The Cure
Director Tim Pope wanted to visualize the extreme claustrophobia described in Robert Smith's lyrics. He built a custom wardrobe, stuffed the entire band inside, and simulated throwing it off the famous Beachy Head cliff in England. For the final scenes, the wardrobe was lowered into a massive studio water tank, forcing the band to perform while literally sinking in freezing water. It turns a quirky pop video into an absolute physical endurance test. The video actually influenced the song itself. Tim Pope told Robert Smith the video shoot felt so claustrophobic that they went back into the studio and remixed the track to sound even denser for the single release. The crew ate Indian food for lunch on the day they shot inside the confined wardrobe, leading Tim Pope to joke that he always associates this video with a very specific "smellscape." The video for the 1990 "Mixed Up" remix picks up exactly where this one left off, showing the band emerging from the sunken wardrobe and fighting a giant starfish and octopus.