July 18, 2025 at 8:15 pm on RTL

50 Years of Music Videos

A whole decade has passed since the successful premiere of "40 Years of Music Videos." Time to take a fresh look back. Which records have since been broken? Which milestones have stood the test of time? How influential were the past ten years? Answers to these and many more fascinating questions will be provided in the five-hour primetime documentary highlight "50 Years of Music Videos."

It all started with Queen. When "Bohemian Rhapsody" flickered across TV screens around the world in 1975, a revolution began: the music video genre was born and quickly took the world by storm, ultimately leading to the founding of MTV six years later. Soon, no hit could exist without a video. Directors’ creativity exploded, and the simple promo clips of the early days evolved into mini-movies or breathtaking experiments with never-before-seen special effects. "40 Years of Music Videos" explained how these videos came to be, revealed the creators’ tricks, and told incredible stories of success and scandal.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the music video, this new documentary spans from the early precursors to milestone videos of the 1980s like Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" or Peter Gabriel’s "Sledgehammer," from Madonna’s provocative 1990s to Lady Gaga’s eccentric clips of the 2000s, from epic productions like Duran Duran’s "Wild Boys" to the computer-animated videos of the virtual band Gorillaz. It culminates in the "here and now" (2024) with new superstars like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, whose lavish promo clips achieve incredible click and streaming numbers. It also explores a new, critical perspective found in videos by Beyoncé, Childish Gambino, or Lil Nas X.

Music video directors, contemporary witnesses, and experts share their insights, as do celebrities, hosts, and VJs who experienced the rise of music television firsthand. Among them are Anastasia Zampounidis, Collien Ulmen-Fernandes, Steve Blame, Markus Kavka, Nilz Bokelberg, Ingolf Lück, Jan Köppen, Jo Groebel, Uwe Flade, Peter Schilling, Giovanni Zarrella, Claudia Roth, Rudi Dolezal, and many more.

"50 Years of Music Videos" takes viewers on an exciting and informative journey through the most thrilling, original, crazy, touching, elaborate, and scandalous music videos ever made.