Cloudbusting - the video ...

[Jim Hofmann <hofmann@AMSAA.ARPA>]

Just my thoughts after seeing the video (Thanks, Doug) ...

Kate Bush seems to have the right idea about combining music with images -
which should be the goal of the "video" (Mikey Jackson now prefers to call
"videos" "films") and all to often the "video" (or at least the majority
shown on MTV and assorted other venues (Friday Night Videos, Radio 1990)
has merely been an excercise in making an extended commercial which can
be pretty boring after awhile.

"Cloudbusting" like its predecessors "Blue Jean" and yes, "Thriller" treats
the music as an integral part of the action but not the central point.  This
is good and should be encouraged!  Write MTV and tell them you want more
time devoted to this type of film ...

However, "Cloudbusting" suffers from Kate's complete lack of acting ability ...
alot of this blame must be put on the director's shoulders for not 
eliciting a convincing performance.  Kate should take her cue from other
singers/athletes/etc turned actor/actress and take a much less demanding
role.  To jump into a little boys shoes from modern dance slippers is way
too much for her.  To have a brillant performance by Donald Sutherland which
overshadows her attempts to be cute is utterly sickening (to my mind and stomach
at least) ... perhaps Kate should have hung ego on the front door and allowed
a more accomplished actor do the part, say Matthew Broderick or Henry Thomas ..
they certainly wouldn't have looked as ridiculous in a little boy outfit
as Kate does.  If anything, she should have made her acting debut as a character
closer to her own personna instead of tackling Cloudbusting as such.  Again,
the director is to blame for not finding the most convincing performance but
when the actor holds the purse strings and artistic control many directors
are hard-pressed to hurt ego.  Too bad ... as Sutherlands' performance was
magnificient ...

Hofmann