Music Video and Live Performances
Jackson originally wanted to make the short film in the western genre, but later decided to change it to a 1930s nightclub style. Film was shot between mid-February and April 1987.
The style of both the clip and the clothes as well as mannerisms Jackson portrayed were reused in the arcade, the Sega Master System, the Sega Mega Drive and the Sega Game Gear adaptations of Moonwalker. The song itself serves as the soundtrack for the Club 30s stage, the nightclub from the movie, in all versions of the game.
The song was performed live during the second leg of Jackson's 1988–89 Bad World Tour, directed and choreographed by Jackson and Vincent Paterson. The performance featured a dance routine modeled after the scene from Moonwalker. By the time the 1992 Dangerous World Tour came around, this performance became a regular on Jackson tours, including his HIStory World Tour. A spoken word and synth recording preceded the song on the second leg of the Bad tour and on the subsequent Dangerous World Tour, the same recording having been used as an intro for the song "This Place Hotel" on the first leg of the Bad Tour. By the time of the Dangerous Tour, Jackson had devised a way to perform the patented anti-gravity lean, which was featured in the Moonwalker video, on stage. Much like the robot move from "Dancing Machine" and the Moonwalk from "Billie Jean", this showcased Jackson's talent for creating unique moves to enhance stage performances. This performance can be seen on the Bucharest Dangerous Tour performance which is included as a DVD in The Ultimate Collection boxed set.
Part of the song was also briefly used in the middle of the live version of the song "Dangerous" since Jackson's performance at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards. In the HIStory Tour, he used a small snippet of this song during his performance of "Dangerous". Jackson had planned to use it again in his "Dangerous" performance in his This Is It concerts, along with the full track, the concert series was canceled due to his sudden death.
Read more about this topic: Smooth Criminal
Famous quotes containing the words music, video, live and/or performances:
“Good-by, my book! Like mortal eyes, imagined ones must close some day. Onegin from his knees will rise—but his creator strolls away. And yet the ear cannot right now part with the music and allow the tale to fade; the chords of fate itself continue to vibrate; and no obstruction for the sage exists where I have put The End: the shadows of my world extend beyond the skyline of the page, blue as tomorrow’s morning haze—nor does this terminate the phrase.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“I recently learned something quite interesting about video games. Many young people have developed incredible hand, eye, and brain coordination in playing these games. The air force believes these kids will be our outstanding pilots should they fly our jets.”
—Ronald Reagan (b. 1911)
“The more I live here in western Europe, the more I am impressed by the sense of decay;Mnot the graceful and dignified decay of an oriental, but the vulgar and sordid decay of a bankrupt cotton-mill.”
—Henry Brooks. Adams (1838–1918)
“At one of the later performances you asked why they called it a “miracle,”
Since nothing ever happened. That, of course, was the miracle
But you wanted to know why so much action took on so much life
And still managed to remain itself, aloof, smiling and courteous.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)