Synopsis

Madonna appears as a masked, gold-toothed dominatrix, while grainy footage from the making of her Sex book reveals a world of staged seduction, role-play and liberated sexuality. The images move between studio sessions, candid encounters and provocative tableaux, with appearances by Naomi Campbell and Isabella Rossellini. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the video functions as a fast-cut collage of fantasy and documentary-style fragments, presenting eroticism as performance, spectacle and deliberate provocation.

Factoids & Trivia

• Most of the video was assembled from Super 8 footage filmed during Steven Meisel's photo sessions for Madonna's 1992 book Sex.

• The clip was shot in New York in August 1992. Reported locations include the Kitchen, the Chelsea Hotel and the Gaiety Theatre.

• Madonna reportedly developed the concept by imagining what she found erotic, whether or not those fantasies reflected her personal experiences.

• The visual language draws on Andy Warhol and the Factory scene, as well as Kenneth Anger's short film Fireworks.

• The video features appearances by Naomi Campbell and Isabella Rossellini, and includes imagery involving bondage, drag, same-sex intimacy and group sexuality.

• MTV initially limited the video to three late-night broadcasts before removing it from regular rotation. It later returned with a warning about its explicit sexual themes.

• NBC and the large video screens in Times Square also declined to show it, while the interactive music channel The Box aired it and made it its number-one video.

• The video became an important part of the wider Erotica era, which also included the Sex book, the album of the same name and the later Girlie Show performances.

• It was later included on Madonna's 2009 compilation Celebration: The Video Collection.