10 Greatest Music Videos By Spike Jonze

3. Björk - It's Oh So Quiet

If Jonze showcased a great knack for directing Christopher Walken in "Weapon of Choice," it's because he had already directed a musical sequence in his career. "It's Oh So Quiet" is a jazzy, big band-style song covered by Björk and the video perfectly coincides with it. It slows down during the quiet verses and turns into a classic Hollywood musical during the choruses. This one came out in 1995, when Spike Jonze was churning out music videos left and right. But this one easily stands out among the rest as it's really unlike anything Jonze has ever done before or since (with some slight comparisons to "Weapon of Choice"). The video starts out with Björk walking out of the bathroom and into an auto shop where she dances along with all of the auto workers. She then walks outside where we see a tap dancing sequence, another dance sequence involving umbrellas, and at the end, we're left with one giant musical number featuring an abundance of extras. Without a cut, Björk suddenly floats up into the sky with her face directed at the screen, shushing at the camera. Jonze was able to pull off all these sequences with amazing energy and he was only 25 years old at the time! The transitions between the quiet moments and the dance numbers feel so natural and he manages to capture the full spectacle of the performances without missing a beat. That's not an easy thing to do. The camerawork is especially glorious, particularly during the sequence when Björk sings through tires. It's pretty great.
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Ken writes movie reviews on his blog, kenoncinema.blogspot.com. He currently resides in New York City. Twitter: @keng324