9 3 : 9 9 (DVD & VHS)
The Video Collection 93:99 is an amalgamation of some of Madonna's most memorable videos between those years. However, not all the videos you might expect are found here. This DVD has a PG rating, which it would not have got if, for example, it had included Erotica.
Videos
- Bad Girl*
- Fever*
- Rain*
- Secret*
- Take A Bow*
- Bedtime Story*
- Human Nature*
- Love Don't Live Here Anymore
- Frozen*
- Ray Of Light*
- Drowned World/Substitute For Love*
- The Power Of Goodbye*
- Nothing Really Matters*
- Beautiful Stranger*
Bad Girl tells of how the character played by Madonna has lost her husband, and more importantly, of how the character reacts to it. Watched by the ghost of her husband, she works hard and plays hard, abusing herself in the process - too much drink, way too much smoking, sleeping around. It is this sleeping around that proves her downfall in the end. A handsome man ends up strangling her, though when she falls back onto her bed, dead, she has a smile on her face. You see why later on, as she sits as a ghost with her husband, watching the police take her body away. She is free. This has a real film-like quality about it and you are made to watch every moment of it in order to work out what is happening. Fever is a cover song, originally by Peggy Lee, and Maddy performs it very well, describing how her lover gives her fever. The softer voice used in the song is a nice contrast to the harsher, more sexual voice she uses in Erotica. All in all a very good demonstration of Madonna's versatility. The video shows different looks for Madonna, the most striking being an all-over metallic paint effect, with stiffened hair pushed forwards. The striking red background and glowing parts add to the fevered effect in this sexy video. Rain is a real beauty, a true gem. Completely different to the other songs in the Erotica album, it is mostly a sung song in the classical sense, rather than spoken (although it does have spoken parts) or sing-song as most of the other songs in the album are. Romantic rather than sexual, it shows Madonna's vocal range well and is one of Madonna's best songs, in my opinion. The video is arty and she has a fresh short black hairdo which is set off beautifully by azure eyes. Madonna plays herself shooting a video in Japan. But she is all alone and the rain theme only gives her flashbacks (or are they fantasies ?) to an amorous shower encounter with her lover. Simply beautiful. Secret is another lively affair. In it, deeply unhappy Madonna finally learns the secret of happiness from her new lover. The video is sexy, but not as in-your-face as the Erotica era videos. At this stage, Madonna is looking back in her song, as she is already happy. She plays the part of a lesbian (?) club singer with a low cut dress, in this black and white video. A handsome black man looks longingly at her as she sings to a jazz accompaniment. Take A Bow is a classic Madonna song - an extremely successful song that Americans in particular liked, though Europeans were less keen. A slow and rhytmic recitation, Maddy 'commends' her lover on his acting ability, and says that he ought to get an award. This doesn't refer to any acting aspirations, but to his relationship with her. He broke her heart and it's time to end it all...very sentimental. The video shows Madonna being infatuated with a hunky matador. But he is an act in many ways, and she has to leave him - though they both look back longingly at the end. Another video with a strong film-feel to it. Bedtime Stories is a strong song, with a controversial video. The beat is good however, even if you're not sure what she's on about half time ("today is the last day I'm using words...leaving logic and reason to the arms of unconsciousness...let's get unconscious Honey..."). Brilliantly, it is very good at inducing unconsciousness. Top tip: if ever you can't sleep or need to unwind, play this song, close your eyes and relax (perhaps in a hot bath). In the video, Madonna is in a strange futuristic place, and in a comatose delirium, she dreams up the content of most of the video. Bizarrely dressed people, a white-haired child and a sumo wrestler all feature in this unashamedly wierd video. Definitely worth a look for some neat special effects. Human Nature is an altogether angrier song. In it, Maddy is defiant ("I'm not sorry") and she blasts her former lover, sometimes with scathing sarcasm. A line from this song spawned a motto of Madonna fans, "Express yourself, don't repress yourself". A great number with a superb kinky (PVC catwoman suit, whips, bondage !) video, but not one for the kids, as there is some 'naughty language' and imagery. Madonna, sometimes two Madonnas, are being manipulated and controlled by others, but she turns the tables and breaks free at the end. Whatever...but it's a striking piece of modern dancing, with excellent choreography. Love Don't Live Here Anymore was not commercially successful, but I can't for the live of me think why. Sung previously by Rose Hill and Kenny Rogers, Madonna's version is far more powerful and emotional, giving insights to the talent that Madonna would show later on. The song deals with abandonment. Just listen to Madonna's voice and tell me this is not a great song. This is a remixed version, and the video was shot long after the original was sung. This has a nostalgic feel in a beautiful old abandoned banquet hall that represents Madonna's feeling of abandonment. Frozen was the first single released from the Ray Of Light album and is frankly, quite astonishing. Influenced by India (evident from the mehindi figure of 'om' written on her palm in the spectacular video), it is haunting (especially the chorus), wierd and beautiful in equal measure. A magic spell seems to be cast on the listener, as Madonna beckons "give yourself to me". Orchestral music and a strong but random-sounding drum backup add to the grandeur of this majestic song, and Madonna's clear voice really adds the icing to this most delicious of cakes - my favourite song of all. Mystical and magical, this video has some stunning special effects - Madonna flying, shattering into crows and metamorphasising into a black hound. All to some intricate hand twisting and playing with her cloak. Ray Of Light is energetic, dynamic, and even operatic at times. This title track to the album has been hailed as the best song by Madonna, by a lot of people. What most people don't know is that this is a cover of a song by Curtis & Muldoon in the 1970's. It however, was nowhere near as successful as this song, which benefits from 'orbitalisation' and Madonna's mastery of voice. The video is unmissable for its famously speeded-up effects, mirroring everyday life, which spins around the madly dancing Madonna. Drowned World/Substitute For Love is a hybrid of two component songs, and you can tell the difference between the two halves. But they have been welded together so seamlessly that it just seems like different phases of the same song. Madonna tells of the pressures of fame and fortune, and in a video that was criticised as being too much like the plight of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, she flees from pursuing paparazzi, only to have her picture taken by hotel maids. Sporting a simple look in the video, Madonna creates a dreamy atmosphere. Memorable special effects include Madonna fleeing into a bar, only to be faced with hordes of people with bulging, iris-filled eyes, who stare at her and force her to flee again, this time home, where her little daughter comforts her. And no, it's not Lourdes in the video. Power Of Goodbye is another great song. The intro is incredibly cool and the theme of the song is the end of a relationship. Set in a blue-green hue, this visually lush video shows a chess game whose strategic moves are representative of a relationship; but this cannot last. Madonna looks stunning, simple without embellishment, but healthy and shining, and the imagery glorious, especially where she walks down a moonlit beach. Nothing Really Matters is a lively song telling how love overcame selfishness. There are lots of stoned-looking Japanese people in the video, in which Madonna sports a 'geisha' look with two outfits, one black PVC number and a striking red modified kimono. There are wierd shifting camera angles, even wierder themes, all accompanying a strange dancing style by Madonna, who is peculiarly frivolous at the end, perhaps signifying how the end of selfishness is liberating. Beautiful Stranger is a wonderful retro song with a definite cheesiness that surprisingly works in its favour. In the video, Austin Powers is warned by a superior that an enemy secret agent will try to seduce him. Armed with this knowledge, he goes to a nightclub to confront her...and sees her on stage, performing the song. He ends up falling for her charms and fantasising about her. Madonna is really hot in this unashamedly sexy video, and her quavery voice is seductive. The first time I saw it, I think I nearly passed out, and it still sends my pulse racing today. An extremely fitting end to this wonderful collection of videos, though it does help if you've seen the film and know a little about '60s bombshell that is Austin Powers.
RatingThis video collection is a great homage to Madonna, who very much invented the modern video (as opposed to the singer or band singing on stage or to a white background etc), and she successfully used this visual medium as a marketing tool. All the videos are good, each in their own ways and some of them are visually stunning. My only quibble is that not all of the best videos are here, but as I said before, this video just hangs onto the PG rating as it is, and some of the other videos are just too sexy to show within this rating. All in all, a very satisfying collection, which is also available in VHS format. 9/10.
� Josh Deb Barman 2000