1) Smooth Criminal (1988) :
Awesome would be an understatement. I simply cannot watch anything else while I am watching this video. Everything in this short movie is perfect : the characters, the setting, the choreography and, of course, the music. A legendary video.
2) Remember the Time (1992) :
If anyone hadn't told me it was a music video, I would have thought it was a movie. Excellent video, coupled with a very danceable song and an amazing choreography, captivating from the very first seconds to the very last ones with hints of Indiana Jones, Ben-Hur, Cleopatra and... the Wiz.
I also want to add that, to this day, Remember The Time is one of the few videos that portrays the people of Kemet (Ancient Egypt) as Africans, with the Prince of Egypt (Dreamworks, 1998).
3) Bad (1987) :
Like Remember The Time, if anyone hadn't told me it was a music video, I would have thought it was a movie : Bad is probably, with Ghosts (1997), one of the longest short movies Michael Jackson ever gave us to watch. Where the introduction of the setting and the characters, the dialogues and non-musical interactions between them are a good deal of the video. Here, Michael Jackson decided to associate with the legendary movie maker Martin Scorsese, whose the setting of predilection of his movies is New York City. The grittier and more dangerous 1970s and 1980s New York City. The video is amazing and one of the most iconic ones Michael Jackson, and the music industry in general, ever gave us to watch.
4) Ghosts (1997) :
Michael Jackson collaborated with the late Stan Winston to give birth to Ghosts. Or, more accurately, a rebirth : back in 1993, Michael Jackson intended to make Ghosts, then called "Is it Scary ?", to promote the Adams Family Values movie. Partly. The promotion of the Adams Family Values wasn't the sole reason Michael Jackson invested himself in this project : counterbalancing the perception of him among the general public was. Since the mid-1980s, the public perception of the revered, but also discrete superstar had been distorted by rumors, speculations and crazy dehumanizing stories about Michael Jackson written and printed by the sensationalist and money-driven (British and American) press. Michael Jackson, feeling his image more and more distorted and the distance between him and the public becoming greater and greater every year, decided to invite the public to know him. The real Michael Jackson, not "***** *****" as the tabloid press childishly nicknamed him. The barely executed project had almost never come to fruition, though : the 1993 allegations of child molestation against Michael Jackson had almost ruined any chance for this project to see the light. Nonetheless, Ghosts was given a second chance to come to fruition in 1997, at the time of the release of both more introspective than usual Michael Jackson albums : "HIStory" (1995) and "Blood On The Dancefloor" (1997). Beyond Michael Jackson, Ghosts is an amazing visual and musical ode of tolerance and open-mindedness, interestingly disguised as a Halloween story.
5) Thriller (1983) :
Here we are with Thriller, the legendary short movie. What can I say about Thriller that hasn't already been said ? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I will say this, though : Thriller is a super and groundbreaking short movie that, back in 1983 but also today, has contributed to give Michael Jackson his status of American and World icon of the highest importance.
