Michael Jackson's This Is It [DVD] [2009] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

An incredible insight into the final days of MJ’s life, and a haunting look into the historic tour that never came to be. A must-watch for all MJ fans.

Great purchase, very watchable

I'm the type who've always found MJ's music 'nice', of very high quality, but who never bought his records. It was a bit too popped and perfectionistic - too smooth. No bite. I preferred bands like Queen, Prince, Jim Steinman productions etc. I took my young daughter to the cinema to see This Is It as she'd discovered MJ when he sadly died. Given my music taste, I didn't have any particular expectations for This Is It. I was proven so wrong. This Is It shows MJ as we've never seen or heard him before. It's not the smooth pop star but the professional and humble musician who works sincerely and professionally with his team as equals to put the show together, in the finest detail. What we see and hear, despite this being rehearsels where MJ is not singing at full performance (except once he in a duet), goes beyond anything he's ever done before. The musicians are fantastic. It rocks as MJ has never rocked before. A duet goes to the heart of your soul. This Is It blew me away, as so many others have said before. Seeing this in the cinema was a once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing what he was capable of, never to return. The sound and video quality are superb, despite this being rehearsal videos, worthy of the finest Hollywood productions. Only the best audio and video equipment will do This Is It full justice. Still, with a decent flatscreen TV and hi-fi equipment at home, the DVD or BlueRay is the next best thing to having seen it in the cinema. This Is It appeals to a wide range of music lovers, not just classic MJ fans.

Being a ticket holder to the show that never was, I sent for my Blu-ray copy mainly to get a glimpse of what I would've seen and heard at the O2 in London in July 2009 had Michael Jackson not tragically died just three weeks earlier. Without any doubt whatsoever, this show would have had the best production of all time. The rehearsals in this dvd alone are enough to completely mesmerise. Michael Jackson looking great painstakingly goes through the show song by song like the true professional that he was. Every tiny detail is highlighted and supervised by Michael and all the songs you'd want to hear are rehearsed, including some Jackson 5 hits. The production-in-making videos of Smooth Criminal and Thriller are stunning. There are moments of exhiliration and frustration for Michael and the people involved as they go through the extensive set list. And there are many many musicians, dancers, technicians, choreographers, designers and directors - all giving their maximum to make the show a success. Though I felt he was a little withdrawn and holding back in his singing and dance routines, Michael Jackson still came across as the overtly talented and hard working artist we all know. This show would've been the best ever staged by anyone. He was setting new standards when he was tragically and prematurely taken away - and the world of music and entertainment is suffering as a result. This is unmissable. If you're going for the Blu-ray, I can guarantee you're in for a special treat !

Very sad and at the same time quite heartening to see MJ rehearse with all the passion of his evident insistence on perfection. None of the fake documentaries portraying him (rightly or wrongly) as mad as a badger or pardon the pun...just plain bad. Yes this is very air brushed, Ortega is a rather sickly sycophant, the like of which would never have survived without the patronage of Jackson. The product has lots of repetition but as has been said, that was it for MJ, he's has been dispatched by his addiction/medical attendants lack of sense. Most of all however we lost MJ perhaps by the lack of normal people around him to protect him from himself. Someone to just say every now and then are you sure about that and perhaps just fall ou with him every now and then as opposed to be depending on him for their income and existence? Will we ever hear of ortega again or see the female guitarist (great as she was here) do anything but be billed as ex Michael Jackson guitarist! The affection and awe in equal measure dispensed from the young dancers and hardened back up musicians in particular is palpable but he could be most of their Dad's! However nobody's Dad could dance like that...not one ever. Such a shame the full show was never seen and this cobbled together version is inevitably cut short by his death. It is justified only because of his death and yes obviously it has a glaringly obvious commercial motive to bail out the family and Ortega plus AIG together. Sucking the cash cow dry as ever with one last shot. The main plus here is to see him work so hard as a middle aged man and not only match but out strip dancers and singers decades his junior. Whatever his failings, and everyone has them his strengths were irreplaceable. Everyone who buys this will miss him all the more for what we have lost. I suspect if anyone really wants to question MJ and his work ethic they only need to look here to find out what a mistake that is. As per his autopsy report and give or take a few needle marks (courtesy of his pet African doctor) he was in great shape, great voice and sharp as any tack.

Like all of the ranting and raving pre-release 5-star reviewers, I too loved this movie at the cinema. MJ is electrifying as always, and I was impressed by how much he sang in the show in contrast to his incessant tendency to lip-synch in the 90's and early 2000's. The overall movie is fantastic and the plaudits go just as much to the band, dancers, vocalists and technical crew who really made the show something else entirely. They really rise to the occassion and the main excitement I get from the film is not MJ performing himself but the way he seems to get so much out of everyone who is working with him. There are flaws to the movie, as with any movie, and I have to say that whilst the collaborative aspect of the work is appealing, it can get rather sickly hearing how someone was influenced by MJ or how he is a 'genius'. Fair enough, MJ probably is a genius but it gets a bit annoying when someone blurts it in the movie every 5 minutes and I laugh when Thomas Organ (rhythm guitar) says "there's some genius stuff going on here" when MJ just tells Orianthi Panagaris to 'shine'. I think he was probably referring to another aspect as some of the 'genius' quotes are placed after relatively insignificant things. So that aspect does irritate after a while. I love MJ but I can only hear people bowing down and kissing his shoes so many times before it becomes irritating. As for MJ himself, his voice is back on form as he sings most of the show with a couple of exceptions (see 'Thriller' and 'They Don't Care About Us' for some hints of lip-synching). Nonetheless, musically this is brilliant and as a musician myself I am glad that this is the strongest aspect of the movie. I think the music excels the dancing in this production as the professional dancers can occassionally be a little too good and sometimes outdance Jackson (how dare I say such a thing). Then again, they are not 50. Saying this, I want to get straight that despite his passing, he looked in pretty good shape and I get annoyed by people who say "well he is 50 you know" like there are no professional artists still going after 50! 50 is still an age when many artists tour succesfully and still have their voice. MJ performs in accordance with his age. Some people like to think that MJ at 50 is equivalent to an 80 year old disabled man. All his career, perhaps due to his incredible heights of fame, he has always been thought of as 'fragile'. So I say to these people: 1) Lots of other performers can still perform well at 50 2) 50 does not equate to 80 year old disabled man 3) The smoke and mirrors of this massive production helps 4) 50 shows over 8 months is not a very gruelling schedule You may think I am being critical of MJ. I AM NOT. MJ is superb in this movie and I love it. I am angry at the torrent of fans who cannot expect this from a 50 year old man and those who ignorantly think 50 shows is the most intense tour ever when even MJ himself has done more in the past. Anyway, the movie alone gets 5 stars but the DVD production is poor. First of all, I thought than in the months between the cinematic release and this, they would aim to re-master some of the more grainy bits of footage and made it fill the screen. Also the menu screen is diabolical. It is like when you get a cheap and nasty DVD off the market and it has these do-it-yourself menu screen with a picture and tabs indicating the sub-menus at the bottom. No imagination in the menu screen whatsoever - it is like buying a DVD from 10 years ago. The extras are also disappointing. 120 hours shot (the movie clocks in around 1hr46mins) so there is about 118 hours of footage to go on bonus features and we get a pitiful 2 hours. Most of that is featurettes and interviews which are not even part of that footage. None of the bonus features have MJ performing anything more. All of the MJ stuff is on the movie. The features tend to focus on the crew (which is interesting nonetheless). The meet the band/dancers/crew etc. is very interesting but that is the entire bonus disc which is, frankly, very poor. For all the time waiting for this DVD I expected much more thought into the bonus features and the menu screens which I have to say again are really shoddy.

I first saw This Is It at the cinema but was distracted by children talking or running in and out they had gone to see it expecting to see a full blown concert which is course it isn't, I didn't realise how much I had missed, even though I enjoyed it at the time. When this arrived on Saturday I knew that it was going to make me both happy and sad, later that night I unplugged ny phone, turned the lights out and sat enthralled. Michael may not have been dancing and singing to full capacity (although sometimes he forgot and pretty much gave it 100%) but the magic was still there. I can't believe the stories that Michael was a frail ill man with no real interest in doing these concerts because what you see is Michael very very much in charge every step of the way, and with input at every aspect of the concert. The beautiful smile is back on his face and you can see that he is enjoying it, he always said he felt more comfortable on stage than anywhere else and you can see that he has "come home". The concerts would have been phenominal Other footage shows the selection of the band, singers and dancers, some of the costumes Michael would have worn plus the "crews" feelings about Michael, how the concert would have ended anfd how he wanted Earth Song to not have a ahppy ending so that it would make people think. Needless to say I ended up sobbing my heart out when it ended my only comfort being is that Michael died happy in the knowledge that he was still a very much loved man.

Tis Blu Ray tells a story you would not believe. Whilst MJ seems to be saving himself and not trying to produce anything special, I got an insight into what would have clearly been the show of shows for all time. The money and effort that had gone into the rehearsals and subsequent show surprised me and left me saddened that we never gotto see it. What I had not realised was the way in which so many peoples lives and hopes had been changed by MJ's passing. When great young dancers auditioned their way through hundreds of rivals and received the accolade of 'One of the best dancers in the world', only to have their hopes and aspirations dashed, it becomes a very sobering reality of life. Its a wonderful documentary which is both entertaining and informative and the insight into what goes into such a production makes you appreciate just how hard it is to stage a gig on this scale. I've watched it a few times and dipped into the extras sections over and over. I found the dancer and singer auditions amazing and the chosen musicians were just awesome....who knew? The films prepared as part of the show are just amazing. You won't get better value for your £3 odd anywhere and you will be the richer for the experience too.

Ich weiß schon im Vorfeld, dass diese Rezension vermutlich von den Fans zerrissen wird und sie vermutlich keine Chance hat. Ich schreibe nur selten eine Rezension, aber wenn ich das ganze Gelabere von angeblichen Fans hier lese, dann muß ich doch irgendwann intervenieren und auch meinen Gedankenmist, den man wohl durchaus mal hinterfragen darf, zum Besten geben. Zum Film "This is it".. Ja, ein letztes Zeugnis darüber, welch ein Genie und genialer Künstler er gewesen ist... definitiv. Michael ist tatsächlich stimmlich überraschend gut, die Songs die er probt sind wohl zu 95% live gesungen und Michael gibt hier die beste Live-Version von "Human Nature" ab, die ich je in meinem Leben gehört habe und auch sonst ist Michael, trotzdem er mehrfach behauptet seine Stimme schonen zu müssen, unerwartet stimmgewaltig. Daran haben viele nach zuletzt eher stimmlich unspektakulären Gesangsdarbietungen schon nicht mehr geglaubt . Auch die Bühnenshow hätte wohl in der Endfassung, vor allem durch die geplanten 3D-Elemente, neugedrehten Videos, der vielen herausragenden Tänzer usw. etwas bisher noch nie dagewesenes dargestellt und deshalb hat dieser Film auch nichts anderes verdient als 5 Sterne. Aber: Der Film kann, so gut er es auch versucht, nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass Michael nicht in bester Verfassung war. Ich hab mir den Film im Kino 4 mal angesehen und bei mir wollte der sog. "Funke" nicht überspringen. Ich würde mich selber schon als Michael Jackson-Fan bezeichnen (ich war bei der Dangerous-Tour, bei 14 Konzerten der HIStory-Tour in ganz Europa, und bei dem "What more can I give"-Konzert) und dort ist der Funke jedesmal übergesprungen. Warum also diesmal nicht... vielleicht bilde ich es mir nur ein, aber ich hatte während des Films einfach mehrfach das Gefühl, dass Michael desorientiert, vergesslich und unkonzentriert war, vermutlich aufgrund von Schmerzmitteln, Angstlösern und/oder gar Drogen? Wie komme ich drauf? (Bitte lesen, den Film ansehen und dann kommentieren) 1. Ich habe wirklich viel Filmmaterial von Michael gesehen, aber ich hab ihn noch nie derart viel Kaugummi kauen gesehen, zumindest bei den Einstellungen, bei denen er nicht singen mußte. Lag es daran, dass es Schmerzmittel und Drogen gibt, die einen Kauzwang wecken? 2. Bei den Proben zu "Smooth Criminal" gibt es Anfangs eine kleine Panne. Michael verpasst seinen Einsatz bzw. man war sich nicht einig, wer den Einsatz gibt. Dies führte zu einer Diskussion zwischen Michael und Kenny Ortega. Man muß hier nicht der englischen Sprache mächtig sein (ich bin es zwar), um zu merken, dass Michael total verwaschen, stotternd und zerbrechlich spricht, außerdem scheint er total neben der Kappe zu sein? Lag es wiederum an Medikamenten? Für meine Augen auf jeden Fall, denn so habe ich Michael noch nie gesehen. 3. "I want you back"... Michael hört nach dem zweiten Satz zu singen auf.. versucht sich wieder einzufinden, schafft es aber bis zum Ende des Songs nicht mehr. Anschließend hält er eine Rede, dass sein Earphone zu laut wäre und es sich anfühle, als ob im jemand eine Faust aufs Ohr presst. Er meint zudem, dass er anders aufgewachsen wäre und dies nicht gewohnt sei... Ganz ehrlich wirkt Michael eher wieder unkonzentriert und spricht wieder leicht verwaschen. Auf mich wirkt es so, dass Michael einfach den Text zu dem Song nicht mehr wußte und die Sache mit den Ohrhörern als Ausrede diente, denn ganz ehrlich, schaut euch Bilder von Bad und Dangerous und HIStory an, Michael hat diese Geräte immer schon bei Konzerten benutzt.. jetzt zu sagen, er sei nicht daran gewöhnt wirkt irgendwie lächerlich.. Wenn jemand den Text eines Liedes vergisst, dass er seit über 40 Jahren immer wieder singt, dann liegt es wohl nicht an viel zu lauter Musik im Earphone 4. Sonnenbrille.. warum trägt Michael in einer dunklen Arena ständig eine Sonnenbrille. Fans würden sagen, es liegt an den hellen Scheinwerfern, aber Michael hat doch sonst bei Konzerten auch nie eine Sonnenbrille getragen und wenn doch, dann nur kurzzeitig... und warum trägt er die die äußerst behindernde Sonnenbrille während er Billie Jean performt. Er hält sie lieber bei jeder Drehung fest, als das dumme Ding einfach abzunehmen. Könnte es nicht vielleicht auch daran liegen, dass es Aufputschmittel und Drogen gibt, die zu einer extremen Pupillenerweiterung führen und einer damit einhergehenden Lichtempfindlichkeit? Ich will den Film nicht schlecht machen und am allerwenigsten liegt mir daran in irgendeiner Weise einem, wenn nicht sogar DEM, herausragendsten Künstler, den dieser Planet wohl jemals gesehen hat zu schaden, aber in diesem Film ist sicherlich nicht alles Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen. Zum Beispiel das Thema HD-Aufnahmen. Wo sind denn die von Kenny Ortega angekündigten 100 und mehr Stunden HD-Aufnahmen. Im Film ist maximal (das Video von Thriller und Smooth Criminal mal ausgenommen) 30 Prozent davon zu sehen. Und die Aufnahmen die man in HD genießen darf sind anhand der Kostüme die Michael trägt auf maximal 3 Drehtage zu beschränken. Hat da ein Kenny Ortega schon gewußt, dass Michael die Shows möglicherweise nicht durchsteht und hat deshalb angefangen zum Ende hin Teile der Show in HD aufzunehmen, um nachher vielleicht noch den größtmöglichen Profit herauszuschlagen? Ich sage nicht, dass Kenny Ortega gewußt hat, dass Michael stirbt, aber ich denke, dass er wußte, dass Michael es gesundheitlich nicht packen würde.. Viele Fans werden jetzt vermutlich sagen, dass ich Blödsinn rede und Michael es geliebt hat, überall um den Globus herum auf der Bühne zu stehen.. FALSCH... Michael hat es gehasst auf Tour zu gehen.. er liebte es zu performen, aber er wollte nie von zu Hause weg. Echte Fans müßten die Interviews kennen in denen er sagt "Ich hasse es auf Tour zu gehen.. Ich verliere mein Gewicht und ich dehydriere wenn ich auf Tournee bin!" Auch wie der Film im Trailer beworben wurde ("But there was still one dream he wanted to share with everyone") klingt für mich erlogen und unglaubwürdig. Ich empfehle mal Randy Taraborelli's, von Michael autorisierte Biographie: Michael Jackson. Die ultimative Biographie zu lesen. Dort sagt Michael, dass er seinen Job eigentlich ab seinem 30. Lebensjahr an den Nagel hängen wollte, also wie kann die Aussage stimmen??? Nun gut... ich könnte her noch viel schreiben und meine spekulative Meinung verbreiten, aber es bringt wohl nichts. Ich will nur erreichen, dass man sich den Film richtig ansieht, zweimal hinsieht und Dinge hinterfragt und nicht nur das Scheinwerferlicht und Glanz und Glemmer sieht, denn das war es definitiv nicht. Ich rate auch mit Sicherheit nicht vom Kauf dieser BluRay oder DVD ab, denn man bekommt für sein Geld wirklich was geboten, auch wenn es mich wirklich immer wieder traurig macht, Mr. Michael Jackson in teilweiser, offensichtlich schlechter Verfassung zu sehen. Long live the King!

Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT is an amazing behind the scenes look at Michael Jackson as he develops, creates and rehearsed for his sold out show of the same name. Chronicling the months from April to June 2009, this film was produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson which is drawn from more than 100 hours of behind the scene footage featuring Michael rehearsing for the show. Disc 1: THIS IS IT movie described above which is sensational. To see Michael hard at work with the singers, dancers and musicians was awesome!!! This would have been truly phenomenal to have seen live but I am truly grateful this DVD was compiled to let us see what THIS IS IT would have been like. Truly a gift for all to see. Also on Disc 1: Making of Documentaries, Featurettes: The Gloved One, Costumes, Memories of Michael and Auditions. Disc 2: Featurettes: Meet the Dancers, Meet the Band, Meet the Vocalists and Unfinished Rehearsals. Truly a remarkable 2 Disc set that will be enjoyed by all and especially Michael Jackson fans. His singing and dancing, even though he was much older than the other dancers was awesome. To see this show come alive right before your eyes was amazing! Also Michael's attention to detail and his creative process was amazing to watch first hand as these cameras were only there for Michael's own library as he recorded everything he did so that he could make adjustments. This is a once in a lifetime never to be repeated show which is aptly entitled THIS IS IT. So enjoy all 111 minutes plus all the bonus material. A must have for all Michael Jackson collectors and fans.

I view this movie-documentary as a tribute to Michael for thousands of his loving and adoring fans worldwide. It is a beautiful legacy, a splendid farewell 'eulogy' to a beautiful man who's heart was all about love/brotherhood, a man who truly tried to make a difference in his/our world. He danced his dream to make it a better place. I am glad TII was NOT a `tissue-for-tears' work. In my opinion, a true documentary would have been less perky. For me, it was uplifting (with funny moments sprinkled in). My heart felt light and chipper, filled with the light and spirit of MJ's love. Before TII, there was a new generation out there who had never heard of MJ before his passing. They were curious about this world-stopping icon. They wanted to know who and what he was all about, who was this man who almost crashed the almighty Internet, who all but brought the world to a standstill...fans pausing at their various activities/occupations to mourn, to bring honor and tribute to MJ's passing. People everywhere seemed to mourn him in some shape or form. This generation found themselves wanting to go with the flow, to climb aboard that seemingly 'universal' bandwagon... and they have. For many, many of us who had stepped away from his career path and forgotten him for the moment, we reset our sails in an effort to renew our interest in the talents of this Man and his phenomenal Music. Ortega's TII set out to do just that...to 'showcase', if you will, this country's masterpiece...our King of Pop. TII is showing us in this movie-work the makeup and musical depthness of Michael's genius... who and what The Man In The Mirror was all about. We saw him at his art, at his final best--preparing, carving, chiseling, molding, sculpturing it for the Moment... a la Michael Jackson! This Michael Moment was not to be, however. For the fair price of a ticket, we were able to see him at his work, to see him weave his tapestry of magic, to look into an integral part of his soul. We readily see him in character and style, we watch him perform (robbing himself of 100% now to give 200% later at O2), we see him (perhaps not at his best) at what he does best and probably better than any performer alive---happy, smiling catchingly, singing, dancing... executing his phenomenal talent and influence on stage right in front of our eyes. Counting my blessings that day, I likened the film to a 'live' concert!!!!! Yes, yes, a warm and loving human being. Outside of our dreamy state, all of us knew that we were watching his swan song-- those final `animated' days of his life. We knew that the stage-curtain would never again be lifted on him, not in our time and space. In this movie, he appeared thin yet he went about every facet of his work joyously. My thanks and appreciation go to Ortega for his fine footage-editing and 'displaying' MJ in a good light for millions to see. And, I thank the producers for giving us Michael as Michael appeared in the last months or weeks of his life. Many say he was not health, but he did not appear frail. Thank God, I would have truly tear-flooded the theater. Michael was 50, said not in his finest form, and a tad thinner than former times... yet, in loving eyes (his fans) he was beautiful and the man we knew and loved as Michael Jackson. As I write this my eyes are teary; I do not apologize for this emotion. Btw, I took along a couple of my larger hankies to wipe away my tears, but had no need for them. Each emotion of the moment (no sad moods) engrossed me throughout the movie--so much so that I forgot that MJ had left this same stage a mere 4 months earlier! I walked out of this theater feeling greatly touched, inspired and entertained... enough to want to see this movie a second time. And, I did... but this time without the hankies! TII....no waste of my bucks!!! Anxious to add the movie DVD tribute to my MJ trove of 'precious memories

Je suis fan de Michael Jackson et je voulais retrouver le film de Michael Jackson

Love the dvd. Watching Michael and all his hired artist perform wonderfully.