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Michael Jackson's This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London's O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen before. In raw and candid detail,
Michael Jackson's This Is It captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Directed by Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson's creative partner and the director of the stage show.
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It's hard not to watch
This Is It without feeling a mixture of sorrow and elation. When he passed away in the summer of 2009, Michael Jackson was in the midst of rehearsals for his final tour, an ambitious 50-date engagement. In editing 120 hours of rehearsal footage together, Jackson producer Kenny Ortega proves that it would've been an event for the ages. Michael performs material that spans his career, from a Motown medley to multi-platinum hits from
Off the Wall,
Thriller, and
Bad. Though he hadn't toured in 10 years, it becomes instantly apparent, despite rumors to the contrary, that Jackson was still in full possession of that unmistakable voice--high-pitched whoops and all--and that he still had the gravity-defying moves of a man half his age. Jackson and Ortega also collaborated on some real showstoppers, such as a graveyard-set "Thriller"; an imposing "They Don't Care About Us," in which several dancers appear to morph into thousands; and a film noir sequence in which the singer slides in and out of
Gilda and other black-and-white classics, singing "Smooth Criminal" all the while. Not everything works, like the Jackson 5 numbers, in which he flubs a few lyrics, claiming that his earpiece isn't working properly, but as he readily acknowledges, "That's what rehearsal is for." It's a tragedy that he didn't get the chance to share this dazzling show with the world, but Ortega allows fans to feel as if it actually happened--at least onscreen.
--Kathleen C. Fennessy Stills from Michael Jackson: This Is It (Click for larger image)
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Customer Reviews
"A Wonderful Gift" 2009-10-30By
N. Ryker (Greenwood, IN USA)
I saw This Is It at 12:01 am on October 28th in IMAX. It was enthralling from beginning to end - Michael's presence on stage and screen is so strong that you can't take your eyes off of him. The movie is a great representation of what the concerts would have been like...and they would have blown everybody away. You can't help singing and moving along to all the numbers, and the visuals are beautiful. The other important part of the film is the candid look at Michael himself as he interacts with others, such as his fans have rarely seen. He's dedicated, focused; an integral part of the process. He's playful and fearless, and wants to get everything just right. This Is It is a must-see/must-have for any fan...and anyone who wants to be inspired.
The only downside was what seemed to be an "out of focus" camera. At the beginning of the film, there are several shots that appear "blurry" when compared to the rest. This may be more noticable in IMAX than regular theaters because of the screen and other detail (or it might be due to some problem at the theater I was at). It disappears after a little while. This may be apparent in the Blu-ray or possibly even the DVD if it was part of the film and not because of an error.
"WOW!! I Love This Movie" 2009-10-29By
Elizabeth Roe (Biddeford, Maine)
My boyfriend and I saw this in IMAX at Midnight Oct 27th. Being a huge fan of Michael since 1983, made me so happy to experience this moment. My boyfriend didn't really like Michael til he saw the movie. And loved it too and thought it was one of the best movies he ever seen. He's now a fan too.
The crowd clapped and screamed Michael's name at the end of every performance. There was also some clapping and whistling during some performaces. Michael's performance was just as excellent as the 80's, maybe better at some times. It so was wonderful to watch this. Throughout the movie, he tells how to do stuff and the beats of the keyboards and sounds. He tells/shows how wants the special affects and more. Thriller is the best performance I ever seen him do for this song. The whole thing is awesome with creepy zombies special affects. Earth Song was also the best ever, but sad at points. The whole movie was just excellent from beginning to end. I felt like I watching a him perform onstage and not on the screen. It felt so real, like he was right there in front of us. This is an experience I will never forget and always remember. It's sad, that None of us will ever see him perform onstage again. But watching this movie, makes me feel like I just walked away from watching him perfoprm in concert. If I could rate this above a 10, I would rate it way, way up. It deserves more than a 10. I definately recommend watching *This Is It*
Sadly after seeing the *This Is It*. It makes me a little depressed and sad. Cause of watching him for many, many years. Sadly he's gone. Watching *This Is It* made me so happy, like he was really there. Like I said in another post. It felt so real. In reality, he's gone forever. But his legacy, memories and music will always live on forever in my heart.
""I'm Glad they Did This Film"" 2009-10-29By
Tommy Morais (Canada,New Brunswick)
When Michael Jackson died on June 25th 2009 it seems a part of the world died with him. It made many people sad all over the world and it seems that for once everyone was being nice to this man who had always been abused by the Medias; journalists, interviewers and others. When I heard of the "This Is It" movie concert I didn't know what to think. I knew it was rehearsal footage from the 50 concerts he was to perform at the O2 arena but I didn't know what was going to come out of it or what they were going to do with it. When I saw the trailers I knew I had to see this and that "This Is It" was going to be something special like I've never seen. And that's precisely what I got, I even bought my ticket in advance for the movie and feel like it was much worth it.
It amazed me how good MJ still was, the dance moves were great and fascinating to me. He was clearly the one in charge of the whole thing. He gave precise instructions of what he wanted, made sure everything was right and did everything that needed to be done. The film shows just how much Michael was respected, there were parts of it where they asked him if he wanted anything or what he thought and if he liked something, it seems no one assumed anything at all. When he talked the crew would listen and he asked things in the nicest way, never to hurt anyone. There's not a part that doesn't make him look like the nice guy he always was. There are mixed feelings about him after all the bad things that have been said about him but after watching this I don't know one could possibly believe them.
To be honest I loved every minute of it, every song was special and was great to watch. Right from the beginning of "Wanna Be Startin'Somethin'" it was amazing. No matter how many people surround him he's always the one who does things better than anyone else and the one you're watching. This Is It was really a unique experience, I felt they chose the right footage parts for the movie and made him look great in every sense. They could truly have messed things up but they didn't and came out with an amazing documentary, it's sort of a testament to his fans, it's just very special. I really liked the Thriller 3D part, it was a 3D video shoot and afterwards you see MJ coming out onstage from a spider, the show would have looked awesome. They Don't Care About Us was amazing, The Smooth Criminal part was very interesting, so was the Earth Song which had a beautiful video of a little girl in a forest, waking up to see that all of it has been destroyed. I won't go further but every song had something about them.
The stage show would have been grandiose, the fireworks, the "fireball" (quite impressive I won't spoil anything), pyrotechnics, the videos that accompany the songs are all very impressive. This could very well have been the best show ever had he lived to perform them. In the end I was quite amazed by the 1: 48 minutes I watched, I can't wait to see it again and the message Michael gives at the end is very inspiring. From the auditions of the brilliant performers to the credits with the "This Is It" song I was captivated.
The said special features will feature more of the rehearsal and a two part documentary on Michael's history and his comeback along behind the scenes. I can't wait to see more of the rehearsal and hopefully the extras will be great and there will plenty to watch.
It's hard for me to describe what watching this movie was like and what I felt about it. I know this is rehearsal footage but it's truly brilliant and while it main not catch Michael at his best it certainly catches him at his most honest. I don't have anything bad to say about either this movie or the man himself, This Is It is a must see. It doesn't matter if you watch in its theatrical run or on DVD/Blue Ray when released, this is amazing and his fans just have to see this. I will certainly be amongst those who buy it and watch it over and over again. This man gave his life to music and his fans and I don't remember where I heard or read this but I do remember that someone said: "He was a gift of god, he was a kind human being who's been mistreated by many opportunists, he's been taken advantage of but he was the nicest person and could never harm anyone" or sometime like that. These words are very truthful and really mean something to his fans.
"MUST HAVE" 2009-10-29By
Mohammad BeheshtaeinI SWEAR THIS MOVIE OR SHOLD I SAY MJ inspired me.... he is amazing... i absolutely loved it when I watch it in the opening night. He was such an artist in control.. you can learn so much from him.... RIP MJ
"Awesome!" 2009-10-29By
I* Love*You* (USA)
I went to see this show today and all I can say is that Michael was in AWESOME FORM...point blank! As for the reviewer who stated that at times he looked drugged etc. etc. Do Not Believe That! First of all what you see on screen is a man whose been on earth for FIFTY YEARS that danced better than every twenty something year old on stage! He was just AWESOME and this was only rehearsal so one can only imagine how great the concerts would of been! I adore MJ!
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