Cannes, 1991: The "Insane Atmosphere", from Minute 1

Those were the (absolutely insane) days. Every little move M made, it would make headlines. Everywhere she stepped her foot in, it would turn the whole damn place upside down. No wonder: world-stopping events like the Blond Ambition Tour and the Justify My Love video were a few months behind.

And now, another monumental feature: the Truth or Dare documentary. Now, it was time to show it to Europe - and no better place to do it than the Cannes Film Festival.

The euro-insane atmosphere was immediately set, the first minute she arrived at Nice airport, on May 12, 1991. The Los Angeles Times tells it all.

(I remember hearing about "The Cannes Incident" so well...)

«Cannes Dares to Be Seduced by Madonna.
Welcoming the pop star and filmmaker Akira Kurosawa on the same day, you can't say the film festival doesn't have range--or a sense of humor.

If the camera crews that followed pop singer Madonna on her Blonde Ambition tour had been with her Saturday afternoon, they would have gotten great footage for a sequel to her new documentary, "Truth or Dare." A source close to Madonna said that when she arrived in Nice, French customs officials, acting on a tip that she would have drugs with her, held the star up for an hour-and-a-half while she was searched.
"It's ridiculous because everybody knows Madonna doesn't do drugs," the source said. "She was really upset about it."
Welcome to the Cannes Film Festival, Madonna. We could have told you it's a zoo, but then we never knew you'd be here. The festival loves stars--adores them--but they usually save this kind of excitement for a movie star. In fact, Cannes veterans say they haven't seen anything like this since Brigitte Bardot's appearance in 1952.»

Los Angeles Times
May 13, 1991
Jack Mathews, Cannes report

West coast to East coast

Two days after the world premiere, Madonna flew to New York, to attend the second US premiere of Truth Or Dare.

This time, it was all about fashion: for the Big Apple event, M presented herself in absolute fierceness. While hair & makeup was all about Old Hollywood glamour, from the neck down there it was: the classic Dolce & Gabbana chunky beaded bustier - later on, Diamond and Pearl would wear it in Prince's Cream video.

Once again, the press went wild. Lauren Hutton, Susan Sarandon, Ron Silver («She's enriching the public debate», he wisely said) and Debbie Harry were some of the celebrity guests who attended the premiere.

Just like in LA, all the profits from the NY event went to AIDS Project Los Angeles and AIDS Action Foundation.

Next stop: a monumental, European moment that we would never forget.

Truth Or Dare: the world premiere

Although we immediately think of Cannes when we talk about the Truth Or Dare premiere, it was actually in Los Angeles that the movie had its world premiere.

On May 6th 1991, Madonna came out as a brunette (what an amazing dark hair!) and set LA on fire with this huge event, starting with a screening at the Hollywood Cinerama Dome. Two hours later, the Queen, her entourage (director, brother, backup singers and dancers) and all the guests danced the night away at the Arena.

And here are the TV reports. Altought CNN's words are full of crap, the images are great. And how I love Liz in full action! The Validator rules!!!

Then, MTV's (attempt to do an) interview. Madonna at her ultimate best, channelling Susan. I could watch this 24/7.

«She bares her nipples and her soul»

For the first time on film, the bitch goddess descends from her pedestal to laugh at her narcissism. She bares her nipples and her soul. She wants to be liked. Is this vulnerable Madonna the real thing or a ploy to ingratiate herself with film audiences who've found her chilly and strident? You be the judge. But there's no denying that Truth Or Dare is at its raunchy best when Madonna is kicking ass instead of kissing it.

Rolling Stone, 1991

Like we've never seen her before

It was simply one of Madonna's boldest, bravest and decisive moves.

Originally titled Truth or Dare: On the Road, Behind the Scenes and In Bed with Madonna, the documentary that stopped the world in 1991 simply needs no introduction.

All of us M fans thought we died and entered the gates of Heaven; press from all around the globe went wild about it; 10-page articles were written by movie critics and scholars, dissecting the whole «true-not-true» question.

So here we were: one year after the monumental Blond Ambition, M was at the height of her popularity... again. No doubt about it: she was the absolute female pop icon of the 90s.

Twenty years after its release, and with a second (kinda) sequel in the meantime, Truth Or Dare is still one of the most amazing things M has ever generated.

Because no words will everencaplusate the Truth Or Dare experience, here are some interesting facts about it:

While sketching the first ideas in early 1990, she thought about David Fincher to direct this documentary about the upcoming tour. At the last minute she dropped it and turned into a small-time video director whose college thesis she'd admired: Alek Keshishian.

The only moments when M said to Alek «You just can't» were during business meetings and with her grandmother.

Truth Or Dare was the most financially successful documentary of all time, making a total $15,012,935 at the box office. The film cost $4 million to make.