Product Details

• Actors: Madonna, Donna DeLory, Niki Harris, Luis Camacho, Oliver Crumes Jr.
• Directors: Alek Keshishian
• Producers: Madonna, Daniel Radford, Gregg Fienberg, Jay Roewe, Lexi Godfrey
• Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Live / Artisan
• DVD Release Date: August 27, 1997
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0784010501
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,104 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Madonna - Truth or Dare" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Norman Mailer may have come up with the title Advertisements for Myself, but in this case, Madonna is the one who really wrote the book. Truth or Dare, an engaging behind-the-scenes look at the pop star's Blonde Ambition tour, is a feature-film advertisement for herself that Roger Ebert cleverly dubbed "an authorized invasion of privacy." How much of it is calculated and how much of it is genuine, what Madonna chooses to reveal about herself and what she actually reveals in the process, are up to the viewer to decide. Patterned in part after the classic D.A. Pennebaker documentary of Bob Dylan Don't Look Back, the black-and-white sections of Truth or Dare offer glimpses into her offstage life, while excerpts from the show are seen in color. Madonna's relationship with her father and brother, the maternal control she wields over her dancers, her giggly friendship with Sandra Bernhard, her crush on Antonio Banderas (later to become her costar in the movie version of Evita), the waning days of her relationship with Warren Beatty (who accuses her of wanting to exist only for the camera)--all of it becomes self-conscious fodder for a fascinating examination of modern pop stardom. --Jim Emerson

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 102 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING DOCUMENTARY BUT WHO IS IN CHARGE OF MADONNA'S RELEASES?? February 17, 2012

By PourHomme80

Format:Blu-ray

As a dedicated Madonna fan for the last 25+ years, once again I am left disappointed with another repackage/release.
Why did we have to wait so long for a blu-ray of Truth Or Dare for one, especially since this HD version has been playing on Palladia (TV Network) in the US for over two years.

Ok fine, so we have to wait forever...could it be because "the powers that be" are working on making this an epic collection, especially since this documentary is 22 years old and M's fragrance of the same name is coming out at around the same time of this blu-ray release. Nope! I was wrong. The ONLY bonus is a trailer.
The VHS edition from 20 years ago even contained more bonuses - 2 extra performance videos from the Blond Ambition Show (I believe the full Like a Prayer and the full Hanky Panky).

Honestly, in this day and age when media is so easily accessible and dvd/blu-ray/record sales are dropping, media companies should be working their tails off to get us dedicated fans to drop more money on a product that we have several versions of already. I had the VHS edition, the DVD edition, and have the Palladia HD version sitting on my DVR as we speak.
Miramax/Lionsgate - Give us some bonus features!! Nothing fancy, maybe all those outtakes from this documentary that are floating all over the internet, maybe some more performances. We all know Alek shot the entire Blond Ambition show in HD. Where is it? The commercials that Madonna shot for MTV contests. I mean there are so many opportunities here. Oh and this time, I cant blame Warner Brothers. Maybe its just Madonna/'s management.

Aside from my rant, if you just want to see Madonna at the PINNACLE of her career, her most brazen, her most strong-willed, her most beautiful and the beginning of the most controversial era in her career, this is the documentary to watch. Long before Lady Gaga (whom I absolutely adore), the queen of pop, was forcing us to expand our horizons, ask questions and taught us to show love and compassion and equal treatment for all and this is why she is a true legend.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Truth or Dare: True Madonna Fans Only September 2, 2000

By TT

Format:DVD

Unless you're a true Madonna fan, you may not have the patience to sit through this documentary of her life on the Blonde Ambition concert tour. But if you're interested in what it's like to be one of the biggest female pop artists on tour, you may want to rent this film.

The majority of the film is in black and white, while the concerts were shot in color. The title of the film is taken from a scene of "truth or dare" that Madonna plays with her entourage of dancers and backup singers in which she reveals a very personal feeling of hers that she originally refused to allow in the film. The director said that Madonna would have to kill him in order to cut that one scene... so the scene was left in.

I found it interesting to see what happens the moment Madonna steps off stage--what goes on between shows or even songs. When technical problems occur during the show, she makes it known (in a not-so-subtle way) to her technical directors.

You get a glimpse of what kind of relationships Madonna leads and the roles that she plays in them. You meet her dad and brother, and see what sort of relationship they have as a family. For the most part, however, her tour family is made up of her dancers and backup singers.

You probably haven't seen this side of Madonna before, and you probably never will again. It's just a brief slice of her life.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Rock Documentary out there of life on the road February 28, 2012

By Kevin VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

The documentary came out in the early 90's and is still the #1 most successful documentary of all time. When it hit theaters no one had ever seen anything like it before. It was a back stage glimpse at what celebrity life is really like. Some believe this was at the height of Madonna's success when she was beyond big. Today no one has come close to the caliber she reached at that point. There was only her out there, whereas today there are so many and most are just marketed, packaged clones of what was already done.

Madonna is brazen, bold and maybe even loud mouthed. Is she playing it for the camera? In some sequences there is a definite heightened version shown on screen of what she wanted people to see. Other times she is completely oblivious to the camera's being there like for example when she's angry with her sound crew for not making sure that the sound and microphones were top notch.

This isn't just about celebrity, this also showed Madonna's ferocious work ethic and attention to detail. It displayed the business side of her that most are or were unaware of. Siskel & Ebert had commented that this was someone who could run a business empire if she wanted to just quit music for good.

At this point Madonna had rarely done interviews and she was way beyond powerful. No one was quite sure what she was like. This gave viewers an up close and personal view. What was also great about this was it also showed her generous side by allowing her back up singers and dancers adequate screen time.

The documentary is in black and white, but it cuts into color for the many on stage concert performances of the tour she was on while this was being filmed. The Blonde Ambition Tour in 1990. This was a technically staged concert that was so elaborate it had also never been done before and set the bar really high for performers and musicians to really put on a great show. We later saw other artists like Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga do the same - just to name a few.

This film was so well done and so well received that even the Madonna haters went to see it as well, coming out of the theaters saying things like, "Well I never liked her, but after seeing this I have to say I do admire how hard she works. I have a new found respect for her."

If you can turn a life long hater to folding and admitting they have appreciation for her even if they don't care for her music then you know the film did its job.

Madonna is much calmer and more spiritual now so I should warn that this documentary features strong language and sexual innuendo that might be deemed offensive to some. However, most know what Madonna is like and can be, so no warning should be necessary.

It's unfortunate that the full tour concert has yet to be released on DVD, but in this film you do get an edited glimpse of some performances that include, "Express Yourself", "Oh Father", "Like A Virgin", "Live to Tell", "Holiday", "Vogue" and "Keep it Together".