A Certain Sacrifice

If you don't mind watching a B-movie from the late 70's, shot on Super 8 film, with an art-student edge and poor sound, then you might dig it. One of the reasons why you might, particularly if you are a Madonna fan, is the fact that this is practically the only MOVING FOOTAGE (rather than the many still photos)that captured her before she was a star, at that very interesting period when she was twenty in New York, had only been there for a year or two, and at certain periods was nearly starving. This is a very sexual movie, but not in a conventional sense, it is chock full of simple impulse and flirts with the satanic. In short, it's just plain weird. It probably would best be described as a few steps up from a homemade film. An interesting piece of TRIVIA is that at the time this movie was being made, right before the rape scene in the coffee shop restroom, the director did something to try to up the authenticity of Madonna's acting. Director Stephen Lewicki took the actor who played her rapist aside and instructed him to rip her blouse off during the scene---- a detail Madonna had no idea about. If you look closely, there is an undeniably real sense of shock on her face during the scene, and I remember reading in some biography of hers that they used that take, that the director was pleased with the result. (Madonna wasn't harmed, just a little surprised.) Another bit of interesting TRIVIA is that among her on screen "family of lovers" were a few people she actually hung out with at the time, including Angie Smit, a dutch girl who had studied dancing with Madonna before she dropped out, and later had a brief stint in a band Madonna spent a great deal of time with, "The Breakfast Club."

This movie has some parts to it that are hilariously retarted, and are actually amusing. I was (and still am) a die-hard Madonna fan when I first saw this movie, and even I was a tad disappointed. For all you folks who aren't a real big fan of hers, I wouldn't recommend it, but on the whole, as I said, it was somewhat amusing. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A MOVIE SHOT ON DECENT FILM, WITH ABOVE AVERAGE ACTING, YOU ARE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE. THIS MOVIE IS INTERESTING AT BEST.

this "film" wants to be esoteric, but it fails to succeed. i wouldn't go as far as to say "don't watch it," because i sort of enjoyed it's campy, home-movie style. camera work and sound quality are no better than home movies that were made around the same time--when home video cameras were made available to the public. Interestingly, it seems Madonna has had her faux British accent since she was young. ;-) a large portion of the movie focuses on Madonna's breasts--they are exposed in many scenes throughout the movie. Seems right up her 1980's alley... The music in the flick is terrible and it is evident that Madonna is just a supporting character as none of the music is hers, nor is it her voice.

In a hilariously ironic twist of events, pre-stardom Madonna (Ciccone) is the sexual target here, that of lustful New York City street-demons who paw at her whitebread innocence in this super-tacky Super-8 fiasco. Long, rambling section with Maddy in the backseat of a limo, making quasi-jaded comments about her surroundings, will tire any fan's patience, and the surreal jumble which substitutes as the finale is the most garish and garbled ten minutes of celluloid I've ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Yes, it's terrible, it's excruciating, but I rented it with this in mind and I must say it did not disappoint...

This is Madonna's film debut according to the DVD cover- And if she was the only one to ever be involved in film again, justice was almost served. This movie is terrible- from the talentless acting, a worthless script, horrible sound, and poor quality of the film in general, you will definitely want your hour back (which is how long this movie really is, although it seems like eternity) There is only one somewhat cool part of this whole movie, and that is the song at the climax. The 20 year-old Madonna shows a bit of flesh, but who hasn't seen her breasts by now? As magnificent as they may be, it's hardly worth sitting through this- skip right to the end, enjoy the song, and save yourself the other 55 minutes of suffering through the rest of the movie

1st watched 2/24/2005 - 2 out of 10(Dir-Steven Jon Lewicki): Cheap, exploitation film featuring Madonna in her first starring role??? The only reason I'm giving this movie more than 1 star is because of the business sense of the filmmakers to put this together and make money off of the Madonna name. Other than that, the film itself, is pretty much about a low-life who becomes lower and lower, up into the very end of the movie. This low-life meets the Madonna character who runs around with a gang of lovers, and basically gets involved in satanic rituals, murder, and whatever else turns them on. Even a couple nude scenes of Madonna doesn't help this from being a cheap thrown together mess of a movie.