Why is the music video for “Thriller” significant?

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The music video for Michael Jackson’s song “Thriller” is nearly 14 minutes long and is widely regarded as the most ambitious music video ever made. It premiered on MTV on December 2, 1983. Directed by filmmaker John Landis, it features a plot, storytelling, and elaborate choreography involving a celebrated zombie dance. In 2009 the U.S. Library of Congress inducted the video into the National Film Registry, the first music video to be so honored.