Many of the best music video directors and artists borrow their concepts from films, and they're geniuses to do it. Shrinking a classic cinematic treasure to three minutes and imbuing it with pop urgency creates a whole new experience, one that reaffirms and adds to our appreciation of the original film. Now, Movieline revisits ten videos that rejiggered moments from film history to staggering effect. Do you want stark Orson Welles shoutouts? What about two movie-lovin' videos from the greatest music video artist of all time? All that and more await you.
10. Fountains of Wayne, "Stacy's Mom"
Film: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
In this loving homage to the Spicoli-featuring classic, a hawny adolescent spies his classmate's mom (Rachel Hunter, in full, drenched Phoebe Cates glory) ascending from a swimming pool. Naturally, he's sitting in the bathroom, palming lotion, and "Judging the Reinhold," if you will.
9. Berlin, "No More Words"
Film: Bonnie and Clyde
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty never looked this soul-tortured. Eighties legend and above-average RuPaul's Drag Race judge Terri Nunn owns the screen as a peroxide-friendly Bonnie Parker.
8. Paula Abdul, "Rush Rush"
Film: Rebel Without a Cause
Paula Abdul's second album Spellbound was a torrid confection, and its lead video called upon Rebel's famous Griffith Park Observatory locale. It also called upon Keanu Reeves to dress as James Dean, and it's not apologizing.
7. Faith No More, "Last Cup of Sorrow"
Film: Vertigo
It's surprising that more music videos haven't referenced Hitchcock films, with their vast wealth of culturally recognizable images. Faith No More goes beyond a mere nod here -- this video is chockablock with recreations of the sinister goings-on between James Stewart and Kim Novak. Look out for that bell tower!
6. Beastie Boys, "Body Movin'"
Film: Danger: Diabolik
"Body Movin'" was such a decadent tribute to the 1968 Italian spy film that DVD versions of Danger: Diabolik featured the video as an extra. As per usual with the Beasties, the video teems with cartoonish violence, high-brow sillies, and nerdy popcult imagedropping.
5. Foo Fighters, "Everlong"
Film: Evil Dead
Dave Grohl is the Peter Sellers of music video, and he should be championed alone for the consummate level of goofy conviction he brings to the medium. His equally game bandmate Taylor Hawkins spends "Everlong" enduring flashbacks to images from Sam Raimi's masterpiece, and his horror-comic acting chops are as hilarious now as they were then.
4. Madonna, "Oh Father"
Film: Citizen Kane
One of Madonna's most emotional videos reexamines her well-known life story (repressive father, deceased mother) while combining it with noir hallmarks from Orson Welles' debut triumph. Director David Fincher uses the snowy "Rosebud" yard, dark sense of scale and shadow, and the childlike glow we associate with the implacable cinematic treasure. Madonna's performance in the video, meanwhile, is breathtaking all on its own.
3. Tupac feat. Dr. Dre, "California Love"
Film: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
How are Tupac and Dr. Dre taking us down to the wild, wild west? Via space-age dune buggies and the kind of intergalactic desert vehicles you'd expect from a recent Mario Kart iteration, of course! The budget is big, the costuming is lush, and the love of Tina Turner's zaniest film experience is addictively grandiose. Also, there's Chris Tucker.
2. Smashing Pumpkins, "Tonight, Tonight"
Film: A Trip to the Moon
A stunning combination of film-school shoutouts, beautiful cinematography, and the snarliest frontman of the '90s, "Tonight, Tonight" reinvents Georges Méliès's revolutionary 1902 film with a delicate brood. Video visionaries Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris jettisoned two other concepts before going with a full silent-film homage, and their versions of zeppelin takeoffs and a paper-cutout lunar landing injected the Smashing Pumpkins with awe-inspiring whimsy. It triumphed at the 1995 Video Music Awards, winning six Moonmen including Video of the Year.
1. Madonna, "Express Yourself"
Film: Metropolis
As the first music video to cost over a million dollars, "Express Yourself" needed to be a sprawling success. Luckily, it's not hyperbole to call this the best music video of all time. Dire
ctor David Fincher invoked Fritz Lang's sci-fi inspection of the working class, technology, and revolt, coding it with layers (and layers) of Madonna-approved mantras: self-empowerment, gender subversion, unabashed sexuality, homoeroticism, androgyny and coruscating stage presence. Madonna is the high priestess of self-love here, and she explores "self-love" in a number of sultry and frustrated ways. Don't go for second best with all these Glee Madonna tributes, baby. Put your love to the test and experience "Express Yourself" for the unbeatable gem it is.