MICHAEL JACKSON: THE LIFE OF AN ICON DVD (2011)

SYNOPSIS: Featuring never before seen footage and exclusive interviews with Michael's Mother Katherine and siblings Tito and Rebbie Jackson covering all the highs and also the lows in the King of Pop's extraordinary life story uniquely told by those who knew him best. Producer David Gest presents a feature length, definitive portrait of his best friend Michael Jackson through the eyes of family, friends and music legends including Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson plus many more.

MOVIE REVIEW:

June 25, 2009. A date which will be known as the day the world lost the King of Pop. Two and a half years have since passed. Countless tribute albums, books and DVDs later, we are still not done with “new” and “exclusive” music and interviews with those who were close to Michael Jackson? Here we have one more production which hails itself as a feature length tribute to the legendary pop star, one that claims that his true story has never really been told until now.

We do not claim to be Jackson’s most loyal fan, but we think that we have enough common sense left in us to know that this is a sales pitch which, well, is trying a tad too hard to influence the fanatic collectors out there to buy a copy of this DVD.

The extensive research is evident from the 156 minute runtime of this production directed by Andrew Eastel. Produced by Jackson’s close childhood friend David Gest (who’s also a television star over at that side of the world), this documentary features countless interviews, especially noteworthy are those by mother Katherine, brother Tito an sister Rebbie. Being a close family friend, Gest probably convinced Jackson’s family members to share stories about his celebrated life.

Also included in the lineup of interviewees are over 50 friends, peers and associates who have nothing but the most inspirational words to describe Jackson. Be it intimate stories or fascinating encounters, these feel good moments should please the die hard MJ fan.

No tribute documentary is complete without footage of Jackson’s early years with the Jackson 5. Here, relive those good ol’ days when music was less tainted by commercial pressures to sell. There are also obligatory moments where MJ’s much discussed molestation trial are showcased in this production. Viewers will get to hear his family members talk about the hurt emotional hurt they experienced during that trying period in 2005.

For viewers who are uninitiated about Jackson’s hair catching fire during the filming of a television commercial in 1984 will be informed about how that incident led to subsequent treatment for severe burns. That then sparked a drug dependency which plagued the pop star until his death. Yes, there are bittersweet moments of this production which may have you shed a tear or two, and if you do so, Gest and his team would have succeeded in their attempt to have you know the man’s life a little better.

Now, you may want to hunt down other tribute CDs, books and DVDs offering similar takes on the icon’s life.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Code 3 DVD is marketed as a 2 disc collector’s edition where a second disc contains over 90 minutes of interview footage from Jackson’s family, as well as other contributors. Imagine if every single sound bite was included – the documentary would have been over four hours long.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The visual transfer of the production is commendable, and is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 English.

MOVIE RATING:



DVD RATING :

Review by John Li



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