Thriller (music video)

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Movie
German title thriller
Original title thriller
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1983
length 14 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director John Landis
script John Landis,
Michael Jackson
production George Folsey Jr. ,
Michael Jackson,
John Landis
music Rod Temperton (composer),
Michael Jackson (interpreter)
camera Robert Paynter
cut Malcolm Campbell ,
George Folsey Jr.
occupation

The video clip for Michael Jackson's song Thriller is considered a milestone in the history of music videos . It was shot in Los Angeles, California in the fall of 1983 and produced by director John Landis .

The clip first aired on December 2, 1983. It is much longer than the album version of the same name . For the first time, Landis has created a music video that can be described as an independent film.

action

Michael watches a horror film with his girlfriend in the cinema, in which the main actor (also played by Michael Jackson) turns into a werewolf at night in the dark forest and chases a young girl. His girlfriend is too scared and leaves the cinema. Michael follows her after a few seconds and tries to calm her down. On the way home from the cinema, Michael begins to dance and sings his song Thriller . They walk through the cemetery where the dead come to life. The voiceover of Vincent Price can be heard now. Then Michael turns into a zombie as well and joins the others who surround the girl. She takes refuge in an empty house nearby, and when the zombies follow her and invade the house, she starts screaming. Then she wakes up as if from a nightmare on the couch in Michael's apartment, who leans over her smiling in a normal state and calms her down. He wants to take her home, and while the two of them are walking to the door, Michael finally turns around to the camera again, his face turns devilish again, and the horrible laugh can be heard at the end of the song.

useful information

  • Michael Jackson was a Jehovah's Witness at the time the video was released . Before the film begins, read the following message:

"Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult."

"Because of my strong personal beliefs, I want to emphasize that this film in no way endorses any belief in the occult ."

- Michael Jackson
  • As the first music video, Thriller was inducted into the National Film Registry on December 30, 2009 .
  • At the time, Thriller was the most elaborate and expensive music video at US $ 500,000  (approx. 639,000 euros).
  • In January 1984, Thriller was shown in the music video show Formula One as video of the week in full length, but without credits. Due to the creepy plot of the video, this edition of the program was only allowed to be broadcast after 10 p.m. for reasons of youth protection.
  • The behind-the-scenes music video was released on videotape under the name The Making Of Michael Jackson's Thriller . It was sold around 750,000 times by the beginning of 1986 and is still the best-selling music video in the world.
  • "See you next Wednesday." ( "See you next Wednesday ") says Vincent Price in the film that Michael and his girlfriend are watching. Later the same sentence can be seen written in blood on a wall. In addition, the phrase is a running gag in John Landis and is used in every one of his films.
  • Director John Landis is sitting in the cinema in the foreground on the right with the audience.
  • "Vincent Price Thriller" is on the display above the cinema entrance.
  • In the film Otto - The Film (1985) the music video is parodied: Otto suggests that his beloved take a shortcut to the cemetery. Once there, he reveals to her that he is “different from the others” and turns into Heino . After more "zombie hunts" emerge from their graves, they interpret an idiosyncratic version of black-brown is the hazelnut to the beat of Thriller .
  • The appearance and dance of the blue gorillas in the music video of the song Clint Eastwood by the band Gorillaz parodies the zombies in Thriller .

In the music video, some references are made to horror films in which John Landis or Vincent Price were involved:

  • The movie theater where Michael and his girlfriend watch the horror movie is the same as in The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), which Landis directed. Even the original posters from Landis' film Schlock - The Banana Monster (1973) hang in the showcases.
  • The sound of the werewolf growling during the transformation is the same as it was in the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London . Landis also directed and wrote the screenplay in this film.
  • A poster of the film depends on the exterior surface of the movies House of Wax ( House of Wax ) (1953), played the leading role in the Vincent Price.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Information on loc.gov
  2. ↑ Production costs on billboard.com

Web links

Commons : Thriller  - collection of images, videos and audio files