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 zoomed in shots of her face and tears are reminiscent of Sinead O'Conner's "Nothing Compares 2 U" video, which is on this list. "Everybody Hurts" is a heavy song, and the corresponding video highlights the emotional lyrics. 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. 's Bad Girls and that's got to be one of the best videos ever. She screams and wakes up, realizing it was a nightmare. Thriller was an event even when it was being shot in October 1983. 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. There's even data to suggest that the existence of Making Michael Jackson's Thriller helped fuel the massive rise of VCR sales in late 1983. 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. "[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. She later lies next to the charred remains. 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 starts with a woman flipping through a comic book when the character reaches out to her and pulls her in. Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 1983 music video for the song "Thriller" by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on December 2, 1983. 08/07/2009 18:21. It references numerous horror films and sees Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies . It was shown as a 'Tube' exclusive at midnight (ish) on Channel four. We didn't get a Channel 4 signal until late 84 so missed out entirely! Cher's video for "If I Could Turn Back Time" is relatively simple: she performs a concert on the battleship USS Missouri with a ton of US Navy members present. / 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. [1] It is an anthology series: each episode has a self-contained story and its own cast. He suggested that Jackson should become a werewolf in a 1950s setting, inspired by the 1957 film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. 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 singer and the filmmaker met, and Landis dismissed the notion of presenting "Thriller" as a typical, cheaply made music video. One such kid was Spike Jonze, who was 14 in 1983. I'm sure VCRs had timers even then. The "All the Small Things" video is a hilarious parody of other boy bands and pop artists of the '90s. It took videos to another level, but in my world and in the world of artists I was dealing with, it's almost like it didn't relate.". It briefly regained the position in July, before being displaced by Synchronicity by the Police. "I recall everybody at college talking about it; about how it was like a mini-movie and how much it had cost. [8] Showtime aired the video six times in February. When I started directing videos myself a few years later, it was like a touchpoint. Original cast member Al Molinaro made a cameo. [27] The Library described it as "the most famous music video of all time". 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. Instead, he thought, it would be shot like a real movie, on classy 35-millimeter film stock. They walk into the forest, and Jackson asks her to be his girlfriend; she accepts. 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. Her father, a hunter, disapproves of their romance and tries to shoot antler boy with an arrow but he's hit by a car. It really opened our eyes to music videos as a creative form of film-making, and a potential career." It's simple, yet incredibly impressive. [8] As films required theatrical screenings to be eligible for Academy Awards, Landis had the video played before screenings of Fantasia (1940) at a Los Angeles cinema, though it was not nominated. Director: Scott Cooper | Runtime: 128 minutes. Michael Jackson is amazing. Could you want anything more in a video? Directed by John Landis, known for "Animal House" and "An American Werewolf in London," the mini-movie has the perfect horror aesthetic. Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 1983 music video for the song "Thriller" by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on December 2, 1983. 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. [3] Background [ edit] It won a Grammy as part of a long-form video project titled "Rhythm Nation 1814 Film.". One of the Zombie ladies from "Thriller" short film by Michael Jackson is Claire Sisk Reeves. If youd like to join in, please sign in or register. The image of her white tank and black tie is a definitive one. Jackson and the zombies chase his girlfriend into an abandoned house. Joseph denied this. [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. 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. "I had some intimate moments with him in his trailer," Ray said. The audience gave the film a standing ovation. The Untold Truth Of Michael Jackson's Thriller Video. As of September 2020, the video, hosted by Michael Jackson's official YouTube account, had racked up nearly 700 million views. "It had some magic that made it shine. Her use of religious symbols caused controversy, and the Vatican even condemned it. The video starts in black-and-white as Whitney Houston finishes a show and heads backstage. The signs on the theater are as follows: The main sign reads "Vincent Price's Thriller". Jackson said his first concern was to create a zombie dance that did not seem comical. Directed by F. Gary Gray, who also directed "Straight Out of Compton" and "The Fate of the Furious," the "Waterfalls" video is emotional. There's a lot to process. 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 gets a tattoo and a belly button piercing. The rules have been rewritten, unleashing a new surge of creativity. [13], Jackson wanted to make a video in which he transformed into a four-legged beast, similarly to the transformation scene in An American Werewolf in London. MTV, which, to that point, had never paid for content, contributed $250,000, and Showtime paid $300,000. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. [41] The lawsuit was settled in 2012 for an undisclosed amount. I don't think we had video recorder then. But what truly stands out about the video is Cher's iconic sheer body suit and leather jacket. More than 300 people dressed as Bush in the red dress recreated her video in a Brighton park in 2013. And there's some weird bugs crawling at various points. It's directed by John Strickland (Bodyguard, Line Of Duty) and follows the crew on the fictional Kinloch Bravo oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast on the dangerous waters of the North Sea.When the group of workers is due to return to the mainland, an eerie fog descends, and a mysterious force begins to take . It's trippy to watch and makes the video one of the most recognizable of all time. "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. This idea was replaced with a two-legged monster, as this made it easier for him to dance. Every Beyonc video deserves a spot on this list, but "Single Ladies" has a special legacy. "When I made videos, whether it was with the Beastie Boys or Bjrk, we weren't chasing anything," he says. He's taking things to a whole new place. Many elements of Michael Jackson's Thriller have had a lasting impact on popular culture, such as the zombie dance and Jackson's red jacket, designed by Landis's wife Deborah Nadoolman. It has that spirit to it that must have been contagious; it spoke to other kids. [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. He changes back into a human to sing the choruses. As fun as Smash Mouth's song is, the video is even more wild. ", In fact, says Dave Ma another up-and-coming film-maker who's worked with Foals and Delphic directors now have no choice but to be as unconventional as Landis 30 years ago, because their work needs to rise above all the junk online: "The emergence of YouTube has given us a plethora of mindless throw-away 'content'. Nearly 100,000 viewers voted in the VH1 all-time greatest 100 poll, which also saw Jackson at No.