Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’
Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ documentary premiered globally last night (October 27).
The film was pieced together from footage of the late singer’s rehearsal sessions for his London O2 Arena residency, which took place at the Los Angeles Staples Centre.
Jermaine, Marlon, Tito and Randy Jackson, the singer’s brothers, attended the premiere that took place at a cinema opposite the Staples Centre, with the likes of Will Smith, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez and Berry Gordy Jr, founder of Motown Records, also attending, reports BBC News.
Time Magazine reports “This Is It [is] A concert film without the concert. A backstage musical that takes place almost entirely onstage. A no-warts hagiography that still gets the audience closer to the real Michael Jackson — MJ the performer, that is — than anything in the man’s avidly documented history. Wisely and decently ignoring the circumstances of his death and the circus that followed it, Ortega focuses on the re-creation of about a dozen Jackson standards for the concert. (“Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Black and White” and “I’ll Be There” are all here.)
At times several takes of a song are edited into one performance; you know because Jackson is sporting different rehearsal clothes. The footage was shot so the star could study his work and that of his crew, thus it has the artlessness of visual stenography. The art is in what we’re privileged to watch: a perfectionist who quietly pushes himself to prove he’s still got it.”
This Is It proves without a doubt, that his legacy will live on.
