Director's Series Vol. 4 - Work of Director Mark Romanek (2005)

Artists who’ve worked with him describe Mark Romanek as "meticulous" and "demanding." Yet, the biggest names in the business have clamored to work with the mercurial helmer, because they know he'll make them look good: Madonna ("Rain"), No Doubt ("Hella Good"), etc. Along the way, the Grammy winner has been behind some of the world's most famous--and infamous--videos.

Read our interview with Mark Romanek.

On the groundbreaking side, there's Lenny Kravitz's exhilarating "Are You Gonna Go My Way," which made the musician a star in one fell swoop. On the controversial side, there's Fiona Apple's teasing "Criminal," Nine Inch Nails' macabre "Closer," and Jay-Z's apocalyptic "99 Problems"--the latter two in director's cut editions. In another class entirely, is Romanek's heartbreaking video for Johnny Cash's "Hurt." More than a promo, it's an elegy for a legend. Despite an interview with Robin Williams, this collection otherwise overlooks Romanek's features, One Hour Photo and Static. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Be sure to check out The Director's Label Boxed Set Vol. 2, featuring The Work of Mark Romanek, and volumes by Jonathan Glazer, Anton Corbijn, and Stéphane Sednaoui.

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For fans and students of Romanek and for those who love his work

Certainly, I am not a great follower of pop music and even less of music videos. However, when I happened to see "Hurt" by Johnny Cash I was blown away. It moved me deeply and I had to see it repeatedly. When I had an opportunity to get a pristine version of the video with this disk, I jumped at it. Little did I know how much more was here.

Unless you already know a lot about Mark Romanek, I would recommend that you start with the special features. There is one that talks about the making of the videos and has the artists involved, Romanek's collaborators, and some friends. It gave me a lot of background on how he works and what he is trying to do in the various videos. There is also a rather humorous bit called "Romanekian" where his friends complain about him and what constitutes his work. And then there is a short talking about the making of the award winning Jay-Z video "99 Problems".

There are twenty-five videos by artists big (Cash, Madonna, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Janet and Michael Jackson, Trent Reznor, Jay-Z, R.E.M., kd lang, No Doubt, Beck ), artists who got known through the video (Lenny Kravitz, Fiona Apple, Audioslave, En Vogue, Linkin Park, and Weezer), and artists who are only known through the video (Eels, G. Love & Special Sauce, Sonic Youth - I guess).

The disk is great if you are interested in any of the videos, as I was for "Hurt", if you are fan of Michael Romanek, or are a student of film and want to study how a very talented artist does what he does. One of the themes of the disk is that Romanek wanted and still wants to make feature movies. I hope he gets the chance. He seems to have real vision and creativity. March 24, 2007

A nice collection from a talented director

From the last 4-pack director series, this one is the most worthwhile. What you're likely to see here is a collection of the most breathtaking music videos (and I'd be willing to bet, each artist's favorite). What's more, a few of these have rarely been seen unedited, such ad NIN's Closer and Michael Jackson's Scream. This has always been my favorite MJ video, which makes his bizarre appearance actually look sharp and intentional for a few minutes... It's hard to keep your eyes off these videos. This collection is the most visually arresting from the 4 pack. If you don't want all 4, at least get this one. March 16, 2007

the medium and the message

visionary, stimulating works that really help expand the mind wide open. This is a director who seems to embrace change, always looking for greater and greater inspirations along the way. He never settles for "just good." March 21, 2006

Redeemed the music video medium

Everyone knows Mark Romanek's work, even if they have never heard of him. From Madonna to Michael Jackson to Coldplay he has, over the past 10/15 years, been the most vital music video director around. Whilst I prefer David Fincher's work, and find the likes of Francis Lawrence and Jonathan Glazer to also be phenomenal, Romanek has somehow become the undisputed king of music videos.

Either pushing the envelope from a technical or iconographic standpoint Romanek has always strived to create art. It just so happens his art is commercially viable, being one million times more effective than the awful commercial drivel produced more often than not by the likes of Hype Williams, Paul Hunter, and Joseph Kahn.

Whilst I feel he is as responsible as Michael Bay for creating an appetite for fast, 3 second edits, he is also responsible for creating imagery that provokes a deep emotional response that often lingers for the rest of the day. Whilst his gothic imagery of the mid to late nineties has now become vacuous and cliche, at the time it was nothing less than groundbreaking. His current work (see Linkin Park, Coldplay, Johnny Cash and Jay Z) is however arguably his best work to date, so hopefully in 10 years time we will all be asking for Volume 2 of his work.

As for the DVD package. Well it is a must for all aspiring film/video directors, and contains solid commentaries (even if they aren't actually typcial commentaries, but more lifted interview quotes played over the videos) The extras reveal a perfectionist, uncompromising figure who will quite happily push pampered artists to their limit to get the shot he wants. I'm both scared and in awe of him, and hope that unlike Fincher he will continue to make more great videos in the years to come! January 8, 2006

The King of Music Videos?

Mr. Romanek is indisputably the king of the music video, and he's really not my favorite from this collection either. He might possibly be the most talented director featured in this series though, and unlike Corbijn, his resume is incredibly diverse, unless you believe Jay-Z and Rivers Cuomo to be pretty similar guys. Maybe that's the reason why I haven't really gotten into Romanek too much over the years - I only listen to a portion of the bands he's worked with. We've all heard of them before though, because almost every artist here has had at least one platinum record, MTV award, and hit single in the US.

One thing that does tie all of Romanek's work together is his ability to take chances, be daring, and somehow make consistently great videos. Instead of just working with artsy, underground acts, he dares to take the mainstream to the next level. Everything from Jay-Z's 99 Problems to Fiona Apple's Criminal explores an area that is likely offensive or irritating to some people, and in my opinion, this is the sign of a great director. There are cases where his work is much more conservative, and this is precisely where he misses the mark to some point.

The three best videos from this collection, Johnny Cash's Hurt, Nine Inch Nails' Closer, and 99 Problems, show off how great Romanek can be at times. Cash's Hurt, which takes footage of the sick and weary man in black, is hard for some people to watch on its own, but the contrast of this imagery with young photos of Cash and with June Carter only heighten the power of this video - again, I've been with people who left the room because they couldn't handle it. Then again, it's also a crowning achievement that rivals the power of a great film. Closer, which could have easily inspired the film Seven, also works from mashing together a collage of disturbing images, although there's a subtle humor that seems to parallel Reznor's "animalistic" lyrics. And 99 Problems is probably the most unique hip hop video period, showing the ghetto in a way that was never realized by hip hop directors - this is probably why Jay-Z chose Romanek or vice versa, and it worked out brilliantly.

Romanek's videos are definitely the best part of his disc. There is a humorous short film called Romanekian, which has a great quote from Chris Rock - something like Mark can make you like a crappy song with his videos. This disc also has the best director commentary of the four, and there's always those mishaps in the videos that are borderline hilarious. If you liked One Hour Photo, Romanek's recent feature film, then you'll like that section, too. Honestly, I enjoyed hearing him talk about the film more than actually watching it - he's capable of so much more. And after getting a chance to watch this compilation of his work, you'll probably agree with me. November 8, 2005

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