Needless to say, the death of Michael Jackson created a media maelstrom. It didn’t take long before the rumors and rampant speculation began over the cause of his death. Had he been ill? Were drugs the cause? If so, what kind? One couldn’t turn on the TV without finding coverage of his death. The only way to escape it was the keep the TV off, or so it seemed.

Then the news came out that Michael Jackson’s rehearsals had been filmed and his camp released some rather short rehearsal footage taken a few days before his death which seemed to indicate that he had been in good health prior to his death. Then came word that a feature film would be released pieced together with the rehearsal as well as other footage to give fans a glimpse of what the This Is It tour was going to be like had it debuted in London. The film, released to theaters for 2 weeks was a huge hit. I missed it in theaters but was really impressed with the video and audio quality on a trailer for the Blu-ray release included on a recent Sony release. Would the look and sound of the feature release even exceed the trailer?

Film 

This film is clearly made for Michael Jackson fans. If you are a fan of Michael Jackson and his music, you will simply love this film. If you aren’t, I guess there will be no need for you to experience the film, other than for some sense of historic curiosity. Most of the film was shot at the rehearsals at The Staples Center in LA in the weeks before his death.

Some of the footage was shot at sessions where the dancers were selected and others at studios where new footage to serve as intros and backdrops for songs such as Thriller were shot as well as some pre-production meetings. Several full length or nearly full length song performances are pieced together from several different rehearsals and are the highlights of the film. These songs include Thriller, Wanna Be Startin Something, Beat It, a Jackson 5 medley, Billie Jean, Man In The Mirror and Human Nature, just to name a few.

Some of the performances are better than others as Michel Jackson is clearly trying to preserve his voice over what appear to be many grueling rehearsals. On occasion, he really gets into the performances vocally. Billie Jean isn’t one of them however. You will be disappointed if you go into the film expecting to see him at his best as though he was performing live for an audience rather than for the crew. However, what is clear from the footage in the film is that he was still able to perform and appeared to be in excellent shape, although he does appear to lack some of the explosiveness he had as a younger man. However, he was still as light on his feet as always.

It is just as clear that fans would have loved the planned show as it was a real spectacle. If you are a huge fan of Michael Jackson, this release is a must buy. For the rest of you, I would recommend that you at least give it a rental. Who knows, you may even enjoy it.

Video 

I must admit that I have been struggling with my rating for the overall video on this release. The HD footage was shot with state of the art Red One cameras is simply fantastic and among the best looking HD video I have ever seen. The HD footage has incredible levels of clarity, depth and detail that are just staggering. The colors are bright and bold yet natural, with deep and stable blacks and is fully worthy of a 5 stars if not higher rating, it is that good. However, included along with the HD footage are significant pieces of standards definition footage, which is no where near as impressive as the HD stuff.

This footage is presented as letterboxed SD content. As a result, it has black bars on the top and bottom in addition to the sides. There also appears to be some widescreen SD material. While I was not using a stopwatch, the majority of the film features the stunning HD video from the Red One cameras and is simply amazing. However, there is enough rather mediocre SD material included that I felt I had to reduce the score just a bit, from an otherwise perfect 5 star presentation.

Audio 

If I could only use one word to describe the audio on this release, it would be magnificent. Yes, it is that good. This is simply spectacular stuff. Where do I begin? The overall fidelity is excellent, with a smoothness, openness and transparency that I have yet to experience in a concert video. Bass response is off the charts with deep and throbbing bass lines driving most of the songs, without a hint of bloat. The surrounds are also aggressively creating a sense of total immersion. If you ever wondered what a sound check sounded like in an empty arena such as The Staples Center, you will find out here. The audio on this release is nearly, if not, perfect. How can you improve on perfect? You can’t. Enough said.

Special Features 

As one would have expected, this release is filled with extras, all of which are presented in HD. The extras include several featurettes including “Staging The Return: The Adventure Begins” which details the origins of the tour and the rehearsals as well as the creation of the whole show. In Staging The Return: Beyond The Show” director Kenny Ortega and his crew discuss the final rehearsals, their final moments with Michael Jackson and the reasons why the film was created. In “The Gloved One”, costume designer Zaldy takes you behind the scenes as the costumes were created and shows the final products, many of which Michael Jackson never was able to see before his death. In “Memories of Michael” members of the show’s crew and management team discuss some of their personal recollections of Michael Jackson. The featurette “Auditions: Searching for the World’s Best Dancers” chronicles just that, with 5,000 applicants for 11 available positions.

Also included is the Smooth Criminal vignette that was to be shown before the concert performance of the song, presented in HD and 5.1 Dolby Digital. Also included is the new vignette filmed for the performance of Thriller likewise presented in HD and 5.1 Dolby Digital. The release is BD-Live enabled and features movieIQ, which enables you to access real-time information about the cast, music and trivia, while watching the movie. The theatrical trailer for the film is also included. A digital copy is not included.

Final Thoughts 

This Is It offers a fascinating insight into the final days of Michael Jackson as well as the creative process behind his planned final concert tour. It offers exceptional and reference audio and video presentations and is a must have for Michael Jackson fans. Even if you aren’t a fan of the man or his music, the audio and video are of such high quality that you should give this release a look, if only on the basis of a rental.