A Certain Sacrifice

A Certain Sacrifice
VHS front cover
Directed byStephen Jon Lewicki
Written byStephen Jon Lewicki
Jeremy Pattnosh
Robert Manganaro Morris
StarringMadonna
Jeremy Pattnosh
Charles Kurtz
Narrated byChuck Varesko
CinematographyStephen Jon Lewicki
Edited byStephen Jon Lewicki
Robert Manganaro Morris
Music byJeremy Pattnosh
Production
company
Cine Cine Productions
Distributed byVidimax Home Entertainment
Virgin Video
Worldvision Home Video
Release date
  • October 1, 1985 (1985-10-01)
Running time
60 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20,000[2]

A Certain Sacrifice is a 1985 American drama film co-written and directed by Stephen Jon Lewicki and starring Madonna, Jeremy Pattnosh and Charles Kurtz. It was Madonna's first movie, filmed from September 1979 through June 1981, but not released until 1985.[3]

A Certain Sacrifice is an independent-underground art film,[4][5][6][7] shot on-and-off over two years in New York City on a low-budget of just $20,000.[2][8] Madonna finished her scenes in late 1980.[9] The video release sold 50,000 copies in its first-week, and the film developed a certain cult status among some of Madonna's fans and collectors by that time.[10]

  1. ^ O'Brien 2018, p. 535
  2. ^ a b Heatley 1996, p. 186
  3. ^ Bessman, Jim (August 3, 1985). "Madonna's 'Sacrifice' Hits Home Market". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 31. p. 30. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Bego 2000, p. 55
  5. ^ McCrossan 2000, p. 160
  6. ^ "The Wall Street Journal Index". The Wall Street Journal. Vol. 2. 1985. p. 1529. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  7. ^ Braun 2007, p. 98
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crouse was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Willistein, Paul (January 11, 1986). "THE REAL Madonna Movie". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Koopmans was invoked but never defined (see the help page).