 "I'm Glad They Did This Film" |
| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Tommy Morais, New Brunswick, Canada |
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.
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Amazing that this film was assembled in less than four months
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| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joseph P. Menta, Jr., Philadelphia, PA USA |
"This Is It" is likely one of the best concert films ever produced, and that's saying something considering that the actual concerts never happened, and the limited time available to shape the ample rehearsal footage into a polished final product.
While the film includes interviews with those associated with Michael Jackson's planned London concerts, many snippets of creative discussions, and other "behind the scenes" activities, director Kenny Ortega wisely focuses on performance in the film. Serving that end, "This Is It" is chockful of energetic, heartfelt songs, meticulously-produced dance numbers, and other incredible elements that would have been included in the concerts, including some wonderful filmed sequences (one "co-starring" Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth).
And when Ortega chooses to include footage of performances that are interrupted (usually by perfectionist Jackson) with creative banter on how this or that song should be tweaked, or how a musician should lengthen or highlight a chord or bar of music, it's all extremely fascinating. We see from Michael Jackson's interaction with his musicians and producers that, despite his time away from the limelight, he was still sharp, engaged, and still very much touched by genius in the area of music and performance. Oh, and he also repeatedly came off as a gentle, nice person. And a generous one: a particularly touching scene shows Jackson urging his female back-up guitarist to step up and not be afraid to make the most of a solo moment ("this is your moment to shine!").
It's also uplifting (and even a little funny) to see Jackson not being able to resist giving full-fledged, amazing rehearsal performances despite the many times he says, "Now I'm going to hold back a little and save my voice for the shows". After one such performance (Jackson singing a wonderfully re-imagined "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" with an enthusiastic but pretty outclassed duet partner), Jackson apologizes to the crew for again getting lost in the moment and not holding back. To which Ortega essentially tells him to not worry about it because, after all, how can Michael Jackson not help but be Michael Jackson?
"This Is It" will be a wonderful DVD to own (I'm sure the extra features will be amazing), but I'm glad that I made the trip to see the movie on the big screen. If you can, see it that way first to get all the more impact from this entertaining, illuminating, and bittersweet farewell to Michael Jackson, both the musical icon and, more importantly, the man. |
THIS IS IT is OUTSTANDING
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| Review Date: October 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Barbara Rose, BornToInspire.com |
I was in the movie theater and watched with awe the entire premiere of this phenomenal movie just after midnight October 28.
THIS IS IT the Movie is extraordinary. Rarely am I so gripped by a movie that I did not want to blink! I was hoping the movie would be made available in DVD - buying this DVD is a MAJOR GIFT!
During each rehearsal Michael Jackson was passionately hands on regarding every facet of the concert experience he was creating. The energy Michael and ALL who were involved in these rehearsals created an experience that is almost indefinable in words - it transports you with awe INTO the soul behind the creation of the music.
The movie Director, producers, special effects, make-up, costume, musicians, the dancers who performed with Michael during these final rehearsals before his passing are all PHENOMENAL.
I feel we owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to the special people who filmed the rehearsals that made this movie. What a GIFT you have given humanity!
Michael Jackson will forever be a gift to humanity. When you see this movie you will understand why.
{An Update} Tonight, December 3, 2009, I saw the final showing of this amazing film for the 5th time. I was just as glued to the screen as I was the first time. I never cried before for what I could only describe as a poignant ending, but I did tonight. THIS IS IT is so much more about the care Michael Jackson had for humanity, and our planet.
He said, "I've always loved trees, I get upset at the mismanagement of our planet, that every minute trees the size of a football field is cut down in the Amazon rain forest... It's up to us to fix this and we only have four years left before it's irreversible. People say the government will fix this, "they" will fix this, "they", they who? It's up to us. This is it...That's why I write these songs, to inspire people, to give them hope, I'm so glad I can give that to the world."
When he spoke to all of the people involved in the rehearsals he said, "This is an adventure, a great adventure. To take people places they've never been before, to show them talent that they've never seen before."
This precious soul named Michael Jackson leaves us with an awareness to take responsibility for the changes we must make. I feel one of the best ways we can pay tribute to him is to start planting trees in his name in honor of each person who wants to keep his memory alive.
Each of the five times I was glued to the screen watching the movie THIS IS IT moved my heart in ways I've never experienced before. The loss is HUGE, but I know he's watching, so I'd like to say, Thank You Michael Jackson for giving us a lifetime of your heart that will remain in our hearts forever.
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"I'm Glad they Did This Film"
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| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Tommy Morais, New Brunswick, Canada |
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. |
This Is It Movie
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| Review Date: October 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Dianna L. Elmore, Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| It was midnight Oct.27, 2009 and i saw this movie. It is great and i would love to see it again and again, so i'll be one-of-the first to buy the dvd. What an entertainer he was and still is to me. Dianna Lynn Elmore |
BRILLIANT!
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| Review Date: October 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Edwin R. Rojas, Royal Palm Beach, FL USA |
| If you like theatre....if you like music....if you like the arts...if you like Michael Jackson, you have to see this movie! BRILLIANT! |
Thank You God, for Michael Jackson!
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| Review Date: December 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cher, MI, USA |
| I was never a big fan of MJ. I never owned one of his records. I did really like his videos whenever I saw them on MTV, way back in the 80s. But other than that... Fast forward to 2009. I went to see this movie just because I love music and I was saddened to hear of Michael's passing. Curiosity and remembering that I did like his singing & dancing. WOW, WOW, WOW! As someone said, he was sooo real. We get to see Michael while he was working, you know, just being himself, not "performing" - and what a wonderful, warm, humble, caring human being he showed himself to be. And he never knew that any of us would ever see this video footage. But by us seeing it, I know that he won those of us over, who had never payed attention to his brilliance. And that is what I now know of him, he was BRILLIANT, he was a GENIUS! So now I have bought, and watched so many times I lost count, his live performance in Bucharest, and I've seen the movie "This Is It" 4 times. I've cried during it twice. And I can't wait for it's release because I will surely have it in my collection and be glad to now know who was Michael Jackson. And I have also purchased the music from the movie, "This Is It" on CD. And I LOVE it! Every single song is just fabulous! I can't make myself listen to anything else! Over & over. I only feel sorry that it took his death for me to pay any attention to MJ. But just imagine, even in death, he is still gaining new fans! And we will always, always miss you, Michael. |
Blu-ray: On Blu-ray, fans can expect beautiful visuals but most of all, spectacular lossless audio! FANTASTIC!
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| Review Date: January 26, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Dennis A. Amith (kndy), California |
Fantastic! For Michael Jackson fans who love his music, "This Is It" represents Michael Jackson's commitment, his passion and his dedication to his music, sharing his love and a message to those around him but most importantly reaching out to his fans. On Blu-ray, fans can expect beautiful visuals but most of all, spectacular lossless audio and also enjoyable and inspiring special features. Highly recommended!
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT" is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1). It's very important to emphasize that this was not a documentary that was planned and they had cameras for the sake of making a movie. These are films that Michael Jackson had taped for his own personal video of the planning to the actual creation of his concerts and of course the rehearsals.
This film was put together within a few months of going through hours upon hours of raw footage and then editing the various film stock (the footage is a mix of High Definition and Standard Definition footage) from the rehearsals and other footage behind-the-scenes.
Fortunately, the majority of the footage used are from the high definition source and picture quality for those scenes are just awesome. You get to see the detail of Michael Jackson's clothing, the various vibrant lighting during the rehearsals including the stage effects and even closeups of Michael Jackson clean shaven to a man with stubble. Personally, with Michael Jackson having a talented crew, the coverage featured in this film is great and to watch on Blu-ray is very impressive.
But where this film shines on Blu-ray is its lossless audio presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA. My first impression was "Wow!". Granted, these are rehearsal footage but it's one thing to hear the crystal clear dialogue through the centers and the music from the front channels but to hear sound being utilized through the surround channels and nice, clean bass thumping from the subwoofer was very cool!
You can hear Jonathan Moffet's drums jamming while Michael Jackson starts dancing to "Billy Jean", Orianthi Panagris jamming on the electric guitar for "Black and White" and "Beat It" along with Tommy Morgan on guitar and of course, all the musicians and vocalists played a part in this film and it's awesome audio. Music is just crystal clear and you can hear the nice separation at times with certain instruments on the surrounds but also hear the dancers and whoever is offstage just cheering on Michael Jackson as he's jamming on stage to the interaction with Michale and his backup vocalists or musicians.
"It Might Get Loud" may be my favorite guitar-driven Blu-ray release for its soundtrack but "Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT" just sounds fantastic. Blu-ray fans will not be disappointed. This is one of the better sounding musical documentaries I have seen on Blu-ray and heard via lossless yet.
As for subtitles, "Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT" is featured in English, French and English SDH.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT" comes with the following special features presented in 1080p High Definition and audio in English 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Stereo. Included are:
* movieIQ - Featuring the "This Is It" Playlist and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie! Also includes an interactive playlist where you can bookmark your favorite songs featured in the film and email yourself a customized playlist! NOTE: You need a profile 2.0 Blu-ray player (that connect online) to access movieIQ.
* Thriller Vignettes - presented in 5.1 audio - (3:50) The full new short film for "Thriller" used as a vignette for the concert which was shown on a big LCD screen and would transition to the main performance of "Thriller". This is a Blu-ray exclusive.
* Smooth Criminal Vignettes - presented in 5.1 audio - (3:58) The full new short film for "Smooth Criminal" used as a vignette for the concert which was shown on a big LCD screen and would transition to the "Smooth Criminal" performance. This is a Blu-ray exclusive.
* Making Smooth Criminal - (11:08) Shooting the short film content for "Smooth Criminal" for "This Is It". How they integrated Michael into a noir film using footage from "Gilda" (starring Rita Hayworth) and another film with Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson and how it was created. Also, showing how Michael Jackson was very involved in the production.
* Staging the Return - (40:46) A special program on Michael Jackson planning his return to the stage. From clips of Michael Jackson announcing his return, to behind-the-scenes footage of the creation of the concert, set design to the "Earth Song" video and interviews with director Kenny Ortega and the crew and their memories of Michael Jackson.
* The Gloved One - (15:11) A look at the costumes created for "This Is It" featuring costume designers Michael Bush and Zaldy. The creation of the outfits and taking them to a new level and Zaldy explains how the costumes came about including an outfit filled with crystals and a metallic studded outfit inspired by samurai uniform to the shoes and more.
* Memories of Michael- (16:19) Director Kenny Ortega, the producers and musicians talk about their experience working with Michael Jackson and how they were all inspired by him and how he was a great friend, father and performer.
* Auditions: Searching for the World's Best Dancers - (9:50) A look at the auditions for the best professional dancers who would take part in Michael Jackson's "THIS IS IT".
* Theatrical Trailer - (2:30) The original theatrical trailer.
JUDGMENT CALL:
After watching "Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT", I have to agree...this was the great concert that never happened. I have never seen production design this incredible in my life and I have watched and reviewed many concerts from artists worldwide and have seen expensive concerts with extravagant to jaw dropping effects. But after seeing this film and what they had planned, I don't think anyone has come close to the amount of work that was done for "Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT".
Aside from the awesome vocals, music and choreography that you would expect from a Michael Jackson concert, just seeing the short films that were created for the concert was impressive, the props such as a giant motorized robotic-like spider to a bulldozer coming on stage was amazing to seeing fire going around stage and even a Kevlar jacket that Michael Jackson would wear that would catch on fire.
Michael Jackson and his entire team who were working on this concert definitely set the bar higher than anyone in the world has done for their concert and that is why it was so important to have this documentary to be seen. This was a documentary that showed a man who was involved in the entire process of the creation of the concert, immersing himself in getting prepared and ready but most of all, making sure that because this was his final curtain call, these concerts were definitely his way of going out with a bang.
The concerts may not have happened but because of what we see in this film, although the main people watching him were the crew, dancers and technicians, now the entire world has a chance to see the greatest concert that never happened. But most of all, a chance to see the King of Pop one final time and see how much sweat tears they put into this production.
The Blu-ray release of "Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT" is fantastic. A good number of special features that will make fans happy and again, this is one of the best music films/documentaries in HD for its incredible lossless audio. Again, this was a film that was created by putting hours of footage together and editing it to make a film. The footage was never intended to be used for a feature film or documentary.
The fact that director Kenny Ortega and crew not only had it ready for the theater, there was not one scene where I got bored, nor was there a scene which I felt could have been left out.
Overall, "Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT" is one Blu-ray release that fans of Michael Jackson and his music should own. Absolutely fantastic and highly recommended! |
THIS IS IT!
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| Review Date: October 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: **Movie Reviewer**, |
Alright, Finally the Michael Jackson film we have all been waiting for.
Songs that are in the film:
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
"Speechless"
"Bad"
"Smooth Criminal"
"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"
"Jam"
"They Don't Care About Us"
"HIStory"
"The Way You Make Me Feel"
"I'll Be There"
"Human Nature"
"I Want You Back"
"The Love You Save"
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
"Thriller"
"Threatened"
"Who Is It"
"Beat It"
"Black or White"
"Earth Song"
"Billie Jean"
"Man in the Mirror"
"This Is It"
The film will feature the "behind the scenes" of MJ performing his legendary dance moves one last time. From the promo clips we have all seen from the film, he looking very good for his age. The film is 112 minutes long. The dvd will be out in time for Christmas, that's why its only running for 2 weeks.
R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON "KING OF POP"
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A worthwhile last "performance" from a genius
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| Review Date: November 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Yuhui Balasingam-Chow, Singapore, Singapore |
Going in, I hadn't really known what to expect, aside from his rehearsal footage. As it turns out, "This Is It" was what his concert would've been, if he had been alive to stage it. What stuck out most from the interviews was their dedication to their work, and it was because of Michael Jackson's direct and intimate touch with how he wanted his concert to be. Throughout the show, and since this was rehearsal footage, we got to see Jackson focus so strongly on his songs and choreography. The movie is a testament to his genius and poor substitute for what should have been the pinnacle moment of his career.
Full review at Yuhui's Movie Blogger: [...] |
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