The Immaculate Collection appears in an aspect ratio of mainly1.33:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; due to those dimensions, the image has not been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. One video - Oh Father - uses an aspect ratio of approximately 1.66:1. Music video collections are almost always a very mixed bag in regard to picture quality, andImmaculate was no exception. Although the package remained consistently watchable, the quality level varied from clip to clip. Lucky Star started the package reasonably well. As one of Madonnas simplest clips, it showed stark but clear visuals that worked fine within the fairly monochromatic environment. Essentially we just watch Madonna as she and some dancers skip in front of a white background. Skin tones looked a little bland, but very little other colors appeared. The piece showed a mildly grainy appearance, but otherwise Lucky Star looked quite good. Borderline was a more ambitious clip, and it showed more noticeable concerns. It maintained the grainy look of Lucky Star and added some blotches, speckles and grit. Skin tones appeared somewhat pinkish, and reds looked too heavy. Sharpness seemed to be generally acceptable, but some softness interfered at times. Like A Virgin may be one of Madonnas most famous videos, but it wasnt one of her most attractive. The piece always displayed a gauzy quality, and that cropped up during the DVDs rendition. Whites seemed to be oversaturated and too bright, and the general filmy look could be annoying. Some grain and other flaws appeared, most significant of which was a big old hair that periodically interfered with the pictures lower left corner. While the gauzy look may have been intentional, the overall ugliness of LAV wasnt. Much better was Material Girl, though it also suffered from some concerns. Focus improved over the softness of LAV, but MG also showed a mildly filmy look at times. This was one of Madonnas more colorful videos, and the reds dominated. They seemed decent, though they came across as rather heavy and runny at times, especially through the sets background. Although flawed, MG stood as the best of the bunch so far; Lucky Star had fewer flaws, but it lacked the visual ambition that made MG more fun to watch. Papa Dont Preach was the first video that came after Madonna was the true superstar the success of the preceding songs made her. Directed by James Foley - who helmedAt Close Range, a then-current film that starred her then-current husband Sean Penn and also included her song Live to Tell - the piece provided somewhat improved visuals, but Papa still suffered from some of the problems that affected the prior clips. Sharpness looked fairly crisp and distinct, though a number of shots that featured Danny Aiello came across as mildly bland and muddy. Black levels were nicely deep, but colors seemed a little erratic; they generally looked clear and accurate, but they occasionally appeared flat or drab. Madonnas striped shirt caused some moiré effects, and a little grain also cropped up during the video. Ultimately, Papa was erratic but watchable. Open Your Heart featured similar visuals. A little softness interfered at times, and some strobing appeared during a few shots. Colors seemed a little thick at times, though the sickly green tones of the nightclub looked well-delineated. Black levels came across as particularly deep and rich, and shadow detail appeared clear and accurate. To date, none of the videos have offered especially fine visuals, but Heart had some nice elements within the other issues. During La Isla Bonita we returned to the gauzy look of Like a Virgin and Material Girl, which should come as no surprise since Mary Lambert directed all three. However, the clips faded look made more sense here, as I think it was more clearly an artistic choice to go with the semi-period visuals. LIB presented a somewhat faded appearance, and it also showed some mild softness along with heavy reds during the dance sequence. Whether intentional or not, Bonita was not a terribly attractive video, though at least it seemed to lack some of the print flaws that marred other clips. Lambert also directed Like a Prayer, so I wasnt surprised to find more gauziness there. For the most part, Prayer replicated the look of Bonita. It was also somewhat pale, though a few heavy colors cropped up at times, mainly through the sunset. The image looked mildly soft during most of the video. It was watchable but it offered another fuzzy Lambert piece. With Express Yourself, we left behind the work of Mary Lambert and started the collaboration between Madonna and David Fincher, who later became famous as the director ofSe7en andFight Club. Unfortunately, we didnt progress past the flaws that marred some of the earlier videos, though many of the concerns seemed to relate to Finchers visual choices. Express looked rather fuzzy and gauzy for the most part, though some sections of the clip came across as very distinct and accurate. An oversaturated look appeared throughout the piece, and it often seemed to be too bright. Granted, Fincher likely did this on purpose, but I still wasnt terribly enamored of the videos look. Cherish featured Madonnas only video collaboration with fashion photographer Herb Ritts, whod also go on to do the popular clip for Janet Jacksons Love Will Never Do (Without You). This black and white video featured some mild grain, but otherwise it was quite attractive. Sharpness looked crisp and distinct, and black levels were nicely deep and rich. Contrast seemed to be clean and accurate, and Cherish definitely offered the best visuals encountered so far. With Oh Father, Madonna again worked with Fincher, and although this clip was black and white, it resembled Express Yourself. This piece featured the same overblown whites and excessively bright look. This added a glowing effect that likely was intentional. However, Father seemed to offer better sharpness than Express, and it offered a generally pleasing experience. Vogue finished Madonnas work with Fincher - for this DVD, at least - with a clip that resembled Father in many ways. It was also black and white, and it showed the same modest glow found on the other Fincher videos. However, it also provided clean, distinct focus and very solid and rich blacks. Shadow detail looked clear and appropriately opaque, with no signs of excessive heaviness. Vogue was another satisfying video. A second performance of Vogue finishedImmaculate. This one came from the 1990 MTV Music Video Awards show, and it offered Madonna and dancers in garb that evoked the French in the 18th century. Of all this packages clips, this was the most straightforward, as it appeared live during the show. It looked somewhat bland and fuzzy. Focus appeared adequate for close-ups but could become somewhat soft beyond that point. Colors were a bit drab and lifeless as well. Collections of music videos are a serious pain to evaluate as a whole. Usually their clips come from many different eras and directors, a fact shown repeatedly during the eight years ofImmaculate. Overall, the DVD replicated the original works accurately. I watched all of these as they first appeared on the scene, and I saw little that showed problems that didnt always exist. Nonetheless, my general impression was that the videos seemed to be drab and soft across the board. Could they look any better? Probably not, but I still felt most comfortable with a C grade in regard to the visuals. Not surprisingly, the audio quality ofThe Immaculate CollectionsPCM stereo mix experienced greater success, though it didnt lack concerns. For the most part, I felt the songs offered solid stereo renditions. Whatever variations I heard usually resulted from the original recordings. For instance, the two songs fromLike a Virgin - Like a Virgin and Material Girl - always showed rather chilly production; they never offered very deep bass or strong dynamics, so we shouldnt expect that to change here. The DVD represented most of the songs with CD-quality versions that sounded appropriately clear and rich; the variations reflected the source material for the most part. Two notable exceptions occurred. The MTV awards version of Vogue came from a remix of the original tune, but the audio didnt stem directly from that source. Instead, the production went with the sound as heard that night, which made the entire presentation sound something like a bootleg! The echo and crowd noise caused a feeling as though this was an audience recording, which it was, for all intents and purposes; the MTV folks just picked up the canned audio from a remote source. It was in stereo, but not very clear or lively stereo, and it sounded fairly weak. At least that aberration made sense. On the other hand, I have no explanation for the poor audio heard during Express Yourself. Put bluntly, the song sounded terrible. The audio was muted and flat throughout the tune, and a distracting hum also accompanied the music. I have no idea why the song presented such miserably sound, but it stood out as the weakest experience in an otherwise solid package. By the way, Express Yourself aired with two different versions of the song. Sometimes it offered the album track, but on others it went with a remix. Though I think the latter is superior, the DVD included the original album version along with the video. As is usually the case with this sort of package,The Immaculate Collection provides virtually no extras. While that comes as no surprise, it seems especially disappointing in this case because quite a few videos from the era covered (1983-1990) didnt make the cut. The most glaring omission was 1983s Burning Up fromMadonna. That one appeared on an old videotape and 8-inch laserdisc calledThe First Four Videos but was left off ofImmaculate for no apparent reason. Some of the other omissions made more sense. A number of videos also promoted films, so the videos may have been held up due to rights issues. This would cover songs like Live to Tell and Into the Groove plus a few others. On the other hand, I have no idea why True Blue failed to appear. One video that could have made this package appears to have become an orphan. The album version ofThe Immaculate Collection included two new songs, Rescue Me and Justify My Love. The latter also received the video treatment, and it quickly became Maddys biggest controversy since Like A Prayer. The clip showed some provocative sexual material and it stirred up a big stink; Madonna actually appeared onNightline to discuss the issues. Although Justify was part of theImmaculate album, I doubt anyone ever thought to include it in the video compilation. Instead, the hot clip went on sale as a solo offering; even with a list price of $10, Justify moved a lot of copies since MTV wouldnt broadcast the racy piece. While it seemed logical for Justify to appear on Madonnas second video compilation, 1999sVideo Collection 93:99, this didnt occur. Perhaps this was because it was such a sexual clip, though I doubt it. Initially 1992s Erotica was supposed to be part of93:99, but it was omitted for mysterious reasons that seem to connect to its content. This alteration just dealt with Erotica; as far as I know, Justify was never a prospect for the video. It would have been nice to find it as a bonus clip on the DVD release ofImmaculate, but I cant say its omission surprises me. In any case, those who want to check out the first half (or so) of Madonnas career cannot do better thanThe Immaculate Collection. Through these clips, we see her early evolution and changes through a series of generally compelling and innovative videos. Most of the songs are top-notch as well, as they represent much of the best of Madonnas older work. The DVD presents the videos faithfully, which means that they often dont look terribly good. Unfortunately, that doesnt seem likely to change, for the concern relate from the source material. Happily, other than a couple of notable exceptions, audio quality sounds clear and vibrant. The lack of any extras provides a negative, but it isnt a fatal flaw. Both casual and dedicated fans will want to check out MadonnasImmaculate Collection. | 
