Christopher Cross - "Charm The Snake"

I guess these are the best finds of all: Discovering a Fincher video that you have never heard of before. Not necessarily because these are Fincher's best works, which is highly unlikely, but rather because it expands the Fincher cosmos known to man (known to the fanatics) and deepens our appreciation for the vast body of work David Fincher has compiled and had compiled even at an astonishingly early age.

Big thanks to an anonymous contributor, who has unearthed yet another one of those treasures: As Billboard Magazine reported in 1985 then 23 year-old David Fincher directed Christopher Cross' racing clip for "Charm The Snake".

© Billboard Magazine, November 1985

It's a curious early work by our favorite director. In the video, which has a few nice racing shots, I couldn't spot a single shot of what would later evolve to be the Fincher signature style. There are some lightning fast cuts of parts of machinery that are shot in somewhat of a fincheresque light and there is one memorable dolly shot during the box-stopp montage -- but nothing really that would remind viewers of the genius-in-the-making helming the work.

I would be interested to hear the stories surrounding these early gigs from Fincher himself. I can well imagine at this point in his career it was all about getting acquainted with the technology, developing a routine in working with a 30-man crew and not loosing your head over having to scrap 50% of your nicely storyboarded shots. Fincher has admitted his music video years were his film school. And as such, like we know, they have served him very well.

I didn't mean to ramble so long. I guess this comes in part due to the great new collaborators, who have signed up to help out on the blog. Let me say thanks to the new editorial team, whom the readers will get acquainted with over time. You are truly a blessing to this blog, and I am hoping we will continue to put out Fincher news more frequently, more timely and, well, just more. Thanks!

Now thanks again to the contributor for this find.
Here's the video:

http://www.spike.com/video/christopher-cross/2789175