Synopsis

New Order perform "The Perfect Kiss" in their Manchester rehearsal space, with the camera moving between intense close-ups of Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert as they play. Rather than presenting a conventional narrative or polished pop setting, the video emphasizes the physical process of performance: hands on keyboards, guitar and bass strings, drum machinery, and the musicians' concentrated expressions. The extended performance gradually builds into a stark, hypnotic portrait of the band at work.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video uses a live performance of the song rather than a lip-synced studio playback. The band recorded the performance on 24-track equipment for the filming.

• It was shot on 35mm film in New Order's rehearsal studio in Manchester, giving the performance a cinematic scale unusual for a music video built around a single room.

• The production brought together cinematographer Henri Alekan, known for his work on Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast," and editor Tony Lawson, whose credits included Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon."

• The music was mixed in Liverpool, followed by a final film mix in Los Angeles. The production reportedly cost around $200,000, an unusually large budget for a performance-based clip of the period.

• The complete video runs for roughly nine and a half minutes, reflecting the extended version of the song rather than the shorter album edit.

• Factory Records assigned the video its own catalog number, FAC 321. The number reverses the FAC 123 catalog number used for the "The Perfect Kiss" single.

• The video was later included in full on Factory Records' *Substance* video release, while excerpts were also shown on BBC television.

• Its stripped-down focus on instruments and performance helped challenge the idea that New Order's live presence was visually uneventful. The close-up-heavy approach turns their restrained stage manner into the video's central visual language.