MOV
         

all the dissolves kinda killed this for me. should've had more abstract elements like the burning dress.

         

this is great

         

It's predictable and a touch heavy-handed but I can't help but like it; I'm a sucker for simple stories told well. I do wish the performance sections felt more organic to the whole piece and there was something off about the editing but the casting, overall direction, and song hold this piece together quite nicely.

K

         

really lovely in every way. I'm also a sucker for simple stories told well.

         

first rate cinematography is the stand out thing here. good casting too- I like that guys face.

Talking of faces, it's a shame the label wanted Brandon Flowers face in this video. Would have been a kajillion times better without it.

         

flawless

         

FINALLY! A good video from this album!

         

I bet Max Goldman shot this. Am I right?

         

first video for killers with any real direction in a long time, like it, "knife crime might not pay but looks well cool", agree with shatner: didn't need Flowers

         

lost your bet: Jonathan Sela was the DP

         

This was DOPE. The direction is solid. the look is amazing! i see that its anamorphic, but theres something else going on it seems. It looks slightly unsqueezed? Only thing that trips the video up is a few editorial missteps Did NOT need the dissolve from young guy stabber to old guy. They could have shown him walk toward camera and then cut to the angle on the house and the old man walks into frame. fuck dissolves. also, am i the only dude that hates the killers music?

         

1. the opening scene reminds me of the stabbing scene in 'bully'
2. i dont like the story at all, too simple, too cheap, too formulaic for my taste, sorry
3. good cinematography, except the rainbow-colored lens flares
4. loved the burning dress
5. this kind of music is very annoying

         

I thought this worked really well. The performances were fine to my eyes - maybe I'm just not as 'rubbed the wrong way' by B Flowers and this band as some people seem to be. Suggesting this clip would be better without performance is to express a distinct lack of understanding how music videos work.

The story was simple and we all knew where it was going from the beginning, but so? This is a music video with no dialogue, so to me the story complexity seems appropriate. This is a pop video after all - and to my mind a very good one.

         

30f- Gee, you just rubbed me up the wrong way with your lil' 'distinct lack of understanding how music videos work' statement. I'm not looking at this from the perspective of a marketing department, but from the perspective of a music video fan. What I said was my opinion, I didn't state it as a universal truth.

I understand that it probably wasn't Mandlers choice, but heck, I might be wrong there too. It's still one of the best videos I've seen all year.. but we can be even more demanding of the things we love can't we?

         

Shatner -

I understand that you might not be looking at this from the marketing perspective, but the people making the video sure are. They always are. As well they should be. Music videos ARE marketing, or technically 'promotion' - but essentially the same thing.

I agree that we should be demanding of the things we love. To me, critiquing this clip for the clunky dissolve from young stabber to old stabber or the overly hand-holding shot of the 'prisoner release' form on the motel bed make sense. But suggesting this clip for a major pop/rock band should have no performance is like going to you local Starbucks and criticizing the coffee spot for its lack of fried chicken. Or ninjas.

         

Agree with 30f. Seems like a lot of the critiques on this site can be boiled down to "I wish this music video weren't a music video".

         

Well then I just point blank don't agree with what you guys believe a music video should or shouldn't be. Or at least what makes one 'successful'. And that is fine!

But it is all opinion's 30f, so let's be careful with your 'distinct lack of understanding how music videos work' statements because it makes you sound like you have the definitive answer and that everyone else is simply wrong.

Just because something is advertising doesn't mean it can't have grace and integrity. Some advertising is better than others. Some videos integrate performance into the world of the narrative better than others.

Hmm... I'd like to see your critique of Richard Ashcroft's 'A Song For Lovers'.

         

Oh shat -

I will do my best to 'be careful.' Thanks so much for the warning.

You and I seem to be discussing different things. I never said 'because something is advertising doesn't mean it can't have grace and integrity.' But it would be a great point if I actually HAD said that. Man, would I look like a tool.

Record labels pay for videos because videos help them promote their artists and eventually sell things and earn money. Very, very few labels use the approach of not having performances from the artist they are trying to promote within the music videos. Doubly so for a band with the commercial aspirations of The Killers. I understand how viewers might rather see a MV minus performance, but that just isn't how music videos work. Doesn't make the instinct for wanting to see more of the 'other stuff' wrong, just makes it unrealistic.

         

Actually, Starbucks would be loads better with fried chicken and ninjas.

         

OK- and just to be boring and repeat myself I will say that I am not trying to work out what is best in terms of marketing the band... I'm just looking at it as a peice of art. And unrealistic as that may be, that is how I judged it. And that is where we obviously differ.

Alexdecampi- that really should have been the final word on the matter. sorry for bleating on and ruining it... : )

         

I don't even think its a matter of marketing. If you want to look at it as art, you still have to recognize that this piece is a short form music video. It has limitations and was made for a specific purpose. It's like complaining that Star Trek wasn't gut-bustingly hilarious or that I Am Sam wasn't that summer blockbuster you were hoping for.