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The Directors Label: When Great Filmmakers Made Music Videos

opinion-review · 2026-08-19

The Directors Label DVD series, published by Palm Pictures, collected seminal music videos by major filmmakers. Volumes devoted to Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, and Michel Gondry appeared in 2003; four more followed in 2005, featuring Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn, and Stéphane Sednaoui. The series highlighted the music video as a space for formal experimentation. Among the works discussed: Scorsese's 'Bad' (1987) for Michael Jackson, Fincher's 'Express Yourself' and 'Vogue' for Madonna, Gondry's 'Around the World' for Daft Punk, Jonze's 'Sabotage' and 'Weapon of Choice', Demme's 'Once in a Lifetime', Corbijn's 'Heart-Shaped Box', and Romanek's 'Hurt' for Johnny Cash, which reduced producer Rick Rubin to tears.

Key facts

  • The Directors Label is a DVD series published by Palm Pictures.
  • First three volumes (Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry) released in 2003.
  • Four more volumes (Mark Romanek, Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn, Stéphane Sednaoui) followed in 2005.
  • Martin Scorsese directed Michael Jackson's 'Bad' in 1987.
  • David Fincher directed Madonna's 'Express Yourself' (1989) and 'Vogue' (1990).
  • Michel Gondry directed Daft Punk's 'Around the World' in 1997.
  • Spike Jonze's 'Weapon of Choice' with Christopher Walken won four MTV Video Music Awards.
  • Mark Romanek's 'Hurt' for Johnny Cash made producer Rick Rubin cry.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Palm Pictures
  • MTV
  • Daft Punk
  • Massive Attack
  • The Chemical Brothers
  • Beastie Boys
  • Fatboy Slim
  • Talking Heads
  • U2
  • Nirvana
  • Wu-Tang Clan
  • Clarks
  • Westwing
  • Crosby Studios
  • Directors Label

Locations

  • New York
  • Hollywood
  • Seoul
  • South Korea
  • Palermo
  • Italy

Sources