FEATURE:
Reel-to-Real
Michel Gondry: Lucas – Lucas with the Lid Off (1994)
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SOME people say…
that music videos are no longer relevant or as influential as they used to be. Once was the time when stations like MTV were showing the biggest music videos from the major artists of the time. A lot of my most vivid and memorable musical moments came from discovering videos from artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Soundgarden. Whilst music T.V. does not really exist and we are relying on YouTube and other platforms for our entertainment, that is not to say music videos lack importance and weight. I think one of the issues is that the videos are not shared as much as audio; maybe artists favouring the quality of the song rather than the visual aspect. Looking back, there are videos that have stuck with me and are iconic. In this short feature, I will run through a few of the videos that I feel rank alongside the very best. For this first outing, I am looking at my favourite video of all. Lucas’ Lucas with the Lid Off was released in 1994. A great song from Danish rapper Lucas Secon, it was released as the lead single from his second album, Lucacentric (1994). It features a sample from the 1935 Benny Goodman song, When Buddha Smiles. Before explaining why the video is so powerful, here is some biography about its director, Michel Gondry:
“Michel Gondry is a film, music video, and commercial director as well as an artist and a screenwriter. He was born and raised in Versailles, France. His parents were musicians and hippies. His grandfather was inventor Constant Martin, who perfected and successfully commercialized radio sets, most famously the Clavioline, a precursor to the synthesizer. Gondry's parents encouraged him and his brother, Olivier "Twist" Gondry, also a television commercial and music video director, to pursue their artistic interests. At a young age, Michel Gondry would create animated short films using his father's Super 8 Camera and complex flip-books. After high school, he enrolled in an art college in Paris.
Gondry started his filmmaking career while living in Paris by directing music videos for his rock band, Oui Oui (he was the drummer). His work caught the attention of Icelandic songstress Bjork, who selected Gondry to direct the music video for her debut single "Human Behaviour" in 1993. Like the song, the video is inspired by British broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough. It is about the relationship between humans and animals, and Gondry shot the video from a bear's point of view. The video debuted to much acclaim and Michel Gondry moved to London and started directing commercials. In 1997, he relocated to New York City, despite his limited understanding of English. Nevertheless, Gondry became one of the most sought-after music video directors in the business, collaborating with bands like Daft Punk, The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, The Vines, Stereogram, Radiohead, and Beck.
In 1998, while directing a commercial for Smirnoff Vodka, Gondry developed the "bullet time" special effect, which creates as slowed-down version of an unfilmable event, like a bullet flying. Later that year, the Wachowski siblings adapted this technique for their 1999 smash hit film, The Matrix. Gondry's 2004 commercial for Levi's 501 Jeans holds the title for "most awards won by a TV commercial" in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Michel Gondry segued into feature film directing in 2001 with Human Nature, a quirky comedy-drama written by Charlie Kaufman and starring Patricia Arquette, Rhys Ifans, Tim Robbins, and Miranda Otto. It had its world premiere out of competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States by Fine Line Features in April 2002. The film was a box office disappointment and garnered mixed reviews from critics, who nonetheless appreciated Gondry's quirky style.
Kaufman and Gondry collaborated again to make Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which opened in 2004. It became one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year, and Kaufman, Gondry, and Pierre Bismuth won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Star Kate Winslet was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Clementine Kruczynski, but lost to Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby. In 2010, critics for periodicals and websites like Empire, Premiere, Time Out New York, Entertainment Weekly, and The A.V. Club revisited [Eternal Sunshine] calling it one of the best films of the decade.
In 2005, Gondry directed Dave Chappelle's Block Party, a musical documentary about the comedian's efforts to organize a large, free concert in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Gondry's next narrative feature film The Science of Sleep, came out in 2006. The film, which Gondry wrote, was based on a 10-year-old's bedtime story. It combines elements of surrealism, science fiction, fantasy, and comedy and was generally well-received by critics. He used design elements from the film to create an installation called "The Science of Sleep: An Exhibition of Sculpture, and Pathological Creepy Little Gifts" at Deitch Projects in New York City. From 2005-2006, Gondry was an Artist in Residence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In the mid-2000s, Gondry tried his hand at television, directing an episode of HBO's Flight of the Conchords. In 2008, he wrote and directed Be Kind Rewind, a $20-million comedy starring Jack Black and Mos Def as video store clerks who must re-create the store's entire catalog of VHS films after a freak disaster erases the tapes. It performed fairly well at the box office, earning approximately $30 million worldwide.
The documentary A Thorn in the Heart, which Gondry made about his Aunt Suzette and her son Jean-Yves, came out in 2009. In 2011, Gondry took on his biggest budget film to date, The Green Hornet, a comic book adaptation starring Seth Rogen. The reviews were fairly dismal (especially in comparison to Gondry's previous work). Additionally, the film's inflated budget and rushed 3-D conversion drew the ire of viewers and critics alike and it performed tepidly at the box office. Gondry went back to his independent, quirky roots with his following feature film, The We and the I, which screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It has thus far only been released in France.
To date, Michel Gondry has directed close to 100 music videos for a diverse array of artists like Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Cody ChestnuTT, Lenny Kravitz, The Rolling Stones, Sinead O'Connor, Belinda Carlisle, Wyclef Jean, Sheryl Crow, The Foo Fighters, The White Stripes, The Polyphonic Spree, and Kylie Minogue. His commercial portfolio includes spots for Adidas, Coca-Cola, Fiat, GAP, Heineken, Motorola, Nike, Polaroid, and Volvo. He continues to be a visual innovator, making short films and releasing them on his Vimeo channel. Gondry's son, Paul, has followed in his father's artistic footsteps, directing music videos and creating art. They live in Brooklyn, New York”.
The video is a one-take black-and-white thing of beauty. I have a special love of one-take videos. It takes that extra level of skill and concentration to execute it! One reason why Lucas with the Lid Off strikes a chord is because it is complicated. Even though there are no edits and it is all shot in one take, the video is about the process of a song being recorded and released. We see Lucas at the decks creating the song before the camera tracks around a studio. Taking in a couple driving, Lucas on the Tube and him ending up in a cinema, it is almost like a biography of a song! The action ends back up at the start. Although the sets are fairly basic and there are not too many layers in terms of extras, the fact that everyone hits their mark and it is such a smooth process blows me away! Almost like a theatrical play, the actors are all in sync and there is no room for error. There are some camera angles and shots that I am not sure how they happened. One occurs when we see Lucas’ feel dangling off of a bed. Occurring near the start, the camera twists and turns so that the reveal shows Lucas on the bed. Another great moment happens when he is on a train and there is a reflection of him and the other passengers. As there is no mirror present by the looks of things, I wonder how that effect was created live!
This series explores videos from various years that are striking and stunning. Not to be too subjective, but I feel Lucas with the Lid Off is the greatest video ever. In 1994, there were not too many one-shot videos being made. Michel Gondry has made amazing videos for the likes of Kylie Minogue, The White Stripes, Björk, and Daft Punk. One of his earliest videos, Lucas with the Lid Off is a majestic and masterful moment that confirmed Gondry as one of the most innovative and intelligent video directors. Other artists have done one-take videos since 1994, though I feel Gondry’s video is a bit of a trailblazer and foundation – others would have seen the video and been inspired by it. Such a fascinating and original video, it is one that will continue to compel me for years to come. I do think music videos have the power to move people and take songs to new levels. Although I love the track, it is the video for Lucas with the Lid Off that makes it so staggering. For the first part of this Reel-to-Real feature, I was eager to highlight my favourite music video. From the French pioneer Michel Gondry, it is a beautiful, energetic and hugely impressive video that is as wonderful now as it was almost twenty-eight years ago! If you have not seen the video, then make sure you play it a few times. As far as music videos go, it is…
A true masterpiece.