Jackson M-Michael Jackson-This Is It (2009)

"One of the best documents of live performance that I've ever seen, a rehearsal diary that's more intimate and immediate than a traditional concert film.  Dana Stevens, Slate Magazine
"Heartbreaking, exhilarating, baffling. In other words, it expresses the performer's persona in its purest form.  Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
"Watching his struggle is illuminating, unnerving and unforgettable.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Magazine

Editor's Note Legendary musical superstar Michael Jackson takes the stage one last time in this theatrical concert film compiled from over 100 hours of rehearsal footage for the 50 shows he had been scheduled to perform at London's O2 arena at the time of his death. Take a trip behind the scenes to see the mastermind behind such classic pop hits as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" prepare for the concert that would have crowned his entire career. Produced in collaboration with the Estate of Michael Jackson, the film details the elaborate preparations that took place for two months beginning in April of 2009.

	Patrick Woodroffe - Lighting Director
	Michael Bearden - Composer
	Michael Bearden - Music Director
	Tim Patterson - Director of Photography
	Michael Cotten - Title Design
	Sandrine Orabona - Director of Photography
	Mathu Anderson - Makeup
	Karen Faye - Makeup
	Clyde Haygood - Hairstylist
	Michael Jackson - Performer(s)
	Jonathan Moffett - Performer(s)
	Charles Klapow - Performer(s)
	Daniel Celebre - Performer(s)
	Shannon Holtzapffel - Performer(s)
	Alex Al - Performer(s)
	Darryl Phinnessee - Performer(s)
	Bashiri Johnson - Performer(s)
	Orianthi Panagaris - Performer(s)
	Tommy Organ - Performer(s)
	Mo Pleasure - Co-Star
	Ken Stacey - Performer(s)
	Judith Hill - Performer(s)
	Nick Bass - Performer(s)
	Mekia Cox - Performer(s)
	Chris Grant - Performer(s)
	Devin Andrew Jamieson - Performer(s)
	Eric Reid - Performer(s)
	Timor Steffens - Performer(s)
	Misha Gabriel - Performer(s)
	Tyne Stecklein - Performer(s)
	Travis Payne - Choreographer
	Michael Jackson - Choreographer
	Michael Jackson - Song Composer
	Kenny Ortega - Choreographer
	Kenny Ortega - Director

Los Angeles Times
"[H]is dancing is uttery assured....[THIS IS IT is] edited like a real concert film, and the sound is almost too good to believe." 10/30/2009

USA Today
3 stars out of 4 -- "Jackson shows signs of the physical and vocal fluidity and sheer charisma that he retaied....Jackson's creative team and crew emerge as engaging personalities in rehearsal and interview segments that are surprisingly funny or moving." 10/30/2009

Box Office
5 stars out of 5 -- "Here, we see the master close to the top of his game....The tour Jackson called his 'final curtain call' might be his last bow, but his inspiration lives on." 10/28/2009

New York Times
"The rehearsals draw heavily from Mr. Jackson's older hits, notably from the 1982 album THRILLER, beginning with 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' and moving through 'Human Nature,' 'Thriller,' 'Beat It' and 'Billie Jean.'" 10/29/2009

Wall Street Journal
"[Jackson] lives vividly in THIS IS IT, a spectacular record of rehearsals for a show that wasn't to be." 10/30/2009

Movieline
"[S]till capable of generating chills, the focus is more powerfully on the dancing, with Jackson moving his dancers through marks, tweaking their steps and coming up with on-the-spot cues." 10/28/2009

Hollywood Reporter
"[The film] captures one of pop culture's great entertainers in the feverish grips of pure creativity. The screen is filled with performers, musicians, choreographers, crew members and craftsmen, but the movie's laserlike focus is on Michael Jackson." 10/27/2009

Variety
"[H]is intense perfectionism is breathtaking to see here....THIS IS IT is a classy film that only affirms the man's talent." 10/28/2009

Chicago Sun-Times
4 stars out of 4 -- "[The film] benefits from the limited number of cameras by allowing us to experience his work in something closer to realistic time....[It] provides both a good idea of what the final concert would have looked like, and a portrait of the artist at work." 10/30/2009

Entertainment Weekly
?THIS IS IT offers a raw and endearing sketch of a genius at work.? -- Grade: B 11/06/2009

Variety 9 of 10
Had Michael Jackson's series of concerts at London's O2 Arena gone off as planned earlier this summer, it would have almost certainly signaled one of the most dramatic comebacks in pop music history. The rehearsal footage on display in Michael Jackson's This Is It is certainly evidence enough to draw that conclusion, providing a solid basis to imagine the final product while also giving a heretofore unseen glimpse of the star's creative process -- and the latter is both the film's greatest strength and its most troubling element. Worldwide box office should be monstrous for the Sony release, which grossed $2.2 million domestically from Tuesday night shows...Despite the grotesque and unceasing curiosity over Jackson's private life, his working procedure was scarcely documented, and his intense perfectionism is breathtaking to see here. He corrects his dancers while in the midst of striking poses himself, pores over video footage and auditions, works out with a vocal coach and gives his band instructions that are alternately brilliant ("Play it like you're dragging yourself out of bed") and Kafka-esque in their impenetrability...The sole moment when the singer seems irritable or disengaged from the proceedings occurs during a mini-set of three Jackson 5 tunes; the timing of his agitation seems psychologically revealing at first, though it later turns out to be due to monitor malfunction. Indeed, one rarely forgets that these are rehearsals, and at times Jackson visibly holds back, protesting about the need to save his voice for his upcoming performances -- one of several instances in which knowledge of the man's imminent death overshadows the joy of watching him perform...Members of the band, crew and dance troupe appear on camera between songs to gush (often while tearing up) about the honor of appearing with Jackson. While it's hard to doubt their sincerity, it all seems a bit creepy when one remembers that this footage was originally intended for Jackson's personal use...This Is It is assembled with great care, belying its impromptu nature, and editors Don Brochu, Brandon Key, Tim Patterson and Kevin Stitt have done excellent work to pull together a coherent film from endless footage. Even at nearly two hours, the film still feels too short. - Andrew Barker

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
"This Is it," Michael Jackson told his fans in London, announcing his forthcoming concert tour. "This is the final curtain call." The curtain fell sooner than expected. What is left is this extraordinary documentary, nothing at all like what I was expecting to see. Here is not a sick and drugged man forcing himself through grueling rehearsals, but a spirit embodied by music. Michael Jackson was something else...The film has been assembled from rehearsals from April through June 2009 for a concert tour scheduled for this summer. The footage was "captured by a few cameras," an opening screen tells us, but they were professional high-def cameras and the sound track is full-range stereo. The result is one of the most revealing music documentaries I've seen...His audience in this case consists entirely of stagehands, gaffers, technicians, and so on. These are working people who have seen it all. They love him. They're not pretending. They love him for his music, and perhaps even more for his attitude. Big stars in rehearsal are not infrequently pains in the ass. Michael plunges in with the spirit of a co-worker, prepared to do the job and go the distance...How was that possible? Even if he had the body for it, which he obviously did, how did he muster the mental strength? When you have a doctor on duty around the clock to administer the prescription medications you desire, when your idea of a good sleep is reportedly to be unconscious for 24 hours, how do you wake up into such a state of keen alertness? Uppers? I don't think it quite works that way. I was watching like a hawk for any hint of the effects of drug abuse, but couldn't see any. Perhaps it's significant that of all the people in the rehearsal space, he is the only one whose arms are covered at all times by long sleeves...Well, we don't know how he did it. This Is It is proof that he did do it. He didn't let down his investors and colleagues. He was fully prepared for his opening night. He and Kenny Ortega, who also directed this film, were at the top of their game. There's a moving scene on the last day of rehearsal when Jackson and Ortega join hands in a circle with all the others, and thank them. But the concert they worked so hard on was never to be...This is it. - Roger Ebert