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Billie Jean video could have been a lot better?

Michael said that the BJ video is kinda surreal, that he didn't come up with the concept only the dancing part! It's a good video period!
 
bluetopez said:
Michael said that the BJ video is kinda surreal, that he didn't come up with the concept only the dancing part! It's a good video period!
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Yes because Michael did realistic shorts. BJ was more abstract. The very was 'cutting edge for it time. I like it.. It's magical think about when he turns the homeless man into a 'rich man, rich as in rich in life rich in love etc..
dangerous_88 said:
woah I can't believe how many fans don't like it! I absolutely LOVE it!
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I know, erhhmm
 
I like it, but I can't help but wonder how the video would have turned out had MJ had more say in it.
 
those girls look like Alicia Keys and Leanne Rhymes.. I know they are not though lol
 
ASIS said:
do you see the scene with the billboard of two girls and MJ is dancing there? yeah... that's actually the only scene MJ had a say in it. The entire video was the vision of the director. That's why you don't really see a connection between the video and Michael... i know i don't :|

Oh and as a side note. The video was meant to include 0 dancing but michael refused, and begged for that one scene.
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I heard that too.
 
dangerous_88 said:
woah I can't believe how many fans don't like it! I absolutely LOVE it!
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I dont think anyones saying they dont like it. Just that it could have been A LOT better than it was.

The video in no way lives up to the song.
 
DuranDuran said:
I don't think Mike had much power at the time. CBS Records didn't want to pay for the videos and that was why he started paying for them himself. MTV refused to show it because it didn't fit their rock format and it was by a black R&B performer. "Michael Jackson!" didn't exist yet. The only reason MTV started showing the Billie Jean video was CBS threatening to remove all of their other acts like Journey and Men At Work, which would have killed the new (at the time) network.
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wow ok i see,
thanks for the information:)
 
Marty In LA said:
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MJ-Louisa.jpg
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i seriously had to recheck, i forgot if i noticed that before or not. i thought those girls were random other wannabe baby mamas, rather than one of them protraying billie herself.


i enjoyed the video, i think it was fine with the amount of movement he did. i think with motown 25 we wanted to see more with the video.
the glowing squares were a genius idea, and it being mocked by Steve Martin and others. i thought before the glowing was some kind of symbolism with billie having been there before, then the bed glowing in the end, and the reporter following to find who the hell this girl is.
then again billie wasn't his lover, so why did he go in the bed. nevermind.
the video had this mystery effect to it. i liked it. Romantic liberian girl on the other hand did not add up with that celeb-extravaganza-of-who's-who-or-was-who-in-hollywood-back-then-video.
 
I prefer the video as is because i grew up in that era and it still is a amazing video. I think some of MJ's most simple videos are better than the big budget ones like black or white and others.
 
L.T.D said:
I cant help but feel that the Billie Jean video could have been a lot better.

There are some cool concepts in there and the dancing was ok. But this is Michaels biggest hit of all time and I cant help but feel that the video doesnt live up to the song.

For starters there should have been MUCH more dancing in it. What do you all think?
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Imo, it's not that I think it could have been better. For me, even though I've watched the video about a million times now, I still don't understand most of the things that are going on in it. Like the tabby cat/ tiger cub which then turns into a piece of tiger's skin, what's up with that? :scratch:Or MJ walking around and that paparrazo/stalker guy is trying to snap him in certain positions yet is always unsuccessful...is MJ a ghost? Or invisible except only the paparrazo can see him? And even so what has all that got to do with Billie Jean? You know what I mean? :unsure:

I never really understand the concept behind the video. :lol:
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Basically.
 
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Lorraine said:
For it's time it wasn't a bad video at all.
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I agree, and if you think back to the time when it was made and all the trouble he had to go through in order to get it aired on MTV, it's pretty incredible.
 
the video is ideal. it's not overstated, and therefore, it didn't give away, what he would later do on Motown 25. and the vid still retains it's magic..as in, every time i would see it, i would watch it to the end, and not switch to something else.
 
I think that this video helped Michael see how powerful music videos can be......

The first major one he did was "Can you feel it" and a few years later he did this, followed by Beat it and Thriller!!!!
 
Yeah I agree, but Michael did not have much say in that video which is odd to think of because every video that he did since had Michael written all over it
 
I think it's pretty smooth/classy.

Mike more than made up for any lack of dancing in the performances! Plus he looks so sexy playing the sort of character he does in it, you see his face more than if he had made it more dancey.
 
L.T.D said:
I cant help but feel that the Billie Jean video could have been a lot better.

There are some cool concepts in there and the dancing was ok. But this is Michaels biggest hit of all time and I cant help but feel that the video doesnt live up to the song.

For starters there should have been MUCH more dancing in it. What do you all think?
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Thats what I have in my thought..
Of course the video is really good... But it SHOULD had been better ..... because its Michael's biggest hit of all time....it should be like the Thriller video :)
 
I loooove Billie Jean!!!!

First of all to the babies on the thread - the music video itself for 1981-1982 was NOT filmed on super high quality film - Michael was one of the first to do it. It wasn't done in Billie Jean because MJ did not have creative control for it.

When Billie Jean premiered on MTV, it was the most different and innovative video for its time. You just could not take your eyes away from the screen, not even to blink.

Duran Duran also takes credit for elevating the music video concept around that time too, I loved all their videos as well.

Second of all, MJ kept fighting the director on concepts & he really wanted to dance - but the director didn't want him to.

This is what started MJ on his path to enlightenment and having more creative control of his music & videos.

From Billie Jean, came Beat It and Thriller. I loved it and wouldn't change anything about it.
 
I personally reckon the video is great. The haunting pinkish city background is just the perfect atmosphere.

Like everything else, anything could always be better.

As for the meaning behind the video: The general interpretation is that the lighting-up of everything Michael touches symbolises innocence (the kid ain't his son).
As for everything else that's harder to explain, I guess that contributes to the mysterious feel of the video/sound of the song.
 
I agree, I LOVE Billie Jean but I get bored of the video (eeeek!).

I will watch anything with Michael but Billie Jean, along with Cry are his two worst videos. (Not his fault of course :) )
 
Sirena said:
I loooove Billie Jean!!!!

First of all to the babies on the thread - the music video itself for 1981-1982 was NOT filmed on super high quality film - Michael was one of the first to do it. It wasn't done in Billie Jean because MJ did not have creative control for it.

When Billie Jean premiered on MTV, it was the most different and innovative video for its time. You just could not take your eyes away from the screen, not even to blink.

Duran Duran also takes credit for elevating the music video concept around that time too, I loved all their videos as well.

Second of all, MJ kept fighting the director on concepts & he really wanted to dance - but the director didn't want him to.

This is what started MJ on his path to enlightenment and having more creative control of his music & videos.

From Billie Jean, came Beat It and Thriller. I loved it and wouldn't change anything about it.
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I agree with everything you said !
Michaels videos were grounbreaking. Just remember that Billie Jean was filmed so many years ago. But it"s still much, much better than some others artists videos in now days.
 
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