Product Details

• Actors: Madonna, Donna DeLory, Niki Harris, Luis Camacho, Oliver Crumes Jr.
• Directors: Alek Keshishian, Mark Aldo Miceli
• Producers: Madonna, Daniel Radford, Gregg Fienberg, Jay Roewe, Lexi Godfrey
• Format: Color, EP, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Avid Home Ent
• VHS Release Date: August 22, 1995
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303540082
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,796 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

TT (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madonna - Truth or Dare (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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Starts out great, ends up another Madonna publicity stunt., August 10, 2000

By 

"martylv" (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madonna - Truth or Dare (DVD)

Alek Keshishian's vision was indeed a noble one. This could have easily become a true "rockumentary", if Madonna had not become aware of the camera and tried to be cutesy and show off. The beginning of the film is wonderful...telling Alek to "get out" of her business conversations. Later in the film, the "candid" moments appeared very contrived. The bed scene with the dancers and singers? C'mon! Are we to believe this is candid? It's probably a good movie for the hardcore fans, but the rest of us are left with an empty and cheated feeling.

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Film, September 12, 2003

By 

J. Reynolds (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Madonna - Truth or Dare (DVD)

This was a terrific film, an informative and enjoyable look at Madonna on tour, behind the scenes. The concerts she performed required a lot of work, management and coordination, and it was fascinating to see parts of the process.

A lot of people castigate Madonna for her lifestyle, but we all need to keep a few things in mind: No law requires people to buy concert tickets or CDs from Madonna, but that's certainly not the case for public school districts, which merely arrange to tax citizens for whatever they want. There are no laws prohibiting anyone from competing with Madonna, but that's certainly not the case for our magnificent U.S. Postal Service. Madonna will always be funding her own retirement and health benefits programs -- but that's certainly not the case for our Senators/Representatives in Washington, who have bestowed lavish benefits upon themselves with money simply confiscated from taxpayers.

Madonna is a fine artist, along with being a successful free-market capitalist competitor. She has built a fortune for herself by pleasing others, and not causing any problems for anyone else. The truth is, all of us should dare to emulate the personal passion whish has fueled her success.