Lenny Kravitz ＂Believe＂ - Lenny Kravitz ＂Believe＂

What this video is

Released in May 1993, 'Believe' arrived at the height of Lenny Kravitz's commercial breakthrough following Are You Gonna Go My Way. The video captures a pivotal cultural moment: the collision of early-90s retro-rock revivalism with the emerging MTV auteur video movement. By enlisting Michel Gondry — then a little-known French director weeks away from helming Björk's 'Human Behaviour' — Kravitz positioned the video…

Why it matters

Represents an early benchmark of the arthouse music video as cinematic homage — predating the widespread adoption of this practice in the mid-to-late 90s. As one of Gondry's first major international commissions, it documents the formative phase of a director who would redefine the music video…

The director

French filmmaker born 1964 in Versailles, grandson of inventor Constant Martin. Began career directing music videos for his band Oui Oui, then launched internationally with Björk's 'Human Behaviour' (1993). Pioneer of experimental music video techniques;…