From Madonna's decadent debut album, Madonna, she had four great videos that reflected different eras in the early history of motion picture. With each video she progressed, as the medium of The Music Video grew with the advent of MTV.
Film Exhibition: Everybody (1982). Like a Nickelodeon machine but projecting outward in clubs, the sexy downtown street waif beckons everyone to dance and sing, get up and do their thing. A glimpse inside the underworld in which she came. Performing on stage, people are dancing beneath her and walking across her stage with a boom box, she unaffected.
Symbolism: Burning Up (1983). Raunchy Sex Goddess in heat that crawled up from the gutters into a world of goldfish bowls, Grecian/Roman marble busts with illuminating eyes, an abundance of door locks, chains, eyeballs and lips. Doors turn into boats and a car drives through the river around her. She ends up in the middle of a road, tugging at her garment as she's the target of a speeding driver. Just as the car would impact her and she would end up as road kill, she emerges driving the vehicle with the initial male driver nowhere to be found.
Narrative: Borderline (1984). Photographer discovers strikingly beautiful street girl as she's dancing with her lover and friends. Flattered at his proposal to pose for photographs, girls jealous boyfriend disapproves as she and photographer drive off to the studio. Being shot in a series of photos and ending up on a cover of a magazine, girl has flashbacks to her life when it was easy, sexy, fun and free. Bored with the glamorous champagne atmosphere photographer provides, an argument ensues, she rebels and returns to guy she loves.
Technique: Lucky Star (1984). A visual and voyeuristic study of performance and personae using close up, medium and long shots via fast paced editing. A character study of the dancer with the use of a motion picture camera. From the moment she removes her sunglasses, she 'lifts the curtain' to expose herself to the viewer. Long shots of dancers performance, close up of body parts from eyes, lips, stomach, feet and bellybutton. Performer allows us into her narcissistic world while making love to the camera as it follows every move leading to a personal extravaganza and ending with performer 'dropping the curtain' by putting glasses back on.
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Which is your favorite video from the Madonna album and why?
Borderline - because of everything about it! storyline, editing, actors, location and that endingshot with her going dadadadalala..kills me everytime!!
ReplyDeleteLucky Star - no explaining needed really..the closeups, her taking of the shades, HER!!!!
Tough one, as always, Pud;)!! I have to go with Borderline. For starters, I´m a sucker for videos with a well developed narrative (this reminds me of your previous Bad Girl post, a masterpiece of this "genre"). Secondly, the song is epic (and one of my favorite Madonna songs ever). And everything about her is so iconic and visual in this video! I remember wanting so badly that photo on the cover of that mysterious Gloss magazine, and that BEAUTIFUL hat, and that unbelievable swimsuit, and those neon green socks... The only downside to loving this video so much is I almost broke my foot from kicking every streetlamp I bumped into:)!
ReplyDeletei love burning up! the song is edgy and extremely sexy like the video! love it!
ReplyDeleteEasily, 'Borderline'.
ReplyDeleteIt's what made me a fan.
I always thought it quite disturbing seeing Madge dancing with her brother in Lucky Star.
ReplyDeleteBurning up,because she looks sexy and hot.
ReplyDeletei remember being totally mesmerized by Lucky Star instantly.
ReplyDeleteBorderline, without a doubt. There's a lot of nostaglia for me watching it. Bikey described it perfectly...
ReplyDeleteI've always had a soft spot for Burning Up too. It feels like a cheesy early 80s video today, but its still fun.
Lucky star!
ReplyDeletepure dance!
BTW, did you guys know there are 2 different versions of the LUCKY STAR video? The regular one and the remix version (it's on the MADONNA home-video from 1984 with the 4 music-videos on it.)
ReplyDeleteAnd of course there is the unreleased HOLIDAY video. Has anyone ever seen even a photo/screen-cap. from this video?!?
In total there are actually 6 videos from the MADONNA album to be exact.
yes, nick - i LOVE that extended lucky star on the Madonna VHS. longer shots, great footage. its fantastic. xo
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I love them all, but it's a tie between Burning Up and Lucky Star. Though I could make a case for every single one. Pud, great analysis, as usual!
ReplyDeleteI'll go with Burning Up. All the way. You can't be any more eighties than that video. The looks, the visual effects, the hat hanging from the beam of light. And as the icing on the cake, the story of how she almost got killed by a light hanging over her head in the pool sequence. Perfection.
ReplyDeleteBurning Up - because she's soooo sexy in it
ReplyDeleteand Borderline - because it's just soooo Madonna!
Borderline for sure. Like Mary Lambert said "I knew it would be a great video, all I had to do was shoot her face". She was just so fucking gorgeous and I liked the storyline too!
ReplyDelete