Tag Archives: Anton Corbijn

Music Video of the Day: Hero of the Day by Metallica (1996, directed by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This video was directed by Anton Corbijn.  If you were a rock star in the 90s, Anton Corbijn probably directed a music video for you.

In this video, a young man (George Clemens) discovers that Metallica is inescapable.  Even on television, every channel features either a show or a commercial that features the members of the band.  For someone who has access to 24-hour Metallica television, the young man doesn’t seem to care about much.  Not even his girlfriend can get much of a response from him.  He would rather just fantasize about monsters fighting.   

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Strangelove by Depeche Mode (1987, directed by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Shot in an around Paris, the music video for Depeche Mode’s Strangelove was considered to be so controversial that MTV refuses to broadcast the original version.  The band offered up a re-edited version, in which some of the shots of the two models were replaced with shots of the band.

Director Anton Corbijn needs no introduction.  Along with being a renowned photographer who has been responsible for countless album covers and music videos, Corbijn has also directed films like The American, Control, and A Most Wanted Man.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Before We Drown by Depeche Mode (2024, dir by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Finally, a music video to which I can relate!

Or, at least, I think I can relate.  I’m not really sure what the song is about.  I’m just reacting to the drowning imagery.  It’s easy to feel like you’re drowning under the weight of everything that you need to get done.  Being basically out of commission all last week left me running so far behind that I don’t feel like I’m ever going to caught up.

*sigh*

But I’ll make it!  I always do.

So, enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Hero of the Day by Metallica (1996, directed by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

This video was directed by Anton Corbijn.  If you were a rock star in the 90s, Anton Corbijn probably directed a music video for you.

In this video, a young man discovers that Metallica is inescapable.  Even on television, every channel features either a show or a commercial that features the members of the band.  For someone who has access to 24-hour Metallica television, the young man doesn’t seem to care about much.  Not even his girlfriend can get much of a response from him.  He would rather just fantasize about monsters fighting.  The young man in the video is played by George Clements.  He also appeared in a music video that appeared on Queen’s Made In Heaven compilation.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Dirty Black Summer by Danzig (1992, directed by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Best known as one of the Danzig songs that is not a remake of Mother, Dirty Black Summer appeared on Danzig’s third album, How The Gods Kill.  It was one of the more popular songs to appear on that album (which, overall, is considered to be one of Danzig’s best) and the band continues to regularly perform it to this day.

The video is unique because it was directed by Anton Corbijn, the Dutch photographer who directed videos from Depeche Mode, U2, and Nirvana.  (He was the director behind the video for Heart–Shaped Box).  Corbijn has since gone on to direct feature films as well, Control, The American, and Most Wanted Man.

Long before Hugh Jackman got the role, Glenn Danzig was considered for the role of Wolverine in a potential X-Men feature film.  I think he would have rocked that roll.

Enjoy!

Music Video Of The Day: Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode (1990, directed by Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

As the old saying goes, heavy is the head that wears the crown.

The video for Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence is simplicity in itself.  Dave Gahan plays a king who searches the world, deck chair in hand, for a little silence.  His quest takes him to the Scottish Highlands, the beaches of Portugal, and even the Swiss Alps.

This video was directed by Anton Corbijn, who has directed many videos for both Depeche Mode and U2 but who is probably destined to be forever remembered for directing the video for Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box.  Corbijn has also directed a handful of films, including the Ian Curtis biopic, Control, and Life, which was about the friendship between James Dean and Life photographer Dennis Stock.

As for Enjoy the Silence, it was Depeche Mode’s highest charting song in the U.S.  It was also later covered by the former First Lady of France, Carla Bruni.

Music Video of the Day: Dr. Mabuse by Propaganda (1984, dir. Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

According to mvdbase, this is Corbijn’s third music video. I remember in an interview he gave that he said he considers this to be his first music video. I can understand why. I kind of like Hockey by Palais Schaumburg and Beat Box by Art Of Noise, but this is much better. It is a black-and-white visual feast containing everything from M to The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, as you would expect from a German band. He tried to re-create the experience of watching something like the movie Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler and other works of German Expressionism.

I didn’t see it in their Wikipedia page, but The Testament Of Dr. Mabuse was banned by Joseph Goebbels when he became Minister of Propaganda. I wonder if that had anything to do with the choice of their name. It would make sense.

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Red Guitar by David Sylvian (1984, dir. Anton Corbijn)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5G63ULgMgU

Corbijn himself sums up this video in the booklet included with a DVD collection of his work. You can find it here.

David saw the Propaganda video on TV & subsequently approached me for this song, his first solo single since leaving the group Japan. I had photographed him a few times in that setting, he was often seen as a teenage-pinup, poster boy, very striking and introvert appearance. For him to ask me to direct this video was making a statement I think. Anyway, it is again a challenge for me to come up with ideas and I spent a couple of days in Bruxelles in a hotel room to concentrate on that. I found it so difficult to come up with anything worthwhile – I am glad that that part of the process is less of a chore these days. What I came up with was basically lots of images that have no connection to each other and the main image is based on a photo by Angus McBean. Angus was retired by this time but was a great surrealist and I called him up to get his permission to use the photo and we ended up with him in the video. He loved it, he was a great man to spend time with but I recall he couldn’t believe he was on Top Of The Pops at age 80 and David’s voice came out of his open mouth. I did one more video with David the same year and only photographs after that. The little boy in the video I found at the Lycie Frangais in London. Can’t remember the name.

Of course there are things that would be reused later: the leaves in front of the camera, the old man, the steps, and young and old. The only other common thing I can see are the flowers. There are numerous Corbijn videos with them. There are other things too if you really want to break this video down, but I don’t want to.

Below, you can see the picture that Corbijn is speaking of, the reproduction from this video, as well as similar photos that McBean did.

Enjoy!

30 Days Of Surrealism:

  1. Street Of Dreams by Rainbow (1983, dir. Storm Thorgerson)
  2. Rock ‘n’ Roll Children by Dio (1985, dir. Daniel Kleinman)
  3. The Thin Wall by Ultravox (1981, dir. Russell Mulcahy)
  4. Take Me Away by Blue Öyster Cult (1983, dir. Richard Casey)
  5. Here She Comes by Bonnie Tyler (1984, dir. ???)
  6. Do It Again by Wall Of Voodoo (1987, dir. ???)
  7. The Look Of Love by ABC (1982, dir. Brian Grant)
  8. Eyes Without A Face by Billy Idol (1984, dir. David Mallet)
  9. Somebody New by Joywave (2015, dir. Keith Schofield)
  10. Twilight Zone by Golden Earring (1982, dir. Dick Maas)
  11. Schism by Tool (2001, dir. Adam Jones)
  12. Freaks by Live (1997, dir. Paul Cunningham)
  13. Loverboy by Billy Ocean (1984, dir. Maurice Phillips)
  14. Talking In Your Sleep by The Romantics (1983, dir. ???)
  15. Talking In Your Sleep by Bucks Fizz (1984, dir. Dieter Trattmann)
  16. Sour Girl by Stone Temple Pilots (2000, dir. David Slade)
  17. The Ink In The Well by David Sylvian (1984, dir. Anton Corbijn)