Music Video
Jeffrey Daniel of the soul music group Shalamar co-choreographed the "Smooth Criminal" video with Jackson and Vincent Patterson, who was a back-up dancer in "Beat It" and "Thriller". It was directed by special effects coordinator Colin Chilvers. The dance sequence of the video in the 1930s style lounge (and Michael's white suit and fedora) pays tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon. Currently there are four different versions of the video for "Smooth Criminal," as well as an additional vignette created for the 2009 This Is It concert series:
- Original Moonwalker Version - This is the version included in the Moonwalker film - while technically the whole "Smooth Criminal" segment is about 40 minutes long, the actual "Smooth Criminal" song section is only about ten minutes. It is generally the most complete version of the video and includes the unedited middle section of interpretive dance with the dancers but does not include the last six seconds where a flapper fans herself after the door is shut behind Michael. In comparison to the original song this version has two lines in the second stanza added: "Everytime I try to find him he's leaving no clues left behind him. And they have no way of knowing of the suspect, or what to expect".
- Moonwalker Edit - This version is included on History on Film, Volume II as well as Michael Jackson's Vision and it is basically an edited version of the ten minute song section from the "Smooth Criminal" segment in the film Moonwalker. It is essentially the same, however it has some minor changes including: different opening music and no dialogue, the middle section with the dancers chanting has been truncated (some of the chanting has been shortened) and ends similarly to the original where Michael exits the club but with the addition of the lead flapper fanning herself.
- Album Version - This is the version of the video that is on Michael Jackson's official website, as well as his YouTube channel. It also appears during the end credits for Moonwalker and Number Ones (video) and was included on the "Visionary" single and the bonus taget exclusive DVD of Bad 25. It is essentially a lot of clips from the Original Moonwalker Version of the "Smooth Criminal" video, that have either been sped up, or slowed down, with an added blur effect, and some alternate angles. The video is four minutes and seventeen seconds long. Throughout the video, the regular version of the song is played.
- Single Version - This unreleased version is edited to be in sync with the Single Mix taken from the "Smooth Criminal" single released October 24, 1988. It excludes the added lyric & interlude. This video is four minutes and three seconds long. It is considered an MTV Base video.
- This Is It Vignette - 2009 video, shot in black and white and intended to be shown during the London O2 concert series. It runs three minutes and forty-two seconds and features Jackson in a reprisal of his Moonwalker character, digitally inserted into the sets of various film noirs, including Gilda and The Big Sleep (1946 film) along with a few shots/scenes of his film Moonwalker.
The video won Best Music Video at the 1989 Brit Awards.
Read more about this topic: Smooth Criminal
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or video:
“For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions.”
—Plato (c. 427–347 B.C.)
“These people figured video was the Lord’s preferred means of communicating, the screen itself a kind of perpetually burning bush. “He’s in the de-tails,” Sublett had said once. “You gotta watch for Him close.””
—William Gibson (b. 1948)