It briefly regained the position in July, before being displaced by Synchronicity by the Police. From Michael Jackson's zombie dance in "Thriller" to Miley Cyrus' naked wrecking ball ride, certain visuals stay with the viewer long after the video has ended. The pair are spies for an elite intelligence agency called Citadel - but eight years ago . Contents 1 Background 2 Releases 2.1 Hosted by Elvira 2.2 Non-Elvira releases 3 References 4 External links Background [ edit] NCTV chairman Thomas Radecki said: "It's not hard to imagine young viewers after seeing Thriller saying, 'Gee, if Michael Jackson can terrorize his girlfriend, why can't I do it too? 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. [16] The director of photography was Robert Paynter, who had worked with Landis on Trading Places. [10], To help finance the production, Landis's producer George Folsey Jr. suggested a making-of documentary that, combined with the "Thriller" video, would produce an hour-long film that could be sold to television. When antler boy runs to his side, he realizes that the man has deer hooves for legs. [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. The video includes clips from "Purple Rain," too. The "Bad Romance" video is artistic and creative yet political in nature. Most of the video is a close-up shot of Sinad's face as she sings the song. "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. "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. 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. The signs on the theater are as follows: The main sign reads "Vincent Price's Thriller". It was filmed at various locations in Los Angeles, including the Palace Theater. Landis said he would do the video if it could be a short film, and Jackson embraced the idea. 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. "I had some intimate moments with him in his trailer," Ray said. [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). Directed by Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl, the video follows a man, whose face is never shown, as he rescues a baby, a dog, and grabs a photo from a burning building. The critic Kobena Mercer found similarities to the werewolf in The Company of Wolves (1984). Feel free to tell me if you think I'm being over protective but I'm really not happy that my son's Yr3 class has been shown the full version of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video this afternoon in school. 1983 - Channel 4 premiere of Michael Jackson's Thriller video - YouTube 0:00 / 0:30 1983 - Channel 4 premiere of Michael Jackson's Thriller video Blocks Videos 11.2K subscribers 65 7.4K. The comic book character later attempts to join her in the real world and eventually does. She was the first woman to win video of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards for the work. The rules have been rewritten, unleashing a new surge of creativity. Fans worldwide re-enact its zombie dance and it remains popular on YouTube. "It was the first time an artist had considered the pop video as a legitimate art form. But the image forever in people's minds is Lopez dancing around in the forest with green lasers behind her. 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. The short film premiered on NBC's music video block Friday Night Videos. [42], number of copies sold were 900,000 at a price of $30, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, YouTube video of more than 1,500 prisoners performing the dance, Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, "Director: Funds for "Thriller" almost didn't appear", "Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the eternal Halloween bop and so much more", "John Landis says Michael Jackson was too 'grotesque' to film: Howell", "How Michael Jackson's Thriller changed music videos for ever", "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' is the eternal Halloween bop and so much more", "Michael Jackson's Life & Legacy: Global Superstar (198286)", "It Happened This Week in L.A. History: Silver Screen Thrills Los Angeles Magazine", "Michael Jackson's videos set a new standard", "VH1 Names '100 Greatest Videos of All Time', "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Added To National Film Registry", "MTV: 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made", "The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos Michael Jackson, 'Thriller', "Jackson "Thriller" film picked for U.S. registry", "Michael Jackson's Thriller added to US film archive", "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' remains a Halloween hit", "Barack and Michelle Obama make Halloween a thriller for DC kids", "John Landis on 'Thriller 3D', the 'American Werewolf' Remake, & Lucasfilm's Director Troubles", "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Could be Broadway Show", "Review: Masterful Plants vs. Zombies Proves Less Is More", "Plants vs. Zombies (Windows, Mac OS X) - the Cutting Room Floor", "Michael Jackson Estate Forces 'Plants vs. Zombies' Update", "Monster Metaphors: Notes on Michael Jackson's Thriller", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Jackson%27s_Thriller_(music_video)&oldid=1142427273, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 09:09. 2023 Hearst UK is the trading name of the National Magazine Company Ltd, 30 Panton Street, Leicester Square, London, SW1Y 4AJ. Could you want anything more in a video? The Gorillaz are known for their animations, but it all started with their first single from their debut, "Clint Eastwood." Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" has two iconic videos. As of 2020, more than 59 million people had watched the sea of orange-clad people amble and groove like zombie-monsters. [8] The production team agreed to protect the negatives and locked them in Branca's office. After production on the video wrapped, Jackson was told by leaders of his church (Jackson was a practicing member of the Jehovah's Witness faith) that they thought "Thriller" encouraged demon worship, and if it were released, he'd be excommunicated. [8] According to Landis, Ola Ray, a former Playboy Playmate, was cast as she was "crazy for Michael" and had a "great smile". As of September 2020, the video, hosted by Michael Jackson's official YouTube account, had racked up nearly 700 million views. [8] Landis encouraged Jackson and Ray to improvise during their scenes,[10] and urged Jackson to act "sexy" and "show virility" for his female fans. Vestron paid an additional $500,000 to market the cassettes. The changes applied starting with the Game of the Year edition and all future releases since. He warns her that he is "not like other guys", transforms into a werecat and attacks her. All eight episodes of Prime Video's new show The Consultant made their debut last week, allowing folks to fly through the entirety of the workplace saga like the levels of an . 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). The Spice Girls video for "Wannabe" is entirely one-shot and shows the girls taking over the St. Pancras Grand Hotel in London. In 2017, it was remastered from the original 35mm negative and converted into 3D under John Landis' supervision. It was in all the papers but it was quite funny how Radio 1 avoided the subject. The "Work It" video is filled with some interesting CGI work, memorable dance moves, and some wild cameos that include Timbaland and Eve. It's amazing. Stars: Alexander Arnold, David Bamber, Claudie Blakley, Denise Gough Votes: 3,682 3. It's a moot point whether or not a bit of fear does them any harm in the long term. The video also features a striking shot of Madonna dancing in front of burning crosses. Thriller, released in 1983, was initially given a late-night premiere on Channel 4 - a formula repeated by Jackson five years later with his Bad video. The first thing he said to me when he came out of school was 'Are zombies real, mum?'. Michael Jackson is amazing. The bride leaves the altar, and when the groom follows, he sees her making out with one of the guests outside. Disney star Alyson Stoner broke out in the video as the lead child dancer. The video for My Chemical Romance's jam featured a main character in a hospital bed who is eventually led by Death to the Black Parade. As Katy Perry makes her way through the board game world, she rescues some girls from candy-related prisons and then defeats Snoop Dogg and his gummy bear army with whipped cream. It really opened our eyes to music videos as a creative form of film-making, and a potential career." Directed by Spike Jonze ("Her"), the "Buddy Holly" video places the band in Arnold's Drive-In from the show "Happy Days." 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. The original UK title sequence featured still shots of locations in the story, devoid of people, shot through a fisheye lens, bordered in bright red and set to Johnson's eerie, discordant theme music. She and other dancers groove and show off their moves throughout the video. This particular Thriller musical is not to be confused with Thriller Live, a Michael Jackson-themed theatrical experience that ran in London's West End (the British Broadway) for well over a decade. He said he had blocked further distribution and promotion of the film where he had been able. Michael Jackson, at the time being a devout Jehovah's Witness, feared that the video would go against his fans' religious beliefs and feared backlash. 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 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. A YouTube video of more than 1,500 prisoners performing the dance attracted 14 million views by 2010. And then, at midnight on 2 December, after weeks of trailers and hype, MTV showed it to the world. Choreographer and singer Paula Abdul danced alongside a cartoon cat named MC Skat Cat in the video for "Opposites Attract." Joseph denied this. The video's budget was five hundred thousand dollars. Outlander. [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. The cultural event that was the video for "Thriller" pushed sales of the single, too, and the song hit #4 on the pop chart. Some music videos are more memorable than others. Watch the red dress video here the white dress video here. Cannot remember the excate time but dout it was 1 am as we would of not been allowed to stay up. It won a Grammy as part of a long-form video project titled "Rhythm Nation 1814 Film.". Goofs He reaches out to her but can't pull her back up and she falls. It's trippy to watch and makes the video one of the most recognizable of all time. In July 1983, after Thriller was displaced from the top of the chart, Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo suggested making a music video for "Thriller". Jackson's character takes his date (Ola Ray) to a horror movie and then makes her life into one when he transforms into a monstrous creature and leads a horde of other scary creatures both ghoulish and undead. 1. The song was originally going to be called "Starlight". ", 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. 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. [20] In 2009, Jackson sold the Thriller rights to the Nederlander Organization to stage a Broadway musical based on the video. Then the scenes begin to shift between Houston in brightly colored dresses and makeup in various different scenes. The metamorphosis of the polite "boy next door" into a werecat has been interpreted as a depiction of male sexuality, depicted as naturally bestial, predatory, and aggressive. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "THRILLER - The Complete Series A 16-disc Box Set From Network", "BFI Screenonline: Thriller (1973-76) Credits", "Five things to watch this weekend 11-13 October", "See No Evil (1971) - Richard Fleischer | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie", "Someone at the Top of the Stairs (1973) - John Sichel | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie", "BFI Screenonline: Clemens, Brian (1931-) Biography", "Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are (1974) - | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie", "Screamer (1974) - Shaun O'Riordan | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie", "The Double Kill (1975) - | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie", "I'm the Girl He Wants to Kill (1974) - | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie", " A British TV Review: THRILLER "Lady Killer" (1973)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thriller_(British_TV_series)&oldid=1133430606, 1970s British anthology television series, Television shows produced by Associated Television (ATV), Television shows shot at ATV Elstree Studios, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from December 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles with minor POV problems from March 2022, Articles with trivia sections from February 2022, Articles needing additional references from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 19:32. She gets a tattoo and a belly button piercing. Marlon Brando, Fred Astaire, Rock Hudson and Jackie Kennedy Onassis all turned up on set, and Eddie Murphy, Prince and Diana. [14] According to Landis, the production involved the largest makeup team in film history up to that point, with 40 makeup artists. There's running on a moving train, there's dancing in a blue room, there's a dog chase, and a car chase. The story is great, the scenes are marvelous, the music is fantastic and overall the clip is fun, eye-popping, spooky and is a real spectacle. "In many ways, it wasn't something you really wanted to aspire to," he says. "Thriller was important because it was the first time anything this ambitious had ever been attempted," a spokesperson for VH1 said yesterday. 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. "It was really groundbreaking to have such a long video, and it helped to shape the future of music videos, which previously had been more performance-based," she says. 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. When Michael Jackson's Thriller started to drop down the charts in 1983, according to Vanity Fair, Jackson grew unnerved and pressed executives on how to restore the LP to its #1 perch. A videocassette of "Thriller" opened the door to priced-to-own videos. ", "People are making great videos again," Jonze says. [8], In June 1983, Thriller was displaced from the top of the Billboard 200 chart by the Flashdance soundtrack. It ends with her holding a photo of them. It's dark and striking and fits perfectly with the song. / 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. A making-of documentary, Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, was produced to sell to television networks. 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. 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. Nearly 100,000 viewers voted in the VH1 all-time greatest 100 poll, which also saw Jackson at No. [35] It was remastered in IMAX 3D for a limited engagement in 2018, preceding screenings of The House With a Clock in Its Walls in North America for its first week. The 15-year-old promo, directed by John Landis, is now regarded as a landmark release - the first to transform pop videos into mini-films. The record was a major hit that sold millions of copies and spawned numerous hit singles, which, in turn, led to more album sales. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Kendrick Lamar's "Humble" is an incredible video. She later lies next to the charred remains. Thriller is a British television series, originally broadcast in the UK from 1973 to 1976. 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. He changes back into a human to sing the choruses. [14] He initially imagined the werecat would resemble a black panther, but added a longer mane and larger ears. For episodes that used a different title in the U.S., the U.S. title is shown in italics underneath the original British title. She was the mother of the character Ken Reeves from the TV Show "The White Shadow". Directed by John Landis, known for "Animal House" and "An American Werewolf in London," the mini-movie has the perfect horror aesthetic. My Chemical Romance is on a float leading the parade of masked figures in what looks to be a wasteland. 08/07/2009 18:21. Jackson was all in, especially after Landis said he could probably get An American Werewolf in London makeup master Rick Baker involved. I'm sure VCRs had timers even then. The video features the four guys of OK Go doing a choreographed dance on treadmills all filmed in one shot. Seemingly unaware of the time difference, Jackson had called at 2am UK time and the sleepy director had to feign knowledge of the song, which he hadn't heard. 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. When the documentary was released on VHS, selling for $29.95, it attracted more than 100,000 advance orders in its own right. [10] Landis felt Jackson should become scary and creepy, but not ugly. The Pale Blue Eye (2022) Image via Netflix. 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.". 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. Nevertheless, the Thriller video was set to be so expensive $900,000, to pay for not just the filming and effects but 10 days of dance rehearsals that Landis and Jackson had to find a way to fund it (Jackson had paid the $150,000 cost of the Beat It video himself). It continuously shifts through a series of triangles shifting between images of Meg and Jack White playing instruments. The "Like a Prayer" video largely takes place in a church, but there is a subplot where Madonna witnesses a murder and sees a black man arrested for the crime he did not commit. But the video ends with a shot of her in bed. 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".