Description
DISC 1: MADONNA MADAME X Concert Film Original release date of October 8th 2021: Madame X is a 2021 documentary concert film starring American singer-songwriter Madonna, chronicling her Madame X Tour. Written and produced by Madonna herself, the film was shot in January 2020 when she held her concerts in Lisbon, Portugal at the Coliseu dos Recreios. The film was directed by Ricardo Gomes and SKNX. The film’s official premiere was held on September 23, 2021 at the Paradise Club on top of the Times Square Edition hotel in New York City.
After an introductory montage tying the secret agent-like Madame X persona to the scandals provoked by the real-life Madonna (best bit: “The most controversial thing I have ever done is to stick around”), things kick off with a very peculiar disclaimer: “Don’t forget — none of this is real.”
“Artists are here to disturb the peace,” goes the James Baldwin quote, and Madonna seizes on that call to action — to testify, to bear witness, to force people to look — as the launch point for her Madame X stage show. As a video montage presents different versions of Madonna, her voice over posits the myriad roles of a woman in society: “dancer, professor, a head of state, a housekeeper, an equestrian, a prisoner, a student, a mother, a child, a teacher, a nun, a singer, a saint, a whore…a spy in the house of love.” And with that, the first sequence begins, a medley of the strident Madame X track “God Control” cut with “Human Nature” from the 1994 album Bedtime Stories. Marching, dancing cops with police shields are gradually replaced onstage by a group of women with raised fists (“I’m not sorry…”), a group that includes Madonna’s young twin daughters Stella and Estere, and the entire thing organically shifts into an a capella, audience-participating retelling of “Express Yourself” from 1989’s Like a Prayer. That’s a 30-year span of disturbing the peace in the space of 20 minutes.
The stage banter is actually pretty lively in Madame X. On the one hand, Madonna strikes notes of poignancy and pride when she speaks after Orquestra Batukadeiras’s appearance. “I’m so proud to know these women,” she says, “who represent the strength of being female, not only for Cabo Verde, but also for women all around the world.” But on the other hand, Maddy can also be a stage-savvy nightclub ham, chatting with the audience while quick-changing her costume. “It’s very hard to hear with one eye,” wisecracks the eyepatch-clad Madame X.
Track Listing:
1. “Intro”
2. “God Control”
3. “Dark Ballet”
4. “Human Nature”
5. “Vogue”
6. “I Don’t Search, I Find”
7. “American Life”
8. “Batuka”
9. “Fado Pechincha” (featuring Gaspar Varela)
10. “Killers Who Are Partying”
11. “Crazy”
12. “Welcome to My Fado Club”
13. “Medellín”
14. “Extreme Occident”
15. “Breathwork”
16. “Frozen”
17. “Come Alive”
18. “Future”
19. “Like a Prayer”
20. “I Rise”
Total Running Time: 1 Hour 57 Minutes
DISC 2: MADAME XTRA Q&A Original release date of November 18th 2021: The recording of the Q&A session is directed by SKNX (Sasha Kasiuha and Nuno Xico) and was released on Paramount+ on November 18, 2021. The discussion was assisted by RuPaul’s Drag Race winners Symone and Aquaria. On October 28, 2021, Madonna went on to tease a list of artists who submitted a question to her including, Lil Wayne, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Amy Schumer, Katy Perry, Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg, FKA Twigs, Jeremy Scott, Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande, and Jimmy Fallon.
Total Running Time: 37 Minutes
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