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Michael Jackson Blu-Ray

wonderouzdj2

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SIGN IT!
We present this petition to demonstrate that a large market exists for the release of a collection of Blu-ray discs that includes 1080p High Definition versions of all of Michael Jackson's short films, music videos, noteworthy television appearances, and memorable performances.
We ask that you create this set from new High Definition scans of all relevant materials, using the original and best elements available, in their original aspect ratios.
We ask that you include every short film and "music video" that was created for any of Michael Jackson's songs, including any of his works as part of the Jackson 5 and The Jacksons.
We further ask that you include the full-length version of "Michael Jackson's Ghosts" - the world record holder for the longest music video ever created.
We understand that you may not have exclusive rights to the film, "Captain EO," which appeared in Disney theme parks for many years, and so we ask that you strike deals where necessary so that you may include both a 3D and standard version of this film, in High Definition, in the set.
We wholeheartedly believe that no Michael Jackson collection is complete without "Michael Jackson's Ghosts" and "Captain EO," so we ask that you make all the necessary arrangements to include these treasured films.
This set would include only a few more selections than the "Michael Jackson's Vision" DVD set released a few years ago. We believe that in this age of high definition, it is important for Michael Jackson's works to be available to the public in the highest quality achievable.
Michael Jackson is known as the most successful entertainer in history. His works are national treasures and deserve to be seen in high definition with high fidelity sound.
Those of us signing this petition realize the value of such a set, and thereby suggest a retail price of $129.00. As is evident through the diverse number of locations inhabited by the undersigned, Michael Jackson fans around the world are willing to pay the suggested price, or even a bit more, for such a valuable collection.
Thank you for taking the time to entertain this petition. Please make our Michael Jackson wishes come true!
https://www.change.org/p/release-michael-jackson-s-work-on-blu-ray
 
This is important, never mind highly desirable.

However I feel I may have already signed your petition. Is there a way I can check?
 
As much as I endorse a high-definition preservation of Michael Jackson's short films, the way the petitioner presented themselves in their pitch reads like a fan boy fever dream rather than a realistic endeavor.

The price is ridiculous. Vision was around $30-$35 and included three discs. I wouldn't pay $129 for this.
 
AlwaysThere said:
As much as I endorse a high-definition preservation of Michael Jackson's short films, the way the petitioner presented themselves in their pitch reads like a fan boy fever dream rather than a realistic endeavor.

The price is ridiculous. Vision was around $30-$35 and included three discs. I wouldn't pay $129 for this.
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Do you not realize the value of blu ray & why they cost more than dvd
 
wonderouzdj2 said:
Do you not realize the value of blu ray & why they cost more than dvd
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I'm well aware.

An 8-disc Harry Potter Blu-Ray set featuring eight feature-length films and various special features is between $60-$70 dollars. There is no reason why a collection of Michael Jackson music videos should cost more.
 
I'd love to have a fully-restored Blu-Ray boxset of Michael's short films, especially if all of "Ghosts" was included.
 
AlwaysThere said:
I'm well aware.

An 8-disc Harry Potter Blu-Ray set featuring eight feature-length films and various special features is between $60-$70 dollars. There is no reason why a collection of Michael Jackson music videos should cost more.
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Well there is a reason in terms of production costs, surely. Sourcing the original negatives in many cases and transferring them into HD, digitally restoring them, and digitising the special effects etc. It's a huge undertaking. Indeed other examples of this process have raised important questions about the financial viablity of such a project. We talked in another thread about the Star Trek series receiving this type of release and whether it was a financial failure - my memory may be failing but weren't future seasons cancelled due to poor sales? Putting Harry Potter onto a Blu-ray is a much less complicated process given the films were so recent and intended to be seen in a digital home video setting eventually anyway.

I certainly would support the release of a Michael Jackson bluray videos set by paying a hefty price tag - as, to me, it is THAT important. But I understand not many would. And it would certainly be difficult to market such a package at that sort of price to the general public. But then look at the recent announcement of the Hobbit/LOTR blur-ray box set. It's retailing at something like $800...
http://io9.gizmodo.com/that-lord-of-the-rings-hobbit-mega-blu-ray-set-is-reall-1785586749
 
They would never release a big box set like that and with that price. That is just silly. I would buy the short films and concerts on Blu-Ray but I wouldn't expect them to be in a same set.
 
I also want all of Michael's live shows on Blu-Ray, especially the 2001 event from Madison Square Garden. People have done their own HD upgrades for YouTube, but it would be cool to see how well the original footage held up, by comparison.
 
wonderouzdj2 said:
Those of us signing this petition realize the value of such a set, and thereby suggest a retail price of $129.00
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No way in hell am I spending $129USD on a Blu-ray boxset of MJ's short films. I of all people recognise the lengths they would have to go to to get Michael's short films on Blu-ray and the importance of restoring film for future generations... but at that price you're honestly just tempting people to obtain their copies elsewhere (hint: a certain bay of pirates).

The Beatles released a collection called 1+ last year. It was a DVD/Blu-ray collection of 27 music videos/performances, 77 if you bought the deluxe version. How much did the deluxe edition cost upon release? $59USD.

Keeping in mind that all of their films had to be rescanned and digitally restored too and on top of all this, they not only included a booklet filled with information about each and every music video/performance, they ALSO included a CD of The Beatles 1 compilation, which had been specially remixed for the occasion.

For a mega boxset of all MJ's music videos and the odd extras (Captain EO, Ghosts maybe), it should be around that price point too.
 
For that price I'd expect to see myself as an extra in each music video
 
ChrisC said:
Well there is a reason in terms of production costs, surely. Sourcing the original negatives in many cases and transferring them into HD, digitally restoring them, and digitising the special effects etc. It's a huge undertaking. Indeed other examples of this process have raised important questions about the financial viablity of such a project. We talked in another thread about the Star Trek series receiving this type of release and whether it was a financial failure - my memory may be failing but weren't future seasons cancelled due to poor sales? Putting Harry Potter onto a Blu-ray is a much less complicated process given the films were so recent and intended to be seen in a digital home video setting eventually anyway.

I certainly would support the release of a Michael Jackson bluray videos set by paying a hefty price tag - as, to me, it is THAT important. But I understand not many would. And it would certainly be difficult to market such a package at that sort of price to the general public. But then look at the recent announcement of the Hobbit/LOTR blur-ray box set. It's retailing at something like $800...
http://io9.gizmodo.com/that-lord-of-the-rings-hobbit-mega-blu-ray-set-is-reall-1785586749
Click to expand...

Putting that sort of extensive effort into a project would draw a hefty price tag, but what ultimately is a big indicator in success vs. failure is how much the general audience is willing to spend for a product. There's a reason I have never seen anyone purchase one of the massive Blu-Ray box sets that cost in excess of $150 dollars nor do I know anyone who owns them - more often than not the price tag is overwhelmingly unnecessary given the amount of material you get out of it. On occasion these box sets prove to be worth the cash, but they are few and far between.

There is a James Bond package that features 23 films on 23 separate discs, in addition to 120+ hours of special features and a new 90-minute documentary. Six of the films date back to the 1960s, five to the 1970s, and five to the 1980s, all of which would demand extensive video/audio remastering and HD transfers. The price tag? $149.99USD. That is completely understandable and a worthy price to be paid.

This project would feature around 50 (if every video he ever appeared in was included) music videos. (I'm not including Ghosts or Captain EO because, in truth, that's unlikely.) The proposed price tag? $129.99. That's outrageous.

I fully support this cause and agree that a Blu-Ray set would be marvelous if done correctly. But if I saw this price tag included, I would walk right by. Anywhere between $25-$50 could be reasonable, but above that is not in my opinion.
 
AlwaysThere said:
There is a James Bond package that features 23 films on 23 separate discs, in addition to 120+ hours of special features and a new 90-minute documentary. Six of the films date back to the 1960s, five to the 1970s, and five to the 1980s, all of which would demand extensive video/audio remastering and HD transfers. The price tag? $149.99USD. That is completely understandable and a worthy price to be paid.

This project would feature around 50 (if every video he ever appeared in was included) music videos. (I'm not including Ghosts or Captain EO because, in truth, that's unlikely.) The proposed price tag? $129.99. That's outrageous.
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I feel like describing them as simply 'music videos' does them somewhat of an injustice. Many of the 'short films' Michael made throughout his career were major productions, often exceeding 10 minutes in length and are pop culture cornerstones. Of course, you already know that.

So anyway it's pure fantasy at this point, but let's say all the short films (or at least the main ones) came with behind the scenes footage - from what we've seen leaking online where Black or White is concerned there's a LOT of that, over 30 minutes at least just for that one video. And let's say they did a retrospective documentary too, got the choreographers and the directors involved and examined the impact of these videos and had people share their memories etc. And a lovely book too. Does that have any effect on what you'd pay?
 
A lot of MJ's music videos were shot on video tape and not on film, so HD versions of said videos isn't even possible.
 
Eric said:
A lot of MJ's music videos were shot on video tape and not on film, so HD versions of said videos isn't even possible.
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We've discussed this before and I was of the understanding that from Beat It onwards the majority were shot on film, albeit the effects (where applicable) were edited on video.
 
ChrisC said:
We've discussed this before and I was of the understanding that from Beat It onwards the majority were shot on film, albeit the effects (where applicable) were edited on video.
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I'd really like to see the information that led up to this conclusion. It's much more expensive to shoot with film and most of these videos were produced with no intention of ever being shown on a theater screen. There just wasn't much reason to shoot on film.
 
I assumed all of Michael's work since Off the Wall would've been done on film, given his perfectionistic nature. You'd think he'd have wanted to "future-proof" it, to the best of his knowledge and ability.
 
Moviefan2k4 said:
I also want all of Michael's live shows on Blu-Ray, especially the 2001 event from Madison Square Garden. People have done their own HD upgrades for YouTube, but it would be cool to see how well the original footage held up, by comparison.
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The unedited one would be nice, the filter on his face is too much visible...
 
Eric said:
I'd really like to see the information that led up to this conclusion. It's much more expensive to shoot with film and most of these videos were produced with no intention of ever being shown on a theater screen. There just wasn't much reason to shoot on film.
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So you don't know either? Just a logical assumption you've made? I'll try to find that thread where it was discussed.

We certainly know Thriller, Captain Eo and Ghosts were shot on film. Also anything connected to the Moonwalker film, so that means Leave Me Alone, Smooth Criminal and Come Together also on film. I'm of the impression that Martin Scorsese and John Landis would've used the medium of film for their projects so there's Bad and Black or White - indeed, in the behind the scenes footage we've seen they do appear to be film cameras shooting.

I mean, I hate to remind us all again but Michael saw these as short films, these were major productions on soundstages, with some big name movie directors, and Michael was never one to spend conservatively when it came to his art.
 
Eric said:
I'd really like to see the information that led up to this conclusion. It's much more expensive to shoot with film and most of these videos were produced with no intention of ever being shown on a theater screen. There just wasn't much reason to shoot on film.
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I had the impression that starting with Beat It, they were on film mainly because he said that in Moonwalk. "We were shooting 35mm-we were serious."
 
Off the Wall's short films were shot on tape, Billie Jean was shot on 16mm. Thriller and Beat It were 35mm, same with the Bad era short films (minus MITM), you can see many snippets of these films in great quality on the Moonwalker blu-ray retrospective. For Dangerous-era afterwards, I imagine most were still shot on film given the huge budget of Michaels films. Here's a shitty quality image (taken from a YouTube thumbnail) but you can see the Panavision film magazine at the back of the camera, housing all the film (after a very quick look, I don't believe Panavision ever did video/tape anyway, seems they stuck to film and later digital).

hqdefault.jpg
 
ChrisC said:
I feel like describing them as simply 'music videos' does them somewhat of an injustice. Many of the 'short films' Michael made throughout his career were major productions, often exceeding 10 minutes in length and are pop culture cornerstones. Of course, you already know that.

So anyway it's pure fantasy at this point, but let's say all the short films (or at least the main ones) came with behind the scenes footage - from what we've seen leaking online where Black or White is concerned there's a LOT of that, over 30 minutes at least just for that one video. And let's say they did a retrospective documentary too, got the choreographers and the directors involved and examined the impact of these videos and had people share their memories etc. And a lovely book too. Does that have any effect on what you'd pay?
Click to expand...

Fair point with the short film/music video argument.

In the event that the Estate truly went above and beyond with the release - a short documentary, behind the scenes footage for as many videos as humanly possible, a nice package - then perhaps it would be justifiable. But that seems like an impossibility, particularly with the estate we have currently.
 
By the way I recently purchased the blu-ray box set of the American TV series Twin Peaks - although the set has since been re-packaged and reduced in price, when it first came onto the market (in really a beautifully crafted box) it was retailing at round $100.

To be clear, all that's on the set is two seasons of the show, plus the movie, and a wealth of extras. But they've really taken care in transferring the episodes onto blu-ray and they look absolutely fantastic. I'm no technical expert on these things but to get a show that was only ever meant to be seen on the small screen looking so good on blu-ray is quite impressive.
 
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