Um Certo Sacrifício

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

What can one say to defend a movie like "A Certain Sacrifice"? Even I, as much as I LOVED (yes, LOVED) this movie, must ask myself. As you may know from other reviews and such, Madonna has a very early role as a deathrocker who gets together with a very angry "philosopher" who left the suburbs for New York's underbelly. (I related to this on a lot of levels, so I know it's possible to say that there are some fascinating characters, events, and ideas in this ugly, little film!) Then, there's that "Raymond Hall" guy, who is quite the successful attempt at the creation of a character who is so repulsive, you just wanna get sick every time he's on screen (until he's about to be killed, then it's funny)! Anyway, Raymond is a horny, dirty IL' dude, who ends up raping Madonna in the bathroom, while loving boyfriend Dashiel (the philosopher... heh heh) waits for her to fix her make-up. The gory revenge that ensues (with the help of Madonna's Gothic sex cult, or her "family of lovers") gets cheezier and cheezier, but, thankfully, the filmmakers are well aware (they just don't give a f*ck). So... is the sound bad? YES! Is the dialogue sometimes hurtfully cheezy? YES! Is the acting terrible? Not nearly all of it. In fact, most of it was pretty damn good, even though Madonna's better acting moments were when she started to come off as a Goth castaway from a John Waters movie toward the end. (And, yes, I know John Waters doesn't have a lot of Goths in his movies, but it's the best comparison I can think of!) Anyway, is the gore very minimal and fake-looking? YES, but still it's a lovely touch! Is Madonna shown fully nude? NO, but she's shown topless several times, once even covered in the blood of her slaughtered rapist. Also: This movie MUST be seen when you're VERY intoxicated. Then it can sink right in. I've done it three times, I think I turned out alright, but my wife's head needs to stop calling me from the 'fridge. Time to listen to some more Pattnosh.... mwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! FIVE STARS (and I HATE to rate things with stars!)

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 picture is so terrible that it may actually become an underground cult classic! It can't be judged by normal-movie standards; it has to be seen as a "grab-the-camera-and-start-filming-random-events" kind of experiment - and it fails even as that. Technically, this is the worst movie I've seen since Andy Warhol's "Trash", but "Trash" had Paul Morrissey to redeem it, this has nothing (apart from its short length). (*)

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.