Chattanooga Pulse

When Michael Jackson died suddenly on the eve of what he promised would be a “transcendent” comeback series of concerts in London, untold millions of people around the world wondered  what would have been. Jackson’s longtime concert director Kenny Ortega felt the same way, and knew he was sitting on a veritable gold mine—more than 80 hours of footage from all stages of the development of the “This Is It” concert.

It’s easily the most anticipated documentary of the year. Ortega said bringing Jackson’s final work to the big screen ended up being relatively easy. “There’s a story there. There’s a story that’s alive in every frame of this film, that I didn’t have to fabricate,” he said in press conference last week.

The film is also one of the most zealously guarded releases of the year, with no one but a few very select critics getting to see the complete work in advance.  Most reviewers were shown a 12-minute excerpt, but even from those scant few minutes, it’s evident what Ortega was talking about. The Michael we see is unguarded, real, honest in a way we might have never seen before.

Think what you will about Michael the person; Michael Jackson the entertainer is among the most talented and creative of all time. His death was a tragedy, but thanks to Ortega, Michael’s talent, creativity and vision did not die with him.

This Is It
Starring: Michael Jackson
Director: Kenny Ortega
Rating: PG