Who Made Madonna the Greatest Music Video Star Ever?

In 2003, MTV named Madonna "The Greatest Music Video Star Ever," referring to her part in the network's golden years, a time when she empowered women and shocked critics with sex, striking imagery, and gender role reversal. Beyond TV screens, her strong video presence was lauded so highly that it has been widely attributed with ushering in the spectacle-driven live performances of our generation. If you've ever seen Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, or even Yeezy himself perform live and wondered how things got so grandiose, you can think of Madonna and her contributions to MTV as the genesis of it all.

Over the past 32 years, no less than 40 different individuals directed Madonna's 67 music videos. Ranging all the way from Andy Warhol apprentices and Oscar-winners to horror flick fanatics and recluses, the crew enlisted to bring her vision to the small screen was as vibrant and diverse as the videos themselves. In this edition of Madonna Mondays, we be look behind the camera at some of the directors who helped Madonna define a generation.

Chris Cunningham

What You Know Him From:

Aphex Twin, Bjork, and Warp 20

As chance would have it, video artist Chris Cunningham and I grew up in neighboring counties in the UK. His resumé reads like it was written with me in mind, boasting collaborations with Autechre, Bjork, and Aphex Twin, work under Stanley Kubrick's wing, a permanent installation at NYC's MOMA, and live A/V sets throughout Europe and Asia. He also contributed photos to a VICE issue back in 2009 and was featured on The Creator's Project just two years ago.

It was Cunningham's work with Aphex Twin that attracted Madonna. He directed a blue-on-blue music video for "Frozen" that featured a rare dark-haired Madonna, some birds, and a lot of Mojave desert. Initially meant to be shot in Iceland, Madonna soon changed her mind. "You know what, I'm going to be freezing," she told MTV. "I'm going to be miserable, I'll be complaining all day, I'll be sorry that I ever chose a cold place. So I said, 'Let's do it in the desert, it'll be warm,' and it would be sort of the opposite, because even though you think of deserts as being hot, they're still sort of frozen in terms of there's no vegetation and they're very desolate."

Unfortunately, the switch didn't exactly turn out as planned. When they arrived, it was 20 degrees below zero, started pouring rain, and got everyone sick. She described it as "a really miserable experience." Their efforts paid off when "Frozen" won the MTV VMA for best special effects in 1998 (this was back when the award actually meant something).

Mary Lambert

What You Know Her From:

90s horror flicks

As far as Hollywood movies go, cult-film director Mary Lambert is far from a household name. If you turn your attention to musicians however, you'll find that she's worked with the likes of Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Motley Crue, Mick Jagger, and many, many more. Sex, death, and feminism litter Lambert's filmography, so it should come as no surprise that she was a perfect match for Madonna, and she ended up directing the second greatest number of videos for the star.

In fact, she was so well-suited for the shock-pop era Madonna that her video for "Like A Prayer" was only aired once before being banned from MTV and losing Madonna her national Pepsi endorsement deal.  The controversy stemmed from a steamy romantic storyline in the video, in which Madonna canoodled with a man who happened to be Jesus and also happened to be black. Naturally, it went on to with the MTV Viewer's Choice Award later that year. In addition to "Like A Prayer," Lambert also directed videos for two of the most iconic songs of our time, "Like A Virgin" and "Material Girl," as well as "La Isla Bonita" and "Borderline."

Jonas Åkerlund

What You Know Him From: Videos by Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Coldplay, The Prodigy

No Madonna video director has worked with more big-name artists than Jonas Åkerlund. Åkerlund's works include iconic clips like U2's "Beautiful Day," Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" and Moby's "Porcelain." Madonna discovered Åkerlund through his vid for The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" in 1997.  "I thought it was brilliant," she told MTV in 1998. "As it was going along, I was like, 'Oh my god, oh my god,' and then when you get to the end and it's a girl, I was like, 'Oh that's brilliant.' It's brilliant. I love it."

The Material Girl teamed with Åkerlund for "Ray of Light," which won them a record number of VMAs and a Grammy.

Fabien Baron

What You Know Him From:

Vogue, Interview, Barney's New York, Baron & Baron

While it pales in comparison to the reaction that accompanied Mary Lambert's "Like A Prayer," Fabien Baron's sexually charged video for "Erotica" aired only three times on MTV before it too was taken off the air. "Erotica" was shot to go along with Madonna's Sex documentary and accompanying coffee table book that featured the singer in all sorts of no-holds-barred S&M moves. That same year, Baron joined both Harper's Bazaar and Calvin Klein as creative director. Baron went on to work with Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Givenchy, YSL, Fendi, and Interview magazine.

If you're thinking that Baron would have been distressed by his work's removal from MTV, you've mistaken him for someone with slightly more time on his hands. The next time you find yourself calming your arousal while watching "Erotica," try to remember that Vanity Fair named Baron "the most sought-after creative director in the world" and that the video isn't porn; it's art.

David Fincher

What You Know Him From:

Fight Club, The Social Network, House of Cards, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

If any man were worthy of a trivia section devoted to him, it would be David Fincher:

Which Madonna video director's movies have earned a total of $1.5 billion worldwide? That would be Fincher, who has Fight Club, The Social Network, and the forthcoming Gone Girl under his belt, to name a few.

Which Madonna music video was the most expensive music video ever made at the time? That would also be David Fincher's "Express Yourself," which still stands as the third most expensive music video of all time at $9.5 million in 2014 currency.

Which Madonna music video was nominated for a Grammy and was almost banned from MTV for a sequence in which a dead woman's lips are sewn shut? Fincher again, with his critically-acclaimed semi-autobiographical version of Madonna's mother's death in "Oh Father."

Which Madonna music video hilariously features Christopher Walken as a guardian angel after Tim Burton rejected the offer to direct it? David Fincher's "Bad Girl."

Which Madonna music video featured nipples and sheer blouses? David Fincher's "Vogue," a video widely ranked as one of the most influential of all time. It frequently competes with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for the unofficial title of the Best Video of All Time.

Madonna Mondays have happened before, and they will happen again:
Growing Up With Madonna
Madonna's 56 Dance Singles, Ranked