Synopsis

Against a stark black background, a succession of men and women sing directly into the camera. Their faces gradually dissolve and wipe into one another, with different ages, features, and ethnicities merging into an uncanny, fluid human composite. Godley & Creme remain largely absent as visible performers, allowing the rotating gallery of faces to carry the song's emotional weight. The simple setup grows increasingly hypnotic, turning a straightforward performance video into a meditation on shared feeling and the universality of heartbreak.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video's famous face-changing effect was created with analog video techniques rather than the computer-generated morphing associated with later productions. Carefully aligned dissolves and soft wipes made parts of one face appear over another.

• The concept was reportedly a last-minute alternative. Godley & Creme had initially hoped to feature ice dancers Torvill and Dean, but scheduling problems made that impossible.

• The pair filmed a large collection of people singing close-ups without initially knowing exactly how the footage would be assembled. The final visual language emerged during the editing process.

• According to Kevin Godley, the breakthrough came when a soft wipe caused individual facial features to overlap in unexpected ways. A nose or mouth from one performer could appear across the face of another, changing the mood of the entire edit.

• The video became a major reference point for later face-morphing sequences, including the much more computer-intensive transformation scene in Michael Jackson's "Black or White."

• "Cry" was released in 1985 as part of The History Mix Volume 1 and became Godley & Creme's biggest international pop hit. The video remains their most widely recognized visual work.