''Ciao Italia: Live from Italy'' (credited as ''Madonna: Ciao, Italia! Live from Italy'' in the video sequence) is a video album by American singer-songwriter
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
and was released by
Warner Reprise Video and
Sire Records
Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
History Beginnings
The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...
on May 24, 1988. It contained footage from a previous TV special of the
Who's That Girl World Tour
The Who's That Girl World Tour (billed as Who's That Girl World Tour 1987) was the second concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her 1986 third studio album '' True Blue'', as well as the 1987 soundtrack ''Who ...
, ''Madonna in Concerto'', broadcast in Europe in 1987, filmed at the
Stadio Comunale in
Turin, Italy
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
. The video release also contained footage from shows recorded in Florence, Italy and Tokyo, Japan, the latter having previously been released as a Japanese TV special and home video release, ''Who's That Girl: Live in Japan''. The decision to release ''Ciao Italia'' was spurred by the fact that this previous release became a commercial success in Japan. A re-release of the video took place in 1999, when it was released in DVD format, with a stereo soundtrack containing the songs only.
The video received positive reviews from critics, who noted Madonna's showmanship and her skills as a performer. They also complimented the camera work in the video, for enhancing the visual aspects of the tour. ''Ciao Italia'' topped the Music Video sales chart of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', and became the second best-selling music video cassette of 1988. It was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for shipment of 100,000 copies.
Background
Madonna's 1987
Who's That Girl World Tour
The Who's That Girl World Tour (billed as Who's That Girl World Tour 1987) was the second concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her 1986 third studio album '' True Blue'', as well as the 1987 soundtrack ''Who ...
was a critical and commercial success, earning US $25 million and playing in front of an audience of 1.5 million.
When the time came for the video release of the tour, Warner Bros. decided to release it only in Japan, where Madonna's previous video albums had not been released. This decision was also backed by the profit that the Who's That Girl World Tour had achieved from its Japanese leg.
Named as ''Who's That Girl: Live in Japan'', the video contained a live date from the tour, filmed at
Korakuen Stadium
was a stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Completed in 1937, it was originally used for baseball, and was home to the Yomiuri Giants for nearly 50 years. For various periods of time, it was also the home stadium of six other professional Japanese baseball ...
in
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
on June 22, 1987. It was also aired as a television special in Japan only and was the first television broadcast there using
Dolby Surround
Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround.
Dolby Stereo (also known as ''Dolby MP'' or ''Dolby SVA'') was developed by Dolby in 1976 f ...
sound.
The release was a commercial success, prompting Warner to release a different version of the tour video, for the rest of the world. Although the Japanese concert was released on
VHS and
LaserDisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
, Warner Music Japan has never officially made it available on DVD.
The video was released on May 24, 1988, and contained video compilation of two different dates from the tour, Turin and from Florence, as well as clips from her concert in Tokyo, Japan. The video had an introduction, where Madonna was shown practicing with her troupe on the stage, rehearsing the songs and the dance moves. Madonna, who had gone through rigorous exercises and aerobics to prepare herself for the tour, demanded from director Egbert van Hees that the shape of her body be given prominence in the footage to be used for the video. She believed that her new shape and figure would make her appear highly attractive. In 1999, Warner Bros. re-released the video in DVD format, along with some of Madonna's other video albums. The music video appears in an aspect ratio of
1.33:1 (4:3) on the single-sided, single-layered DVD. The concert relied heavily on magenta tones; from the lighting to Madonna’s outfits. A stereo soundtrack accompanied the DVD release, where the songs were mixed without having a
surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...
effect.
Reception
Critical response
Andrew Perala from ''
Anchorage Daily News
The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska.
The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage, ...
'' complimented the video, saying "If you have a secret fondness for pop singer Madonna, you would want to check out her ''Ciao Italia'', the singer's concert film from Italy. You can be pleasantly surprised at how amazing she is." Heather Phares from
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
said: "Madonna's ''Ciao Italia: Live From Italy'' captures a performance from her 1988 world tour and features hits like '
Lucky Star Lucky Star, The Lucky Star or Lucky Starr may refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media Anime and manga
* ''Lucky Star'' (manga), a manga, anime, and video game series
* "Lucky Star", one of the Angel Frames from the anime and manga series ''Galaxy ...
', '
True Blue', '
La Isla Bonita
"La Isla Bonita" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album '' True Blue'' (1986). Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, with additional lyrics by Bruce Gaitsch, the song was originally presented by Leonard ...
', '
Like a Virgin', and '
Material Girl
"Material Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). It was released on November 30, 1984, by the Sire label as the second single from ''Like a Virgin''. It also appears slightly ...
'. A much simpler, less choreographed performance than her later extravaganzas like
The Girlie Show World Tour
The Girlie Show was the fourth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna, in support of her fifth studio album, ''Erotica'' (1992). In October 1992, Madonna simultaneously released ''Erotica'' and the coffee table book ''Sex''. The ...
, Ciao Italia is still entertaining in its own right, and will definitely please fans nostalgic for some old-school Madonna hits."
Dennis Hunt from ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' gave a positive review, saying "A festive Italian stadium show featuring the Material Girl, who's turned into a first-rate entertainer, strutting and singing in flashy production-number renditions of her recent most ''Billboard'' topping songs, is indeed a delight. The video captures the enormity of Madonna as a performer, and her theatrics, oomph and chutzpah."
Tom Shales from ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' said that "''Ciao Italia'' works wonderful because it makes Madonna look like she's at home, with her Italian family all around her.
..A Turin soccer stadium became the sexual center of the universe last year when Madonna, one of our naughtiest superstars, taped this concert there before 75,000 gyrating Italians. Ebullient and insouciant, Madonna sings her hits-including the darkly beautiful 'Live to Tell'—in cavernous stereo; dances engagingly with 14-year-old Chris Finch, the quintessential Lucky Little Boy; and crowns herself queen of teases, bending over to reveal 'Kiss' printed on her underpants
..Sheer showmanship is present in her performances as well as the camera work of this video." Jim Farber from ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' said that "this version of Madonna's Who's That Girl Tour returns the star to the medium where she excels best. On videocassette, however, Madonna makes manipulation seem like an exciting message indeed." Colin Jacobson from the DVD Movie Guide however, gave a negative review of the album, saying "Possibly the biggest problem with ''Ciao Italia'' regarded the sloppy manner in which the program was assembled. I can’t recall if ''Italia'' appeared as a TV special that aired live or if it was taped and edited specifically for future broadcast screenings, but it certainly looked like something that was created on the fly. Sloppy camerawork and editing abound, as those two factors don’t flow together terribly well. It felt as though they tried their best to get appropriate material at the time but that they failed to massage it after the fact."
Commercial performance
The release debuted at number 17 on ''Billboard''s Top Music Video chart, on June 4, 1988 and reached number eight the next week. The video started a steady climb on the chart, and on the issue dated August 20, 1988, it reached number three on the chart.
''Ciao Italia'' ultimately reached the top of the chart, remaining there for eight weeks.
It was the 27th top selling videocassette for 1988. The video was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Platinu ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for shipment of 100,000 copies.
''Ciao Italia'' debuted and peaked at number three on the Canadian ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
'' Top 10 Video chart on June 9, 1990.
It was present for a total of eight weeks on the chart.
It also charted at number three on the
Finnish DVD chart in 2009.
Track listing
Notes
*"White Heat" contains elements from the theme of ''
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...
.''
*"Like a Virgin" contains an excerpt from "
I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 hit song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.
Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "I Can't Help Myself" is one of the most well-know ...
."
Formats
It was released on
VHS,
Laserdisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
and later
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
, in an aspect ratio of
1.33:1 on the single-sided, single-layered DVD.
Credits and personnel
*Egbert van Hees –
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
*Riccardo Mario Corato –
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
– singer, performer, dancer
*
Shabba Doo
Adolfo Gutierrez Quiñones or Adolfo Gordon Quiñones (sources differ) (May 11, 1955 – December 29, 2020), known professionally as Shabba Doo, was an American actor, break dancer, and choreographer of African American and Puerto Rican descent.H ...
–
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
, dancer
*
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), ''Who's ...
– keyboards
*Jai Winding – keyboards
*
Jonathan Moffett
Jonathan Phillip "Sugarfoot" Moffett (born November 17, 1954) is an American drummer, songwriter and producer from New Orleans, Louisiana. Beginning in 1979, Moffett collaborated with the Jackson family, particularly Michael Jackson, over the co ...
– drums
*
David Williams – guitar
*James Harrah – guitar
*Kerry Hatch – bass
*
Luis Conte
Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...
– percussion
*
Donna De Lory
Donna De Lory is an American singer, dancer and songwriter. Part of a musical family, De Lory has been performing since a young age. Her voice can be heard on albums by Carly Simon, Ray Parker Jr., Kim Carnes, Santana, Martika, Laura Branigan, Be ...
– background vocals
*
Niki Haris
Niki Haris (born April 17, 1962) is an American singer and dancer of pop, R&B, dance music and jazz, perhaps best known for having been one of Madonna's backing vocalists from 1987 to 2001, and as being the guest lead vocalist on various Snap! s ...
– background vocals
*Debra Parsons – background vocals
*Ángel Ferreira – dancer
*Chris Finch – dancer
Credits and personnel adapted from ''Ciao Italia: Live from Italy'' video liner notes.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Madonna.com > Tours > Who's That Girl World Tour*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciao, Italia! - Live From Italy
1988 video albums
Live video albums
Concert films
Madonna video albums
Reprise Records video albums
Sire Records video albums
Warner Records video albums
Warner Music Vision video albums