Wow. This would have been an amazing show. `This Is It` is absolute proof that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest performers of our lifetime.
Tonight, 125 days after his death, Michael Jackson is once again larger than life, on the big screen.
‘This Is It’ captured Michael Jackson the perfectionist but equally balanced the nice guy. It shows he had a genuine love of his “family”, his fellow performers, two of them Australians.
Orianthi, Jackson’s lead guitarist is a 24-year old from Adelaide. She nailed Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Beat It’ solo perfectly. At one stage Jackson encourages her to have her moment. “This is your time to shine,” he tells her.
Jackson had a funny way of chastising when things weren’t to his liking. He could be strict but he would always finish with “with the love”.
‘This Is It’ is an incredible insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a major tour. Every major act rehearses like this. Now we get to see it.
The animations connecting to songs and allowing for costumes changes are as impressive as the performances themselves. The prelude to ‘Smooth Criminal’ is a production featuring a vintage Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth movie with Jackson edited into the film.
For ‘They Don’t Care About Us’, green screen technology is used to turn 10 dancers into a million soldiers.
‘Thriller 2009’ upgraded the most impressive music video or all time into a real life horror show that would have had spooks floating through the aisles of the O2 Arena during the live performance.
Noted at the Melbourne screening tonight, Andre Rieu was in the house.
The songs in order for This Is It were:
Wanna Be Starting Something
Jam
They Don’t Care About Us
Human Nature
Smooth Criminal
The Way You Make Me Feel
I Want You Back
The Love You Save
I’ll Be There
Shake Your Body
I Can’t Stop Loving You
Thriller
Beat It
Black Or White
Earth Song
Billie Jean
Man In The Mirror
This Is It (closing credits)
Michael’s intention with the ‘This Is It show was “to take the audience where they have never been before. He would have succeeded.
Watch a piece of the Smooth Criminal clip here:
