Marilyn Manson: God Is In the TV (1999)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Pretty Good

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Besides its large collection of interesting and artful videos, this collection also features some very comic and equally entertaining views into the most controversial rock music tours of all time. Offensive, hilarious, violent, and beyond the means of bad taste, this video offers everything a person needs to keep in action with one of the greatest rock acts to ever hit the scene. Expect plenty of glam and guts, laughter and frustration, mayhem and clarity, and a few drug references.

As much as I love Marilyn Manson, "God is in the TV" is a little disappointing. I can't help but feel that he's trying to cash in on the success of the Nine Inch Nails video set "Closure", a collection of videos, live footage and backstage stuff. But where NIN's production quality looked great, Manson's video looks kind of tossed together, without "Closure"'s linking scenes. Could be the downside of squeezing at least two videos worth of material into one: you don't get much segway time.But the material on the video itself is pretty good. All the videos from the unreleased "Coma White" to the early "Get your Gunn" are included, along with some interesting concert footage. The backstage stuff isn't too memorable and a bit too random, but the scenes with Manson talking about burning a flag and tossing burritos are enjoyable. If you're a fan of Manson on any scale, this is a good video to pick up, mainly because the entire band is interesting to watch. Although I felt a little disappointed by the production quality, the videos themselves are great to watch, and that's the reason you'd see this anyway.

Over years of waiting, finally a home video with all of Marilyn Manson's music videos!The cool things about this movie is that it features all of their videos, plus an hour of backstage footage from the 1998-1999 Rock Is Dead tour! It also features the unreleased video "Cryptorchid," a spooky Nosferatu-style video with black and white imagery.In addition to basically any home video, this one has its drawbacks. It lists all of the music videos from current to past, which a fan has not come to expect. We want to see how they evolved from a little band signed to Nothing Records with a cult following up to evolving into Omega & The Mechanical Animals.Another drawback is that it does not feature the three self-made Spooky Kids videos for "Lunchbox," "Misery Machine," and "Thrift."All in all, this is a great video for anyone who are fans of Manson or his previous video, Dead To The World. I wouldn't go as far as saying this is the greatest vid in the world, but it is cool in its own way. Three out of five stars.