THRILLER

Michael Jackson's album THRILLER was released by Epic Records on December 1, 1982. It is Jackson's most popular album and catapulted him to international stardom when it was released.It is the biggest selling album of all time, with over 42 million copies sold and still rising.
The single THRILLER was the final single pulled from the album. A voice-over recording session of THRILLER appears on the special edition version of the album, released in 2001. This session features additional verses of the rap performed by Vincent Price, which were removed from the final version of the song.
The 14 minute music video for THRILLER was released on December 2, 1983, just about one year after the album had been released. It was directed by John Landis and is often considered to be the best music video of all time, and redefined the concept of music videos; hence it is acclaimed in its genre. It was the most expensive video of its time, costing US$800,000 — the equivalent of 1.4 million in 2007 U.S. dollars, until Michael beat his own record with sister Janet for the US$7,000,000 video for "Scream". It also held the record for the world's longest music video, ceding that to Jackson's 35 minute, long-form music video, "Ghosts", in 1996.
THRILLER was less a conventional video and more a full-fledged short subject or mini-film; a horror film spoof featuring choreographed zombies performing with Jackson. The music was re-edited to match the video, with the verses being sung one after the other followed by the ending rap, then the main dance sequence (filmed on Union Pacific Avenue, Los Angeles) to an instrumental loop, and finally the memorable finish: the choruses in a "big dance number" climactic scene. During the video, Jackson transforms into both a zombie and a werewolf (although makeup artist Rick Baker referred to it as a "cat monster" in the "MAKING OF THRILLER" documentary); familiar territory for Landis, who had directed An American Werewolf in London two years earlier. Co-starring with Jackson was former Playboy centerfold Ola Ray. The video was choreographed by Michael Peters (who had worked with the singer on his prior hit "Beat It"), with significant contributions by Jackson. The video also contains incidental music by film music composer Elmer Bernstein, who had previously also worked with Landis on An American Werewolf in London. The video (like the song) contains a spoken word performance by Vincent Price, horror film veteran. Rick Baker assisted in prosthetics and makeup for the production.
PLOT Michael and his date (Ola Ray) run out of gas in a dark, wooded area. They walk off into the forest, and Michael asks her if she would like to go steady. She accepts and he gives her a ring. He warns her, however, that he is "not like other guys". A full moon appears, and Michael begins convulsing - transforming into a horrifying were-cat monster. His date shrieks and runs away, but the cat monster catches up, knocking her down and begins lunging at her with its claws.The scene cuts away to a movie theater (the Palace Theatre in Hollywood) where Michael and his date - along with a repulsed audience - are actually watching this scene unfold in a movie called Thriller. Michael smiles but his date is frightened, and tells him she's leaving. Michael catches up to her, exclaiming "It's only a movie!" Some debate follows over whether or not she was scared by the scene; she denies it, but Michael disagrees.Michael and his date then walk down a foggy street, and he teases her with the opening verses of THRILLER. They pass a possessed graveyard, where corpses suddenly begin to rise from their graves, as Vincent Price recites a verse. Michael and his date then find themselves surrounded by the zombies, and suddenly, Michael becomes a zombie himself. Michael and the undead perform an elaborate song and dance number together, frightening his girlfriend to the point where she runs for cover.The girl is chased into an abandoned house, where the zombies and Michael slowly approach her. Right before they reach her, she wakes up and realizes that it was all a dream. As Michael asks "What's the problem?", he offers to take her home, but as the video ends Michael glances back at the camera, grins, and reveals his monster yellow eyes (accompanied by Vincent Price offering one last haunting laugh).After the credits, when they concurrently show the zombie dancing again, the disclaimer humourously states, "Any similarity to actual events or persons living, dead, (or undead) is purely coincidental." Landis' An American Werewolf in London likewise offered this disclaimer.