THIS IS IT
****
Director: Kenny Ortega
Screenwriter:
Principal cast:
Michael Jackson
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 112 mins.
Australian release date: 29 October 2009
You do not have to be a Michael Jackson fan to appreciate Kenny Ortega’s documentary This Is It. In fact, it puts aside any cynicism you may have about one of the truly great showmen of our generation. Originally planned as a series of 50 concerts to be staged between July 2009 and March 2010, the rehearsals were being filmed as a personal record for Jackson at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The footage was then envisaged as going straight to DVD. Michael Jackson’s untimely death eight days before the commencement of the tour put paid to that plan. From the opening live performance tracks, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ to the final ‘Man in the Mirror,’ we follow Jackson on a journey that includes an homage to Hendrix during ‘Beat It’ and a fascinating insight into the moves and grooves that made him the King of Pop.
Members of the cast and crew all refer to his dedication and professionalism and he is surrounded by his fans. In Jackson’s own words he wanted his audience to ‘sizzle’. And you do, especially when he is accompanied on stage by the young guitarist, Orianthi Panagaris, who hails from Adelaide. Jackson always seems to be in control and we are taken back to the early days of the Jackson Five with a rendition of ‘I’ll Be There’. His childlike quality and butchered features make it even more poignant when he addresses his crew with a rather naïve, but effective rave about how nature is trying to compensate for man’s wrong-doing and that we only have four years to re-address the situation. Has he gone to his grave knowing something we don’t know?
Elizabeth Taylor referred to the doco as the ‘most brilliant piece of filmmaking… it cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of creativity…’ and she is spot-on with the latter. The film is dedicated to his children with ‘Heal the World’ dominating the credits. But the most important message he leaves behind are the constantly subtitled words ‘I Love You’ and ‘it’s all for love’. Not a bad legacy indeed!
Screenwriter:
Principal cast:
Michael Jackson
Country: USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 112 mins.
Australian release date: 29 October 2009
You do not have to be a Michael Jackson fan to appreciate Kenny Ortega’s documentary This Is It. In fact, it puts aside any cynicism you may have about one of the truly great showmen of our generation. Originally planned as a series of 50 concerts to be staged between July 2009 and March 2010, the rehearsals were being filmed as a personal record for Jackson at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The footage was then envisaged as going straight to DVD. Michael Jackson’s untimely death eight days before the commencement of the tour put paid to that plan. From the opening live performance tracks, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ to the final ‘Man in the Mirror,’ we follow Jackson on a journey that includes an homage to Hendrix during ‘Beat It’ and a fascinating insight into the moves and grooves that made him the King of Pop.
Members of the cast and crew all refer to his dedication and professionalism and he is surrounded by his fans. In Jackson’s own words he wanted his audience to ‘sizzle’. And you do, especially when he is accompanied on stage by the young guitarist, Orianthi Panagaris, who hails from Adelaide. Jackson always seems to be in control and we are taken back to the early days of the Jackson Five with a rendition of ‘I’ll Be There’. His childlike quality and butchered features make it even more poignant when he addresses his crew with a rather naïve, but effective rave about how nature is trying to compensate for man’s wrong-doing and that we only have four years to re-address the situation. Has he gone to his grave knowing something we don’t know?
Elizabeth Taylor referred to the doco as the ‘most brilliant piece of filmmaking… it cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of creativity…’ and she is spot-on with the latter. The film is dedicated to his children with ‘Heal the World’ dominating the credits. But the most important message he leaves behind are the constantly subtitled words ‘I Love You’ and ‘it’s all for love’. Not a bad legacy indeed!