggested the Melody Maker in its review of the album, and it wasn't until videos for Billie Jean and Beat It hit heavy rotation on MTV in early 1983, and Jackson performed the Moonwalk for the first time on the Motown 25 TV special in May, that it really took off. Jackson hired Landis after seeing his 1981 film An American Werewolf in London. At Murphy's insistence, the film was played again. It continuously shifts through a series of triangles shifting between images of Meg and Jack White playing instruments. Michael Jackson: Thriller Music Video 1983 PG 13 m IMDb RATING 8.7 /10 18K YOUR RATING Rate Horror Music A night at the movies turns into a nightmare when Michael and his date are attacked by a hoard of bloodthirsty zombies - only a "Thriller" can save them now. Part of a longer movie, the "Runaway" music video features Kanye West playing a white piano as a ballet troupe dressed all in black dance near him. What worries me a bit is the kids who have a bit of bravado, and don't admit they are afraid, and then have nightmares. [10] MTV paid $250,000 for the exclusive rights to show the documentary; Showtime paid $300,000 for pay-cable rights. Other videos that featured highly in yesterday's poll included Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody at No. The visuals are striking, and at one point, Janet throws a middle finger to the camera. The actress claimed that back in the 1980s, she was promised a portion of the "Thriller" profits (2.5 percent, according to Courthouse News), and yet, more than two decades later, she hadn't received any money since some initial payments. He grooves on an escalator, he flies in the air, he shimmies in the lobby. Within just a few months of release in November 1983, it had sold over a million copies, easily making it the best-selling home video ever to that point. The scene where he's the only man looking at the camera as men around him bob their heads is striking, but even more notable is the scene where his head is on fire as he's surrounded by men with their heads wrapped in burning rope. "I had some intimate moments with him in his trailer," Ray said. [3], The series was created by Brian Clemens, who also scripted the majority of the episodes and story-lined every installment. It was shown as a 'Tube' exclusive at midnight (ish) on Channel four. It ends with the groom as the actual ringmaster. Connections It was shown on Channel 4 in November 1983 at something like 1 in the morning, as I remember sitting up waiting for it to come on and then being amazed and a little bit scared as I was only 13 at the time. Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. In 2017, it was remastered from the original 35mm negative and converted into 3D under John Landis' supervision. The "Ironic" video stars Morissette getting into her car at a gas station and then driving into a wintery landscape. "It was the first time an artist had considered the pop video as a legitimate art form. 'we Need To Talk About Kevin' (2011) Based on Lionel Shriver's novel of the same title, this Golden Globe-nominated film stars Tilda Swinton as Eva, the mother of a disturbed teenager (Ezra Miller) who has committed mass murder at his school. And yet, it was something of an afterthought: the seventh single from a 10-track album that didn't have the most auspicious of starts when it was released a full year before the Thriller video (long enough for Jackson's nose to look different in the film than it does on the LP cover). Miss Scarlet and The Duke, starring Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin, is a high-octane, smart and sassy mystery series filled set in 1882 . In 2013, she settled with the Jackson estate for $75,000. It won a Grammy for best music video. Michael Jackson - Thriller (Official 4K Video) Michael Jackson 27.3M subscribers Subscribe 6.6M Share 887M views 13 years ago #Halloween #MichaelJackson #4kRemastered Michael Jackson's official. ", "Thriller" hit MTV and other outlets in 1983, the same year that the risqu (for the time) Flashdance was a hit in movie theaters and made a star out of Jennifer Beals. This was the business model in home video for most of the early to mid-1980s: Studios and publishers charged about $90 for tapes and sold almost exclusively to rental stores, which would then charge customers a few bucks to rent it for a day or two. ", Jonze doubts Thriller has had a direct influence on the new school of music video directors, but he is nonetheless convinced it will survive as a portrait of an artist on the mountaintop. She and other dancers groove and show off their moves throughout the video.
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