Sony Pictures | 2009 | 111 mins. | Not rated
I was nine when Michael Jackson’s Thriller hit the store shelves. I played the tape so much, it wore out and I had to use my allowance to buy a second copy. Several years later, as I made the switch to CD’s Jackson’s solo albums were among the first to make the transition. However, by the mid-nineties, I like a lot of people was confused by the self anointed “King of Pop.” Albums became a rare occurrence, and Michael Jackson the man seemed to be becoming a caricature of himself, apparently due to multiple plastic surgery procedures. Most troubling, he seemed to be spending more time fending off troublesome allegations than making music.
All of the strange things that had surrounded Michael Jackson over the last fifteen years or so, faded away when the fifty-year-old legend passed away on June 25, 2009. It quickly became clear he still had a monumental fanbase, as This Is It became the highest grossing documentary-slash-concert movie ever made, raking in more than $252 million worldwide. In addition, news of Jackson’s death prompted a run on record stores to the tune of 8.2 million albums sold, making him the highest grossing albums of 2009.
Michael Jackson died just three weeks before he was to begin a series of fifty concerts at London’s O2 Arena. In a press conference announcing the shows, Jackson seemed to indicate these would be his last live performances, “When I say this is it, it really means this is it…” The concerts were scheduled to start on July 8, 2009 and conclude on March 6, 2010. Jackson had a lot riding on the concerts, and wanted them to be as perfect as possible to that end; he hired documentarians Sandrine Orabona and Tim Patterson to shoot the rehearsal footage. That way, Jackson and the rest of the crew, could work out any kinks in the show as they went along. It is that rehearsal footage that makes up the bulk of This Is It.
Though I feel some gloom watching the proceedings, there’s no doubt that Michael Jackson would have wowed those lucky enough to see the concerts. At 50, he still had all the moves that made him a legend. And though this film was culled from rehearsal footage, it doesn’t feel like it. Director Kenny Ortega (High School Musical) reportedly had over 120 hours of footage to choose from, and the editing is so crisp it comes across more like a concert film. Ortega never lets talking-head testimonies or asides disrupt the flow of the music.
This was going to be a massive show; we get to see the giant video screens, pyrotechnics and fireworks. Truthfully, we get the rare opportunity to see the performance in near final form. The only thing that’s different is the occasional stoppages and the fact that the audience is a collection of crew members and dancers who aren’t onstage performing. But what a lucky bunch they were. After Jackson tears it up with his performance of “Billie Jean” and he says in his typically quiet voice, “At least we get a feel of it.” I would have loved to be a fly on the wall!
Always entertaining, and sometimes moving, This Is It serves to remind us what a special talent Michael Jackson truly was. While the O2 concerts will obviously never happen, the footage contained here gives fans a sense of what would have been, and a surprisingly intimate look at a legend that is gone too soon. Highly recommended.
Here are the songs that are included:
“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'”
“Jam”
“They Don’t Care About Us”
“Human Nature”
“Smooth Criminal”
“The Way You Make Me Feel”
“Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)”
“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”
“Thriller”
“Beat It”
“Black or White”
“Earth Song”
“Billie Jean”
“Man in the Mirror”
“This Is It”
Michael Jackson’s This Is It features a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer that’s a mixture of high definition and standard definition video footage, but the end result is nevertheless an overall strong visual presentation when taken in the proper context and allowing for the flaws inherent to the source. As one might expect, the high definition material is the visual highpoint. The footage is clean, and nicely detailed; viewers will see every stubble of facial hair on Michael’s face in one scene; beads of sweat and tears of joy on dancers’ faces; scuffs on floors; or stitches, beads, and other adornments on clothing. Colors are fairly rendered. This is It’s color palette shines brightly even though the film often takes on a slightly dark tone. The image is free of excessive banding or other problematic anomalies. The film is intercut with standard definition material, and while it’s a downgrade in quality, the strength of the film allows viewers to overlook the shift and accept the lesser material in favor of the strong thematic and visual presentation and consistently exceptional soundtrack. Still, such scenes appear with jagged edges, aliasing, cross coloration, reduced sharpness, etc. However, this is still an exceptional Blu-ray experience.
Michael Jackson’s This Is It features an excellent DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. From the opening beats onward, it dazzles with every musical number but also solidifies itself as an exceptional track even in quieter scenes with a more nuanced audio presentation. The beats of the uptempo songs penetrate the listening area with tremendous clarity; repeatedly thumping bass as heard during “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin'” pleasantly but powerfully pulsate into and throughout the soundstage. Additionally, dialogue is perfectly executed, and voices finely reverberate through the large rehearsal areas in several scenes.
The track features subtitles in English, French, and English SDH.
The special features are presented in High Definition (HD).
• BD-Live is include on this Sony release which requires the user to be on a “Profile 2.0” capable Blu-ray Disc Player to access online content from the studio.
• “movieIQ” is included on this release which uses BD-Live to access infornation about the film. This information is updated in real-time via the BD-Live functionality. This release also includes the ability to make your own personalized favorite “Playlist” out of the Michael Jackson songs here.
• Smooth Criminal Vignette (3:58) features a short film that was shot to be displayed on the giant LCD screen behind the stage when the song was performed in concert, as shown in the movie.
• Making Smooth Criminal Vignette (11:08) takes a look behind-the-scenes at the making of the vignette above.
• Thriller Vignette (3:51) features a short film that was shot to be displayed on the giant LCD screen behind the stage when the song was performed in concert, as shown in the movie. Sadly this is not in 3D as it was originally shot and intended.
• Staging the Return: The Adventure Begins (28:13) is a making of style documentary. This includes interviews with Director Kenny Ortega and other crew members.
• Staging the Return: Beyond the Show (13:25) is another making of style documentary that focuses on the passing of Michael Jackson and Ortega’s purpose for creating this concert film using the final rehearsal footage.
• The Gloved One (15:13) is a featurette that takes a look behind-the-scenes with the costume designer Zaldy, and the outfits Michael had planned to wear on the tour.
• Memories of Michael (16:19) is a tribute featurette with director Kenny Ortega and the other members of the crew discussing their personal experiences with Michael.
• Auditions: Searching for the World’s Best Dancers (9:50) is a behind-the-scenes featurette that looks at the back up dancer selected for the concerts.
• Theatrical Trailer (2:31)
