DVD Review: This Is It

This Is It. 111 minutes. Rated G. Directed by Kenny Ortega.

In March 2009, Michael Jackson announced his "final curtain call" – a series of 10 concerts at London's O2 arena. Titled This Is It, and billed as one of the year's most important musical events, the initial 10 date schedule was increased to 50 – all of which sold out within hours of the tickets going on sale. The concerts were to commence on July 13, 2009 and conclude on March 6, 2010 – but less than three weeks before the first show, Michael Jackson was dead. He was 50 years old.

While much of his adult life has been defined by a maelstrom of personal, professional, legal and financial controversies, it is impossible to deny that Michael Jackson was not only one of the most influential entertainers of our age, but also one of the most successful. Throughout his career, Jackson released 13 No.1 singles, won 13 Grammy Awards and is recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time. His 1982 album Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, having sold more than 110 million (of the estimated career total of 750 million) copies.

In the weeks leading up to the epic This Is It concerts, Jackson rehearsed at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles (where his memorial service would later be held) under the direction of director/choreographer Kenny Ortega (the three High School Musical movies). Edited from more than 100 hours of footage, the result is a mesmerising, behind-the-scenes documentary that succeeds – spectacularly – on every level. From the introspective moments to the dazzling technological sequences where digital environments created for certain songs (Earth Song and Smooth Criminal in particular) break free from their sumptuous screen-bound representations and literally burst onto the stage, This Is It is an engrossing experience.

The painstaking preparation, the gruelling dance routines and the exchanges between Jackson and his collaborators (particularly the dancers and musicians whose flair, precision and talent is exemplary) combine to create a rarified atmosphere of candour and intimacy – even as the massive concert's technical infrastructure takes shape around them. Given the fact that the concerts were never performed, Jackson's "it's your turn to shine" moment with South Australian-born guitarist Orianthi Panagaris is an especially poignant example of the many potentially life-changing experiences that were never to eventuate. And while this tragedy pervades every moment of our viewing experience, it goes nowhere towards reducing the creative power and supreme artistry that Jackson and his team were preparing to unfurl before the adoring concert ticket-holders.

For anyone interested in the creative process and all that goes into the preparation of a major international concert, this is an absorbing, luxury of riches we may otherwise never have witnessed. For Michael Jackson fans, it's compulsory viewing.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspapers Group and was published in the print edition of the Geraldton Guardian.