Madonna: The Immaculate Collection

The videos in this collection portray Madonna's career until the 90's in a nutshell. Very cool video's, great songs and the live performance of Vogue at the MTV awards is hilarious and as always perfectly choreographed.

Definitely an immaculate collection. These music videos were a huge part of my childhood, and the songs and stories/sets still hold up today. Madonna is fabulous in all her different dresses and styles, and owns the screen. My favorites are "Open Your Heart", "Cherish", "Borderline", "Express Yourself" and "La Isla Bonita". "Oh Father" is an especially beautiful track and video. Of course there are her hits "Like a Virgin", "Vogue" and "Material Girl" to look forward to as well.

Every track is catchy and great though. I am glad I still have this gem on cassette and can bust it out at anytime. Fans of Madonna probably already know and love this series of tunes, but for anyone else interested, give it a try.

The first female mogul of the 21st century, Madonna made her mark on the entertainment industry in 1983 and since then things have never been the same. Her controversy has only managed to see her through one great success after another. While the Christians and other prudes criticize and rally against her for her obsession with sex, lude choreography and salacious attitude, millions have flocked to her concerts, purchased all of her highly-publicized albums and emulated her every move. While being a second-rate actress in the movies, her music videos have defined an entire generation.

And that is what this collection features, covering the first seven years of Madonna's career. From the primitive LUCKY STAR and BORDERLINE, following through the star-turning LIKE A VIRGIN and MATERIAL GIRL, the serious subject matter of PAPA DON'T PREACH, the religiously glorified LIKE A PRAYER, the futuristic EXPRESS YOURSELF, the fun-loving CHERISH and concluding with her 90s mega- triumph VOGUE, Madonna has proven that the feminine strength and sheer force of will can take a woman farther than a man would imagine. To take a chance and make material as risque as hers only adds to her legendary star power. This compilation is a standing testament to the determination of one woman.

Technically this isn't a movie. It's just all of Madonna's MTV music videos strung together from the earliest (1985 I believe) to 1990. If you hate Madonna there's no point in even considering looking at this. But if you're a fan this is a must have collection. The video images are crisp and clear and the sound is nice and strong. Not every video works--I've NEVER liked "La Isla Bonita" but the highlights outnumber the bad ones. The best are "Borderline", "Express Yourself" (some STRONG homoerotic imagery in this one), "Oh Father", "Material Girl" (her Marilyn Monroe imitation is incredible), "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart" (this one is pretty sleazy--even for Madonna). I do have a few complaints. Where's "True Blue" and "Crazy For You"? And do we REALLY need to see "Vogue" twice? The video itself is fine but her appearance at the MTV video awards is bewildering and has the WORST lip syncing I've ever seen. Still this is a fun DVD. Recommended.

Basically a hits of hits collection of Madonna's best of, this is fairly worth the purchase (if somewhere available, it might be fairly cheap if found in the stores). It's really her at a peak, and even if you're not a big fan (like me) it would still be worth a look-see. If for nothing else, you do get to see when music videos were actually good, and not just throw-aways or (as is the case today) near non-existent. Like a Virgin, Borderline, Open Your Heart, Lucky Star, all the 80's Madonna hits are here, but there are also the videos for Express Yourself and Vogue, which not only put her up the charts (for better or worse in the early 90's controversy) but also helped give a lot of leverage to music video-turned-post-modernist impresario David Fincher. So, if you're tired of hearing all this Kaballah stuff and phooey about her and the life she leads now in England and her new "look" and "style to her albums, for a nostalgia trip you could have a lesser deal (i.e. the film Desperately Seeking Susan).