Under the Bridge



Under the Bridge was shot on the streets of Los Angeles and in a studio soundstage. It begins with Frusciante standing alone on a pedestal wearing a red-and-white-striped collared shirt, brown khaki pants, brown shoes, and a purple, green and multicolored pom-pom hat with white stitched wolves in the middle. He played a 1962 Ocean Turquoise Fender Jaguar behind the backdrop of a desert and an inverted cloudy sky. His shadow is projected on the left and right of where he stands.

As Kiedis begins to sing he appears on camera bathed in purple light with blue fluorescent stars as a backdrop, surrounded by clouds. As the camera pans closer, an image of the skyline of Van Sant's home city, Portland, is superimposed from his chin downwards. Flea and drummer Chad Smith are then placed into the image while playing their instruments. The scenes in the studio are coupled with scenes of Kiedis walking the streets of LA, wearing a white T-shirt with "To Hell And Back" printed on the front; as he walks, the camera focuses on various people. Towards the end, Kiedis is seen running down the Los Angeles River in slow motion; the background is a shot of an atomic bomb exploding. The video ends with various superimposed images of the band, followed by Frusciante playing alone on a pedestal—this time with an inverted shot of the ocean as the sky.

At the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards "Under the Bridge" won the group "Breakthrough Video" and "Viewers Choice Best Video".