A musical number set to "Thriller" (the song) would comprise most of the video, but it would also have a scripted drawing device. The song is featured in the superhero comedy "Mystery Men," and actors William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Diane Rehm, Paul Reubens, Kel Mitchell, Janeane Garofalo, Doug Jones, and Dane Cook all make cameos. [10] At the time, commercial directors did not direct music videos, but Landis was intrigued. The video features lead singer Amy Lee dreaming of falling from her apartment window. 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. Lesley Sharp stars as a detective who faces impossible choices in a murky world where loyalties are tested and lines are blurred. I want to do what's right. He soon finds himself working as part of a trio of vets alongside Siegfried and his younger brother, Tristan. [32], In 2017, the video made its debut in a newly restored 3D version at the 74th annual Venice Film Festival, accompanied by the Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller documentary, also newly remastered. Prime Video has released the new trailer for its upcoming, star-studded, spy thriller Citadel.. Director Spike Jonze also on this list for "Buddy Holly" is behind this truly memorable video featuring Christopher Walken dancing around a Mariott in Los Angeles. Jackson died about six months later, and his estate settled with Landis in 2012. [37], The video game Plants vs. Zombies by PopCap Games contained a reference to the Thriller music video in its original releases from May 2009 (a month before Jackson's death) until it was removed in July 2010. 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.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.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. In the present, Jackson and his girlfriend are watching the werecat film in a theater. It's amazing. He said he had blocked further distribution and promotion of the film where he had been able. Strictly bosses 'line up Sophie Morgan as show's first ever wheelchair During all the chaos, lead singer Brendon Urie is the ringmaster. [8], Thriller was filmed at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, the zombie sequence at the junction of Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona Street in East Los Angeles, and the final house scene at 1345 Carroll Avenue in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood of Echo Park. A-ha pushed boundaries with their creative video, actually the song's second video, for "Take on Me." Unpredictable crime thriller. 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. The Thriller video sent album sales into orbit, with Jackson's label Epic reportedly shipping a million copies a week in its immediate aftermath. Inspired by the reaction to the Beatles performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "Hey Ya!" It doubled sales of Thriller, helping it become the best-selling album in history, and the documentary sold over a million copies, becoming the best-selling videotape at the time. From his Pope outfit to the reenactment of Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting, Lamar doesn't shy away from religious visuals. Alternate Versions "It was never like some marketing thing. 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. "Thriller" remains a classic, as well as an unprecedented moment in music and film, and it wasn't easy to pull off. She screams and wakes up, realizing it was a nightmare. Choreographer and singer Paula Abdul danced alongside a cartoon cat named MC Skat Cat in the video for "Opposites Attract." "The Thriller video became a worldwide megahit and an iconic pop culture phenomenon that has continued to generate profits for defendants Optimum Productions and Michael Jackson, who have wrongfully refused to pay or account for such profits to plaintiff," the suit read (via The Guardian). 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. One major part of the early concept was rejected. [8] The production team agreed to protect the negatives and locked them in Branca's office. As the band and hundreds of other people are stuck in a traffic jam, the camera pans to various individuals sitting in their car with subtitles describing their thoughts. [3], The series was created by Brian Clemens, who also scripted the majority of the episodes and story-lined every installment. Peter Gabriel's video for "Sledgehammer" was an impressive 16-hour feat. The first collaboration between Alicia Silverstone and Aerosmith featured Silverstone as a girl who catches her boyfriend cheating. 7 Fastlove George Michael. The theatre in the movie is the Palace Theatre in Los Angeles, where, The short film was packaged on home video with, The score heard in this music video is actually unused music from composer. 8 Say You . 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. I don't think we had video recorder then. Quotes The music video for "Survivor" takes place "somewhere in the South Pacific," as stated in the beginning and begins with Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and Beyonc shipwrecked on an island. To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account. The best thrillers on Amazon Prime Video right now 9 with Earth Song from his 1996 album HIStory. It may seem odd to have a cat playing her love interest as she sings about loving a guy despite their differences, yet that's the theme of the video. They walk into the forest, and Jackson asks her to be his girlfriend; she accepts. Isn't it ironic? It was also the first big break for drag queen RuPaul. In attendance were celebrities including Diana Ross, Warren Beatty, Prince, and Eddie Murphy. The "Life on Mars" music video was filmed for the song's release as a single. Thriller was an event even when it was being shot in October 1983. The massively successful "Thriller" video was a close collaboration between performer Michael Jackson and director John Landis, although it would seem that of the pair, only Jackson greatly benefited financially from the project. The trivia item below may give away important plot points. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. The "All the Small Things" video is a hilarious parody of other boy bands and pop artists of the '90s. The first thing he said to me when he came out of school was 'Are zombies real, mum?'. ", Only later did Landis realize that Ray was a former Playboy Playmate, which threatened her involvement in the video because Jackson thought it might come across as improper for him to be sharing the screen with a nude model. 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. 08/07/2009 18:21. The Pale Blue Eye (2022) Image via Netflix. [22] Gil Kaufman of MTV described the video as "iconic" and felt that it was one of Jackson's most enduring legacies. [29], Jackson's red leather jacket became a fashion icon and has been widely emulated. Millions of people who somehow hadn't yet purchased Thriller were inspired to do so, and during the peak of the video's popularity, the album sold more than a million copies a week, according to Vanity Fair. She ran around with her friends bothering patrons and employees, trying on a bunch of clothes, and making a giant mess. Directed by Colin Trevorrow. 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). When the series was re-broadcast as part of The CBS Late Movie however, the original title sequences and music were restored. Ending with Alice as a cake that the Mad Hatter and friends consume and a small burp from Petty is just the cherry on top. But the image forever in people's minds is Lopez dancing around in the forest with green lasers behind her. But that night is also known as the night Kanye West got on stage and interrupted Taylor Swift's speech after she beat Beyonc in the best female video category. TV-MA | 240 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller 7.4 Rate A young couple move into an apartment only to find the body of a young woman that had been missing for 2 years but never registered as missing which leads to a deeper investigation into what actually happened. They talk through their problems with friends and ultimately decide that neither of them will date him. [6] Jackson's make-up casts "a ghostly pallor" over his skin and emphasizes the outline of his skull, an allusion to the mask from The Phantom of the Opera (1925). And so, that's what happened, although Jackson's character doesn't, per common knowledge, become a werewolf. In the 1950s, Michael Jackson and a young woman (Ola Ray) run out of gas while driving in a wooded area. [12] Nina Blackwood, a former MTV executive, said music videos improved after Thriller, with more storylines and more intricate choreography. Michael Jackson had a huge 1983. MTV, which, to that point, had never paid for content, contributed $250,000, and Showtime paid $300,000. "Then YouTube came along and that suddenly brought film-makers back to a more unconventional way of thinking, which I see as a totally positive thing. Set in a futuristic looking white room, the video stands out for the illusions it features. Eventually, she stands on the edge of an overpass preparing to jump when her ex shows up with a bunch of cops. In 2018, the short film was digitally remastered exclusively for IMAX 3D theaters, playing before. It's all just brilliant to watch. [38][39] The description of the Dancing Zombie in the game paraphrased the disclaimer at the end of Thriller. There's the car running out of gas and it's like a movie, then it just keeps going, as if they're saying: 'That'd be cool, let's do that.' The video tells a romantic story through a mix of live-action and pencil-sketch animation. It was the first music video to be selected. 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. He changes back into a human to sing the choruses. And people have been copying it ever since.". Perhaps that's Thriller's ultimate legacy, and it's also why Jonze has become a key influence on film-makers creating videos for YouTube. He opens the window and she almost falls. As the song progresses, multiple Morissettes sing in the car and act as her passengers until the car runs out of gas and she has to walk. The singer liked that idea and later told Jehovah's Witness publication Awakethat he "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.". It won a Grammy for best music video. He grooves on an escalator, he flies in the air, he shimmies in the lobby. And there's some weird bugs crawling at various points. HBO's 'The Last of Us' is a video game adaptation that's actually good At the end of the credits, they all dance back into their graves, with one of them gruesomely grimacing at the screen. And his "Hammer pants" are iconic. Landis said he would do the video if it could be a short film, and Jackson embraced the idea. The pair are spies for an elite intelligence agency called Citadel - but eight years ago . This brilliant video won the VMA for video of the year. She won the MTV award for video of the year. [23] He said it was the "mini-movie that revolutionized music videos" and "cemented Jackson's status as one of the most ambitious, innovative pop stars of all time". Michael Jackson's "Thriller" clip permanently elevated the medium of music video to artistic and cinematic relevance at a time when it was still relatively new and directionless. In May 2009, Ray sued Jackson, along with his production company, for breach of contract. 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. No wonder we readily accept the concept of a literal metamorphosis. The video one video of the year at the VMAs. They pass a graveyard, where zombies rise from their graves and surround them in the street. A making-of documentary, Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, was produced to sell to television networks. ", 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. Thriller was an event even when it was being shot in October 1983. I was at boarding school at the time & we were allowed to stay up to watch it. "[11], Ola Ray also complained of problems collecting royalties. At first, she blamed Jackson, but apologized to him in 1997. Filming began in South Africa on this new eight-part adaptation of Jules Verne's classic novel in February 2020, and was halted in March by Covid-19 with an episode and a half in the can, before. [8] Showtime aired the video six times in February. [5] The opening scene parodies 1950s B-movies, with Jackson and Ray dressed as 1950s teenagers. Epic saw it as a novelty song;[9] Yetnikoff asked, "Who wants a single about monsters? The cat's dance moves even mirror her's. There's a lot to process. We didn't get a Channel 4 signal until late 84 so missed out entirely! The video for "Seven Nation Army" is a kaleidoscopic, trippy series of shots. She was the first woman to win video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards for the work. [8] Vestron Music Video offered to distribute Making Michael Jackson's Thriller on VHS and Betamax; this was a pioneering concept, as most video cassettes at the time were sold to rental stores rather than directly to viewers. Jackson urged the Epic executives Walter Yetnikoff and Larry Stessel to help conceive a plan to return the album to the top of the charts. "[8] Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo suggested making a music video for it, and recalled telling Jackson: "It's simpleall you've got to do is dance, sing, and make it scary. [2] As the title suggests, each story is a thriller of some variety, from tales of the supernatural to down-to-earth whodunits. Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, Rock Hudson and Jackie Kennedy Onassis all turned up on set, and Eddie Murphy, Prince and Diana. Adobe Premiere Pro 2023 is an impressive application which allows you to easily and quickly create high-quality content for film, broadcast, web, and more. The Thriller video makes many allusions to horror films. [1] It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. 55 of the most iconic music videos of all time - Insider However, Epic wouldn't pay for it the label spent $250,000 on the video for "Billie Jean" but made Jackson pay the $150,000 budget for "Beat It" himself. [3] Background [ edit] DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Then she wakes and crawls outside to walk along the ledge. As such, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" the narrative short horror musical video, not the song or album of the same name is ripe for mainstream theatrical adaptation. "I loved it," he says. It's a weird video, but that's why it's unforgettable. [2] It was produced by John Sichel (the first three series), John Cooper (series 4) and Ian Fordyce (the final two series) for Associated Television (ATV) at its Elstree studios north of London. But then there's also some random dance scenes with her on a boat. I think that video by MJ is just big, but it isn't that fantastic. There's also a memorable scene of her covered in diamonds. At one point, she climbs up the building to a room where Paul McCoy and the rest of the band are playing music. ", Jonze took the freedom he sensed in Thriller and also its eccentricity and humour and ran with it, creating some of the 90s' most famous music videos, including the Beastie Boys' Sabotage and Praise You by Fatboy Slim, which also get continually spoofed. [16] The director of photography was Robert Paynter, who had worked with Landis on Trading Places. "[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". It's like he's disconnected from everything and everyone, and that's exciting. The video won a Grammy for best long-form video. It was in all the papers but it was quite funny how Radio 1 avoided the subject. The video was directed by John Landis, written by Landis and Jackson, and stars Jackson and Ola Ray. The mystery and thriller . 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. The boy returns in ghost form but his mom can't see him, and both the man and woman fade from the video. [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. Less than two years later, sister network VH1 would also name "Thriller" the top video ever made. The UK version features Bush in a white dress as she dances around a dark room white white mist. However, Ray sued Jackson on May 6, 2009, less than two months before his death on June 25. British crime mini-series - IMDb The changes applied starting with the Game of the Year edition and all future releases since. Thriller was the biggest recording artist in the world at the time working with probably the biggest director and it was an amalgamation of the two talents. The Rig on Prime Video release date, cast, plot, trailer, interview This short film displays the absolute highest standard in music video and no-one will ever be able to out-beat this 'King Of Pop' masterpiece! YouTube/KendrickLamarVEVO. The rules have been rewritten, unleashing a new surge of creativity. [6] According to Peter Dendle, the zombie invasion sequence was inspired by Night of the Living Dead (1968). The record was a major hit that sold millions of copies and spawned numerous hit singles, which, in turn, led to more album sales. The black-and-white video features various scenes of the siblings together and alone, reacting emotionally and with anger at certain moments. He suggested that Jackson should become a werewolf in a 1950s setting, inspired by the 1957 film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. The stories were often set in the London commuter belt. Contents 1 Background 2 Releases 2.1 Hosted by Elvira 2.2 Non-Elvira releases 3 References 4 External links Background [ edit] He's taking things to a whole new place. Samuel L. Jackson in "Unbreakable." Credit: Getty Images. When I started directing videos myself a few years later, it was like a touchpoint. 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. Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 1983 music video for the song "Thriller" by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on December 2, 1983. I just wanted to create something that would do justice to the song and I was excited about making, and I think Thriller was the same way.". Even now, Kirsty Wark can perform the Thriller dance on Newsnight as a Halloween joke, and everyone gets it. Jackson was all in, especially after Landis said he could probably get An American Werewolf in London makeup master Rick Baker involved. [26] In 2009, it became the first music video to be selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. "Music videos in the early 80s started as a little cottage industry in Britain, really," says Brian Grant, the British director who made the Private Dancer video for Tina Turner and Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. The 30 Best British TV Shows You Need to Binge This Year - Town & Country Each girl shows off her personality as they move throughout the hotel, making a mess and causing general chaos. Thriller extended the usual pop video format with a long build-up to the start of the music in which Jackson was slowly transformed into a werewolf, and later a zombie.The horror film star Vincent Price was hired to provide a suitably eerie commentary. 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. 1 Thriller Michael Jackson 2 Bohemian Rhapsody Queen 3 Take On Me A-ha 4 My Heart Will Go On Celine Dion 5 Virtual Insanity Jamiroquai 6 Vogue Madonnna 7 Fastlove George Michael 8 Say You'll Be There Spice Girls 9 Earth Song Michael Jackson 10 Sledgehammer Peter Gabriel, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. [17], On November 14, 1983, Thriller was shown to a private audience at the Crest Theater in Los Angeles. ", "People are making great videos again," Jonze says. 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. It references numerous horror films and sees Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies . Fantastic, the full length version, last night on Channel 4. And as later legal filings would indicate, that's about all the actress and model took home. But the video ends with a shot of her in bed. Michael Jackson: Thriller (Music Video 1983) - Trivia - IMDb [8], In June 1983, Thriller was displaced from the top of the Billboard 200 chart by the Flashdance soundtrack. | Jackson and the zombies chase his girlfriend into an abandoned house. And then there's the wild action sequence in a futuristic Paris where she poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. Certainly the largest example of the phenomenon:In 2009, 13,957 people in Mexico performed the "Thriller" dance all at once, setting a Guinness World Record. She gets a tattoo and a belly button piercing. It was (as others have said) billed as a "The Tube" special. She later lies next to the charred remains. It won the MTV video of the year award. Stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Laura Dern. When the documentary was released on VHS, selling for $29.95, it attracted more than 100,000 advance orders in its own right. By the time Thriller's sales cycle wound down in 1984, it was the best-selling LP of all time in the United States, with sales of 33 million. Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 1983 music video for the song "Thriller" by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on December 2, 1983. / The foulest stench is in the air / The funk of 40,000 years / And grizzy ghouls from every tomb / Are closing in to seal your doom / And though you fight to stay alive / Your body starts to shiver / For no mere mortal can resist / The evil of the thriller. Thoroughly upset, Jackson ordered his lawyer, John Branca, to destroy the "Thriller" negatives. "Everybody Hurts" is a heavy song, and the corresponding video highlights the emotional lyrics. 'The Consultant' on Prime Video: That Bizarre Ending Explained In 2017, Ray had to file a lawsuit again, when she alleged that she wasn't paid her share for a 3-D re-release of the "Thriller" 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. [30] "Thriller" has become closely associated with Halloween;[31][14] in 2016, US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama danced to the song with schoolchildren at a White House Halloween event. [10] MTV paid $250,000 for the exclusive rights to show the documentary; Showtime paid $300,000 for pay-cable rights. [15], Landis said directing Jackson was "like dealing with a gifted 10-year-old". Injustice (TV Mini Series 2011) - IMDb He warns her that he is "not like other guys", transforms into a werecat and attacks her.