Madonna is without doubt one of the most influential and provocative performers of our time. She has topped the charts throughout the world for two decades and still looks as strong as ever. She has the rare talent of being able to reinvent herself, not only musically but also with her image. Despite her incredible musical success, she has ventured into the world of feature films on many occasions and for the most part has failed.

Madonna – The Collection is a box set release containing a good variance of her films. First up is the film Desperately Seeking Susan, which was made at the height of her early fame and suited her perfectly. Next is the biographical feature In Bed With Madonna, which was also known as Truth Or Dare and is again a fine film, although acting was not really required for her role here as she simply allowed cameras to follow her on tour. Lastly is the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, where she portrays a Sharon Stone clone in a film very much similar to Basic Instinct.

When it comes to box sets featuring a certain artist, there will always be debate as to whether the included features should be there. Many would prefer to see a Madonna collection featuring her live shows, perhaps a set of The Girlie Show, Ciao Italia and The Drowned World Tour 2001 would attract a larger market? Who knows, maybe these are planned for a future box set release? With this box set, I personally feel the only debatable inclusion is Body of Evidence, which really is a weak film, but the other two are certainly worthy inclusions.

There is very little in the way of extras with this release overall, apart from theatrical trailers which are pretty standard these days, Desperately Seeking Susan is the only disc to offer anything worthwhile in the way of bonuses, boasting deleted scenes and commentaries. The video and audio transfer on all three discs is of very good quality and as far as the standard of the films contained is concerned, well two out of three ain’t bad.

Overall this collection is a matter of personal taste. Madonna fans will more than likely have seen Desperately Seeking Susan and In Bed With Madonna at some point so will know what to expect. Although Body of Evidence did do well at the box office, many Madonna fans are still yet to see it and will be grateful they haven’t. I cannot confirm the packaging for this release as none was supplied, but it does look good in pictures, hey it’s red and everything!