Becoming Madonna, directed by Michael Ogden, is an unofficial documentary that offers fresh insights into one of pop’s most compelling origin stories.
via: Attitude
It’s one of pop music’s foundational fables – a young girl moves to New York with only $35 in her pocket and asks her taxi driver to simply ‘take her to the centre of it all’. A few short years later she’s quite literally ruling the world as the undisputed Queen of Pop.
If that didn’t give it away, we are, of course, referring to the humble beginnings of Madonna. And now, a new documentary aims to pull back the curtain on what has been described as “one of the greatest origin stories in pop.”
Coming exclusively to Sky over the festive period, Becoming Madonna is an unofficial documentary directed by Michael Ogden which uses archival footage built around newly uncovered audio tapes of the then-burgeoning starlet reflecting on her life and career. The trailer has just landed and it looks set to thrill both life long Madonna fans and those who have always wondered about the ‘Ray of Light’ legend.
The film, which features rare video footage and never before seen images of the ‘Like A Virgin’ singer, will track the years from 1978 – 1992. During this time, Madonna famously reinvented herself many times, from a new wave rocker to a less than virginal bride to the most shocking, controversial pop star of her day following the release of her notorious Sex book in 1992. These years also included the star’s tumultuous marraige to Sean Penn and relationship with silver screen icon Warren Beatty.
The documentary will also dive deep into some of the tragic events which shaped her, including the death of her mother in early childhood and later the deaths of dance teacher Christopher Flynn and close friend Martin Burgoyne at the height of the AIDS epidemic.
In addition to these audio tapes of the Material Girl herself, the documentary also includes ‘intimate recordings’ with those closest to the star during her heady early days in New York City, including some who have never been interviewed for a documentary before. Whilst it’s not yet known exactly who those voices are, one voice which many Madonna fans will instantly recognise in the trailer is that of her late brother Christopher Ciccone.
Christopher, who served as her backup dancer in her earliest music videos and performances before ultimately going on to act as art director for the star’s legendary Blond Ambition tour, can be heard in the trailer telling an interviewer: “She was our mother’s namesake. It either crushes you or it elevates you.”
To hear Ciccone’s voice is especially poignant in the wake of his recent passing earlier this year after he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Though inseperable in their early days, the pair’s relationship famously became strained following her marriage to Guy Ritchie and they were estranged for a number of years after the publication of Ciccone’s tell all memoir Life With My Sister Madonna.
Earlier this year, in a moving tribute to Christopher following his death, Madonna wrote on Instagram about her late brother: “He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him.”
Becoming Madonna lands on Sky Documentaries and NOW on 30 December.
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