Michael Jackson: This Is It [UMD for PSP] Review
I have done a fair number of musical reviews in this space from old country blues tunes to Cole Porter to Billy Holiday to Bob Dylan and so on. All either reflected my personal interests or represented a segment of, mainly, American cultural expression that I thought was important to take note of. Some groups and individuals like the Beatles, most, but not all, hip-hop, Joan Baez and others have gotten short shrift in this space not because they are not important components of the modern cultural scene but out of sheer personal preference. The late performer, Michael Jackson, with or without the Five, fit very comfortably in that niche for me. No longer though after viewing the film documentary, although performance is a better term, ""This Is It", based on rehearsals for what was to be Michael Jackson's last world tour.
I am not sure, and in any case it is not important to this review, whether the film footage here would have seen the light of day if Michael Jackson had not died in 2009. The core of the film is a series of rehearsals that Jackson and his cast of singers, dancers, and musicians went through in preparation for a "This Is It" last Jackson world tour that was planned to begin just after his untimely death. The concept, according to Jackson, was to give his fans one last extravagant chance to hear and see him perform his greatest hits.
Now these kinds of world tours, last ones or not, are all in a day's work in the entertainment business. As are behind-the scenes "reality" looks at how certain cultural events are put to together. What make this film extraordinary are the fire, the imagination, and the sheer stage presence that Michael Jackson brought to the whole enterprise.
Did you read that right? This reviewer, who has spend the last forty or some years happily ignoring Michael Jackson, his music, his dancing, his off-stage antics, and his legal difficulties was totally transfixed, totally riveted by Jackson's work here. In rehearsal, of all places. Christ, as the headline indicates, he is probably one of few men who have ever lived who did not turn into a cartoonish character while wearing orange pants during some of his numbers. Although this film also demonstrates the very deferential way in which those who worked with him treated him, which may be a key to some of his off-stage problems going back to his childhood days, and I am positive I would not want to work with him this man, as singer, dancer and stage personality comes through. This kind of personality does not pass through this earth all that often. Watch what you missed. Watch what I missed.
Michael Jackson: This Is It [UMD for PSP] Feature
- ISBN13: 0043396338852
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Michael Jackson: This Is It [UMD for PSP] Overview
SEE THE EVENT OF A LIFETIME AT THEATERS – LOOK FOR IT SOON ON DVD AND BLU-RAY. 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.
Michael Jackson: This Is It [UMD for PSP] Specifications
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)
 |  |  |
Available at Amazon Check Price Now!
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: May 01, 2010 20:00:06
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น