Music Video Research (Beastie Boys - Sabotage)

Artist: Beastie Boys

Song: Sabotage

Camera/Editing:
It is instantly noticeable that the video is a spoof of the typical 1970's crime drama (e.g. Hawaii Five-O) features such as introducing the band members as characters along with the song title being portrayed in such fashion. Due to it being a form of spoof there are multiple intertextual references throughout the entirety of the video. The camera plays out to the song spectacularly keeping with constant switches and really keeps the pace throughout, even the transitions themselves are syncopated (done on the offbeat) emphasising the frantic pace.
Narrative:
The costumes themselves are a reference to cop dramas as portrayed with the shirt and tie. They play out the classic shenanigans of the typical crime dramas, plenty of chases, interrogations and crime fighting which are exaggerated for comedic effect are works great with the song. Moreover, the exaggeration fits the frantic action as the song is frantic itself. They even reference the cop donut cliche.
Conventional/Unconventional:
It isn't exactly a unique portrayal of the cliche however, for the genre of hip hop (yes it's hip hop) it would be considered unique. The visual style of the cop drama is great and doesn't exactly fit the persona of the stereotypical rapper which helps them stand out, although the beat itself creates that separation. The video is a classic and is widely considered as one of the best music videos of all time never mind just the '90's even being nominated for a MTV Video Music Award.
What works/What doesn't:
The costumes are an great thing about the video, they intrigue the audience and could easily make the viewer smile and or laugh. Another thing is the uniqueness of the parody choice and it plays out perfectly with the song and was a great decision. I find no real issue with the video and agree with critics in saying it is an all time great in terms of music videos.