Film and TV

Out on DVD: This Is It (PG) + Trailer

By Anna Roberts
March 17, 2010

The world was shocked when Michael Jackson died in June 2009 – the subsequent media frenzy featuring the likes of Diana Ross, Macaulay Culkin and his doctor was equally scandalous.

There is no doubt, despite his many personal issues, Jackson was an absolutely wonderful performer.

An original child star, he always put on a good show – sometimes without the help of Jarvis Cocker wiggling his bum in the background.

Shortly before he died – and this was breaking news at the time – he had signed up to perform a number of shows, his first for many years.

Tickets were like gold dust – even people who were not diehard fans – with many desperate to see the King of Pop in action. It is difficult to image anyone else, bar The Beatles, receiving that kind of treatment.

Bearing in mind Jackson’s chequered past it is amazing that he was so popular. And then he died.

Naturally this caused huge problems for the organisers of his show. Financially it was terrible too.

So it was decided to release this tribute to Jackson, although the financial matters probably weighed heavily too.

Poignantly titled, This Is It was filmed between April and June last year and features footage and interviews from rehearsals for Jackson’s planned show.

See more film trailers on getreading.co.uk

It starts with producer, dancer and choreographer Kenny Ortega talking through the original concert opening sequence. Even non-Jackson fans – are there any? – are likely to find this interesting.

We see Jackson and his dancers practise a number of his greatest hits including Smooth Criminal, The Earth Song and the frankly wonderful Thriller. It would have been amazing to see them and, as interesting as This Is It is, it is really second best to actually being at the show.

As expected for such a star, a great concert was clearly planned. Thankfully it featured some of Jackson’s trademark features – the set for The Earth Song, which prompted Cocker’s reaction all those years ago at the Brit Awards, looked particularly special.

Jackson is dead – despite the far-fetched claims of some people – and he is not coming back. But for those people who were let down by his untimely demise and had to get a refund for their tickets, This is It is a reasonable payoff.

Even people who are not that interested in Jackson, although might like his music, will probably find the film interesting – not least because he appeared to be looking well and raring to go.

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