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Ciao Italia: Live from Italy

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Ciao Italia: Live from Italy
Madonna in short cropped hair, wearing a red flamenco dress. She puts up both of her hands above her head
Video by
Madonna
ReleasedMay 24, 1988
RecordedJune 22, 1987
September 4, 1987
September 6, 1987
VenueKorakuen Stadium
(Tokyo, Japan)
Stadio Comunale
(Turin and Florence, Italy)
GenreLive
Length101 mins
Label
DirectorEgbert van Hees
ProducerRiccardo Mario Corato
Madonna video chronology
Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour
(1985) 		Ciao Italia: Live from Italy
(1988) 		The Immaculate Collection
(1990)

Ciao Italia: Live from Italy (credited as Madonna: Ciao, Italia! Live from Italy in the video sequence) is a video album by American singer-songwriter Madonna and was released by Warner Reprise Video and Sire Records on May 24, 1988. It contained footage from a previous TV special of the Who's That Girl World Tour, Madonna in Concerto, broadcast in Europe in 1987, filmed at the Stadio Comunale in Turin, Italy. The video release also contained footage from shows recorded in Florence, Italy and Tokyo, Japan, the latter having previously been released as a Japanese TV special and home video release, Who's That Girl: Live in Japan. The decision to release Ciao Italia was spurred by the fact that this previous release became a commercial success in Japan. A re-release of the video took place in 1999, when it was released in DVD format, with a stereo soundtrack containing the songs only.

The video received positive reviews from critics, who noted Madonna's showmanship and her skills as a performer. They also complimented the camera work in the video, for enhancing the visual aspects of the tour. Ciao Italia topped the Music Video sales chart of Billboard, and became the second best-selling music video cassette of 1988. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 100,000 copies.

Background

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Madonna's 1987 Who's That Girl World Tour was a critical and commercial success, earning US $25 million and playing in front of an audience of 1.5 million.[1] When the time came for the video release of the tour, Warner Bros. decided to release it only in Japan, where Madonna's previous video albums had not been released. This decision was also backed by the profit that the Who's That Girl World Tour had achieved from its Japanese leg.[2] Named as Who's That Girl: Live in Japan, the video contained a live date from the tour, filmed at Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on June 22, 1987. It was also aired as a television special in Japan only and was the first television broadcast there using Dolby Surround sound.[2] The release was a commercial success, prompting Warner to release a different version of the tour video, for the rest of the world. Although the Japanese concert was released on VHS and LaserDisc, Warner Music Japan has never officially made it available on DVD.[1]

The video was released on May 24, 1988, and contained video compilation of two different dates from the tour, Turin and from Florence, as well as clips from her concert in Tokyo, Japan.[3] The video had an introduction, where Madonna was shown practicing with her troupe on the stage, rehearsing the songs and the dance moves.[4] Madonna, who had gone through rigorous exercises and aerobics to prepare herself for the tour, demanded from director Egbert van Hees that the shape of her body be given prominence in the footage to be used for the video. She believed that her new shape and figure would make her appear highly attractive.[5] In 1999, Warner Bros. re-released the video in DVD format, along with some of Madonna's other video albums.[6][7] The music video appears in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (4:3) on the single-sided, single-layered DVD. The concert relied heavily on magenta tones; from the lighting to Madonna’s outfits. A stereo soundtrack accompanied the DVD release, where the songs were mixed without having a surround sound effect.[8]

Reception

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Critical response

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]

Andrew Perala from Anchorage Daily News complimented the video, saying "If you have a secret fondness for pop singer Madonna, you would want to check out her Ciao Italia, the singer's concert film from Italy. You can be pleasantly surprised at how amazing she is."[12] Heather Phares from Allmusic said: "Madonna's Ciao Italia: Live From Italy captures a performance from her 1988 world tour and features hits like 'Lucky Star', 'True Blue', 'La Isla Bonita', 'Like a Virgin', and 'Material Girl'. A much simpler, less choreographed performance than her later extravaganzas like The Girlie Show World Tour, Ciao Italia is still entertaining in its own right, and will definitely please fans nostalgic for some old-school Madonna hits."[9] Dennis Hunt from Los Angeles Times gave a positive review, saying "A festive Italian stadium show featuring the Material Girl, who's turned into a first-rate entertainer, strutting and singing in flashy production-number renditions of her recent most Billboard topping songs, is indeed a delight. The video captures the enormity of Madonna as a performer, and her theatrics, oomph and chutzpah."[11]

Tom Shales from The Washington Post said that "Ciao Italia works wonderful because it makes Madonna look like she's at home, with her Italian family all around her. [...] A Turin soccer stadium became the sexual center of the universe last year when Madonna, one of our naughtiest superstars, taped this concert there before 75,000 gyrating Italians. Ebullient and insouciant, Madonna sings her hits-including the darkly beautiful 'Live to Tell'—in cavernous stereo; dances engagingly with 14-year-old Chris Finch, the quintessential Lucky Little Boy; and crowns herself queen of teases, bending over to reveal 'Kiss' printed on her underpants [...] Sheer showmanship is present in her performances as well as the camera work of this video."[13] Jim Farber from Rolling Stone said that "this version of Madonna's Who's That Girl Tour returns the star to the medium where she excels best. On videocassette, however, Madonna makes manipulation seem like an exciting message indeed."[14] Colin Jacobson from the DVD Movie Guide however, gave a negative review of the album, saying "Possibly the biggest problem with Ciao Italia regarded the sloppy manner in which the program was assembled. I can’t recall if Italia appeared as a TV special that aired live or if it was taped and edited specifically for future broadcast screenings, but it certainly looked like something that was created on the fly. Sloppy camerawork and editing abound, as those two factors don’t flow together terribly well. It felt as though they tried their best to get appropriate material at the time but that they failed to massage it after the fact."[8]

Commercial performance

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The release debuted at number 17 on Billboard's Top Music Video chart, on June 4, 1988 and reached number eight the next week.[15][16] The video started a steady climb on the chart, and on the issue dated August 20, 1988, it reached number three on the chart.[17][18] Ciao Italia ultimately reached the top of the chart, remaining there for eight weeks.[19] It was the 27th top selling videocassette for 1988.[20] The video was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 100,000 copies.[21] By 1992, the release sold 35,000 copies of laserdiscs in the United States according to The Hollywood Reporter.[22] Ciao Italia debuted and peaked at number three on the Canadian RPM Top 10 Video chart on June 9, 1990.[23] It was present for a total of eight weeks on the chart.[24] It also charted at number three on the Finnish DVD chart in 2009.[25]

The concert itself on RAI remains one of Italian television's most-watched broadcasts, with estimates putting ratings between 30 and 35 million viewers, around 61.83% of the Italian population at the time.[26]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Open Your Heart"
5:04
2."Lucky Star"Madonna4:19
3."True Blue"
4:45
4."Papa Don't Preach"
  • Brian Elliot
  • additional lyrics by Madonna
6:08
5."White Heat"
7:12
6."Causing a Commotion"
  • Madonna
  • Bray
4:45
7."The Look of Love"
  • Madonna
  • Leonard
5:02
8."Dress You Up"
  • Andrea LaRusso
  • Peggy Stanziale
3:51
9."Material Girl"
3:57
10."Like a Virgin"
4:51
11."Where's the Party"
  • Madonna
  • Bray
  • Leonard
5:20
12."Live to Tell"
  • Madonna
  • Leonard
8:51
13."Into the Groove"
  • Madonna
  • Bray
6:11
14."La Isla Bonita"
4:33
15."Who's That Girl"
  • Madonna
  • Leonard
4:02
16."Holiday"
  • Curtis Hudson
  • Lisa Stevens
6:34

Notes

Formats

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It was released on VHS, Laserdisc and later DVD, in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 on the single-sided, single-layered DVD.[8]

Credits and personnel

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Credits and personnel adapted from Ciao Italia: Live from Italy video liner notes.[9]

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan
For Who's That Girl: Live In Japan 		— 400,000[37]
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Rooksby 2004, p. 14
  2. ^ a b Pratt 1992, p. 345
  3. ^ "Summer Gets Even Hotter With New Video Releases". Los Angeles Daily News. June 24, 1988. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  4. ^ Guilbert 2002, p. 475
  5. ^ Benstock & Ferriss 1994, p. 169
  6. ^ Metz & Benson 1999, p. 13
  7. ^ "Warner Bros. Records Inc. Commits to Furthering DVD Platform". PR Newswire (Press release). February 11, 1999. Retrieved August 10, 2010.[dead link‍]
  8. ^ a b c Jacobson, Colin (March 4, 1999). "Madonna: Ciao Italia: Live From Italy (1988)". DVD Movie Guide. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c Phares, Heather (September 9, 2001). "Ciao Italia: Live From Italy". AllMusic. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  10. ^ Givens, Ron (May 11, 1990). "Madonna's discography". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Hunt, Dennis (June 17, 1988). "Video Reviews ****Excellent ***Good **Fair *Poor Music". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  12. ^ Perrala, Andrew (June 26, 1988). "Dimond High Squeezes Out Competition". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  13. ^ Shales, Tom (August 4, 1988). "New on Tape: Ciao Italia: Live From Italy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  14. ^ Farber, Jim (June 1, 1988). "Madonna, the Rolling stone files". Rolling Stone. ISBN 9780786881543. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Video Top Ten". The Miami Herald. June 13, 1988. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  16. ^ "Top Music Videocassettes". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 77. June 4, 1988. ISSN 0006-2510.
  17. ^ Kline, Benjamin (August 20, 1988). "Singing Famililar Refrains". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  18. ^ "Top Music Videocassettes". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 81. August 20, 1988. ISSN 0006-2510.
  19. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (September 20, 2013). "Chart Moves: Album Sales Hit New Low; Madonna's 'MDNA World Tour' Debuts; Earth, Wind & Fire Reaches Chart High". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  20. ^ "The Top-ranked Tapes Of 1988". Chicago Tribune. December 30, 1988. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  21. ^ a b "American video certifications – Madonna – Ciao Italia - Live from Italy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  22. ^ "Material mogul Madonna a Maverick at Time Warner: Laserdisc". The Hollywood Reporter. 1992. Retrieved July 11, 2023 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ a b "Video – Volume 52, No. 4, June 09 1990". RPM. June 9, 1990. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  24. ^ "Video – Volume 53, No. 10, September 02 1991". RPM. September 2, 1991. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2010.
  25. ^ a b "Tilastot – Suomen virallinen lista – Artistit" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  26. ^ "Italian Tour Circuit Attracts the World's Superstars" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 49. 5 December 1987. p. l-3. Retrieved 29 August 2023. Available at https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1987/Billboard-1987-12-05.pdf
  27. ^ "MUSIC VIDEO" (PDF). Music Week. July 2, 1988. p. 12. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  28. ^ "Top Videocassette Sales For Week Ending August 20, 1988" (PDF). Billboard. August 20, 1988. p. 44. Retrieved April 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  29. ^ "Musik DVD Top-10 (UGE 15 - 2001)" (in Danish). Tracklisten. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  30. ^ "Archívum › Kereső - előadó/cím szerint" (in Hungarian). Archívum – Slágerlisták – Mahasz. Retrieved April 29, 2021. Under ELŐADÓ/CÍM: type: Madonna or DVD's name into the search box, and click "ELŐADÓ › Keresés".
  31. ^ "TOP 30 DVD'S MUSICAIS SEMANA 38 de 2004" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa (AFP) — Artistas-Espectaculo.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  32. ^ "TOP 20 DVD MUSICAL: SEMANA 04: del 25.01.2010 al 31.01.2010" (in Spanish). PROMUSICAE. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  33. ^ "Official Music Video Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  34. ^ "Top Videos Year-end Chart 1988" (PDF). Music Week. March 4, 1989. p. 46. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  35. ^ "No.1 Awards: Top Videocassette Sales" (PDF). Billboard. December 24, 1988. p. Y-32. Retrieved April 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  36. ^ "The Video Decade: Top Music Videocassettes" (PDF). Billboard. January 6, 1990. p. V-26. Retrieved April 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  37. ^ Atsuko, Kimura (October 1991). "Japanese Corporations and Popular Music" (PDF). Popular Music. 10 (3): 322. doi:10.1017/S0261143000004670. JSTOR 853149. S2CID 162291337. Retrieved September 21, 2023.

References

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