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Madonna - The Immaculate Collection

Madonna - The Immaculate Collection

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $15.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: to summ it up in one word AWSOME
Review: if you love madonna you'll lov her collection cause its pure or shall i say immaculate!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ultimate collection from the ultimate video artist
Review: If you want to understand Madonna's appeal, if you want to understand why she defined the 1980s and has remained a force for 20 years, you must watch THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION. What you see is something that was rare during my childhood - a woman drenched in sexuality looking right into the camera and saying: I enjoy my sexuality; I'm comfortable in my body; I'm in control of my life. Madonna knew that the music video was the new pop culture format, and she used it to make herself into the greatest icon of her generation. She is not a great singer, songwriter, actress, etc., but she IS a genius. Nowhere is her genius more evident than in these videos.

The playlist:

Lucky Star. Though this was Madonna's third video (Everybody was her first; Burning Up was her second), this was the first to get heavy rotation. The male backup dancer is her brother, Christopher Ciccone.

Borderline. Madonna's first video with a plot, she is an anonymous dancer at a break-dancing jam. A photographer notices her and offers her a job as a model. Her latin lover boyfriend gets jealous. (Unbeknownst to many, this song is also an ode to the female orgasm. "Keep on pushing me baby, don't you know you drive me crazy," Madonna sings.)

Like a Virgin. Filmed in Venice, Italy, and directed by Mary Lambert, this was Madonna's true breakthrough video. This is the song and video that made her a superstar. The metaphor is obvious. Madonna's character, who apparently has had many lovers, feels new and rejuvenated with her latest; he makes her feel like a virgin. Oddly, this song was originally intended for a male vocalist.

Material Girl. Based on Marilyn Monroe's rendition of Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend from the movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Madonna pays homage to Marilyn. Madonna would forever after be known as The Material Girl. Apparently no one noticed it was a joke. Madonna leaves the rich guys for the poor guy who drives a beat up Chevy.

Papa Don't Preach. Madonna's first truly controversial video, she confronts the issue of teenage pregnancy and debuts her pixie haircut. I don't think she's ever looked cuter than when portraying this resilient teenage Italian-American New Yorker. Actor Danny Aiello plays Madonna's father. In cut-away scenes to a solitary Madonna dancing in a dark studio, she is the most voluptuous, enchanting ice blonde I've ever seen - inhabiting a universe of glamour and mystery all her own.

Open Your Heart. Madonna plays a peep show dancer who really IS a dancer with real dance training! In a tribute to the choreography of Bob Fosse, and the Sally Bowles of Liza Minelli, Madonna spins, turns, contorts, and seduces an audience of sexual dyfunctionals. The young boy who begs, but is denied, entrance, represents a part of Madonna - her innocence.

La Isla Bonita. Madonna's tribute to the "mysterious people of Latin America" has her recalling her wonderful days on the island of San Pedro. Sitting in her dreary, gray apartment, a cropped and plain Madonna peers out of the window to where life is, to the street party she wishes she had the confidence to attend. She fantasizes that she is a seductive Flamenco dancer in a powerful red dress, with the courage to entice the crowd.

Like a Prayer. The jumbled sequence of this video makes it hard to understand at first. The basic plot is that Madonna witnesses a murder by the Klu Klux Klan, and then sees the police arrest a man she knows is innocent - a black man. Should Madonna let it be, or speak up and risk her own safety? She soon finds her way to a church dedicated to a black saint, falls asleep and dreams she goes to heaven to receive guidance. After a surrealistic sequence of dancing in a field of burning crosses, she resolves to tell the police the truth.

Express Yourself. A futuristic fantasy of ambiguous message, Madonna imitates Michael Jackson's most famous dance move (not the moonwalk). A sweaty, dirty construction worker finds his way her silky sheets, as she displays the most stunning back of muscles I've ever seen on a female pop star!

Cherish. Madonna's merman fantasy, this was the first music video directed by late celebrity photographer Herb Ritts. It's a hard video to watch because Ritts said Madonna was freezing on this winter day. You'd never know it to watch her dance around in the waves as though it's the middle of summer. She's the consummate professional. (God, I love this woman!) Madonna introduces us to her fine-toned biceps, putting my own to shame.

Oh Father. Last I heard, she is still unsure whether her father has seen this video. It may be better that he not. It does not depict him in a good light. Struggling to come to terms with his wife's death from cancer, he sometimes succumbs to violence to keep his daughter in line. In a parting scene, an adult Madonna regresses back to the 1960s and kisses her sleeping father on the cheek - hinting that we marry our parents, drawing a parallel between her father's behavior and that of ex-husband Sean Penn.

Vogue. Madonna's tribute to the long underground gay dance form known as Voguing, named after the famous high gloss magazine. Paying tribute to Hollywood's golden era, Madonna raps for the first time (far superior to her rap session in American Life!). The video is a stunning, sleek, black-and-white affair. And, again, that beautiful back of hers is on display. Oh, and so are those national treasures. (I heard she's actually insured them!)

Vogue (live from the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards). A live performance, Madonna is Marie Antoinette in a ball gown big enough for male dancers to hide under. This is one of her most legendary performances. Madonna, as usual, stole the show!

Andrew Parodi

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Ultimate Video Collection!
Review: Lucky Star- Nice video, I like Madonna's outfit. 4/5
Borderline- I love this video! 5/5
Like A Virgin- My favorite video on here! 5/5
Material Girl- Wonderful video! 5/5
Papa Don't Preach- This one is very nice. 5/5
Open Your Heart- I never saw this one, yet, but I have seen a little of it. For now, I will give it a 5. 5/5
La Isla Bonita- Amazing video! 5/5
Like A Prayer- It's okay. 3/5
Express Yourself- Very creative video! 5/5
Cherish- I love this video, and I think the song has a good message. 5/5
Oh Father- Beautiful video. 5/5
Vogue- This video is so cool! 5/5
Vogue (From the 1990 MTV Awards Show)- It's okay. 3/5

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Flawless DVD With No Classic Videos Left Out
Review: Madonna and music videos go together like love and marriage. Madonna was ahead of the game right when MTV started, always coming up with the freshest music videos. This collection of of her best vdeos is truly supreme. Let's go through a quick run - through of the videos.

"Lucky Star" is a cute video. Madonna likes lovely and the dancing is superb. It was her first classic video. I love the black and white intro when Madonna pulls down the sunglasses.

"Borderline" is a very cute video. Madonna plays a fashion model. I love the transistion between black and white and color. And once again, Madonna looks gorgeous. Also, in this video, Madonna vaguely resembles D.J. from "Full House".

"Like A Virgin" was without a doubt the video tha cemented her. I love the scenes in Venice when she's dancing in the gondolla. Never cared for that lion man at the end, though.

"Material Girl" was the one that started the comparisons to Marilyn Monroe, maybe because Madonna wore the same dress that Monroe wore in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" in 1953. It is an excellent video, and the one whose set she met future husband and recent Oscar winner Sean Penn on.

"Papa Don't Preach" I didn't like that much. I don't know if it's because of the way Madonna wore her hair in the video or I'm just not a big Danny Aiello fan, but there's something about this video that I don't like. Great song, though.

"Open Your Heart" gets right back on track. The idea of Madonna as a stripper wooing a young boy into a peep show was perfect. And Madonna's hair is beautiful.

"La Isla Bonita" is my least favorite video. I just don't like the way she looks in the video. I never thought she looked all that good as a brunette, and here is no exception (the "Like A Prayer" video is, but I'll get to that later). Killer dress though, and a good song.

"Like A Prayer" caused a ton of controversy when it was released. And why wouldn't it, what with its burning crosses, interracial love affair nd its depiction of Jesus being black? But when you look past all this, it's really a great video. And Madonna looks so beautiful. And about her being a brunette, she looks good with it in this video. In fact, I think the blackhair was required for the video.

"Express Yourself" is a very sensuous video, especially the scene with Madonna naked and chained to the bed. The ending where Madonna grabs her crotch is really pretty funny.

"Cherish" is a very charming video. Shot in black and white (at least I think it is), Madonna stands on the beach, getting soaked by water and yet singing about the sweet love she owns. A nice change of pace from the racier videos on the dvd.

"Oh Father" I really don't remember, so I'll skip it. I remember it was pretty boring, though. And I hated the song.

"Vogue" is such a great video. It's too beautiful to describe in words. All I can say is that Madonna looks gorgeous.

The live performance of "Vogue" is really good. I reccommend this dvd to all Madonna fans who don't already own it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Lady Madonna
Review: Madonna burns up the video screen with her finest videos. Includes "Lucky Star", "Like A Virgin", "Borderline", "Material Girl", & "Like A Prayer". In "Express Yourself", Madonna is wearing skin-tight leather & fishnet nylons! YEOWZA!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: l'excellence
Review: Madonna is Madonna. This album is forever

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stunning classics mixed with cheesy duds.
Review: Madonna was one of the quintessential stars of the MTV era. Artists such as Michael Jackson and Prince made good use of the form, but Madonna's entire career was built upon smart collaborator choices and a chameleon image which makes her even more of an industry unto herself than the other two.

Not all of these videos are great, or even good. But two things are certain: a) They served as mini-fashion shows for whatever persona Madonna was trying to project at the time, and b) the best videos on this collection are some of the best videos of all time.

First let's get the bad points over with. "Papa Don't Preach", while a great (and daring) pop single, is given a camembert visual treatment. Danny Aiello was a good choice to play the "papa" in question, but cheesy jump-cuts (as if the director had just discovered the nouvelle vague) and a flat-out inexplicable performance segment ruin the video. The performance footage is the laziest kind, Madonna looking into the camera and shaking around, but the slutty, cleavage-crazy costume and horrible choreography merely serve to overturn the innocent "pregnant girl" image she projects in the narrative segments, and Madonna's attempt at emoting merely reminds us how wretched she is as an actress. "Like a Prayer" was controversial but not much else, a promising series of concepts wasted, never developed, and "Like a Virgin" is just a concept-less exploitation of a nice-looking location, horrendously boring especially on rewatches.

But when Madonna hits her peaks in music video, she's every bit as good at it (and arguably more complex thematically) than Michael Jackson. "Vogue" is an acknowledged classic, its tone and artistic presentation unique in music-video history; the dance sequences are fabulous and unlike any other, getting across a decadence which suits Madonna's persona perfectly. "Oh Father" is her pinnacle, a simple yet moving story with perfect rhythm, superhumanly beautiful photography and Citizen Kane-inspired dissolves. "Express Yourself" is probably her most representative video, almost arrogant in its raw physicality and over-the-top setting. With the above videos (as well as other masterpieces such as Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun"), director David Fincher had established himself as the king of music-video, laying the path for his illustrious film career ahead. No surprise that Fincher remains the only music-video director who graduated with complete success to features; his videos are cinematic like no other. And the themes explored in these videos -- deviant sexuality, parental neglect, sorrow, idolatry, solitude -- are unusually sophisticated for the format.

Aside from the above classics, there are also a couple of slices of guilty pleasure -- the buoyant fiesta of "La Isla Bonita", the blatant Marilyn Monroe tribute in "Material Girl" (still Madonna's most famous on-film image), and the cheesy yet endearing "Cherish". The late Herb Ritts had only one visual style for both his photographs and his music videos, and his video work is almost always devoid of narrative, but his style works within its own limited confines, and "Cherish" comes across just like Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do (Without You)", more like an intimate photo album of an artist than a motion picture.

Finally, we have the MTV Music Video Awards performance of "Vogue". Compared with the MTV performance by Michael Jackson (included on his HIStory DVD), Madonna positively kicked Jackson's behind. Where Jackson's "medley" performance was repetitive, overlong and messy, Madonna's was precise, lavish and fit the song perfectly. A certain sense of cold manipulation does creep in (you know what reaction she's looking for when the dancers squeeze her breasts and when she lifts her skirt), but nevertheless the overall performance is a classic just for the choreography.

I've never cared for Madonna's post-1994 videos -- my interest in her video work stopped with "Bad Girl" and "This Used to Be My Playground" -- but this collection is a keeper. Even if Madonna's '80s videos weren't as consistently groundbreaking or enjoyable as Michael Jackson's, her best work scales some remarkable heights.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: IMMACULATE ????????????????????
Review: Madonna was the most contreversial artist of the 80s and esspecially with " like a prayer " being the most contreversial video of Madonna's whole carrer . But they should have dropped VOUGE FROM THE 1990 MTV AWARDS SHOW and added JUSTIFY MY LOVE .
They could have rated the video R , so I don't get the whole IMMACULATE thing . It's a great buy on DVD or VHS , but it doesn't matter if your a fan of the 1983 - 1990 Madonna .

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Like A Muse To Me
Review: Madonna, she's a Godess, an Icon, a Living Legend. Though longtime devoted Madonna fans (like myself) were disappointed NOT to see "True Blue", "Live To Tell" and essential others, it's still a treat to own this music video collection. My personal favorite; "Like A Prayer". I love how Madonna shines in this video. Her Italian roots blossom in full force with her dark hair and porcelain skin. And of course a fan will always appreciate "Express Yourself", and her most famous club anthem "Vogue". Madonna keeps us wanting more.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: I like:Like a prayer
Review: My favorite video is like a prayer


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