Spike Lee announces Off The Wall Documentary - Estate Announcement Page 66

'Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown To Off The Wall': Spike Lee Wants Him Back

Ken Tucker

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A completely successful attempt to re-position Michael Jackson as a profoundly self-aware artist, as opposed to the freakish and tragic celebrity that he became, Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown To Off The Wall is both thrilling and instructional.

The documentary, which will air on Showtime on Friday, begins with the Jackson 5’s rise to fame in the late 1960s and carries on through until the release of Jackson’s solo album Off The Wall in 1979. The early hits — “I Want You Back,” “ABC” — remain extraordinary bursts of talent, with Michael’s impossibly powerful voice leading it. “This kid, at age nine, meant serious, serious business,” says Motown Records founder Berry Gordy — and Berry Gordy knows business.

This becomes the theme of director Lee’s film: The idea that Jackson, from an early age, had a sense of himself as both an artist and a commercial force. There are interviews with people who helped shape the sound, as the Jackson 5 gave way to the Jacksons, which in turn led to Michael’s solo career. The production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who collaborated on Jackson hits like “Enjoy Yourself,” add to the testimony of Gordy and Quincy Jones (the latter the co-producer of Off The Wall) in describing Jackson’s recording-studio methods and work ethic.

Questlove has become the go-to guy for pop-music perspective in music documentaries for a reason he proves once again here: He brings a musician’s knowledge of why a piece of music is special (his analysis here of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” is a mini-music class) as well as a fan’s appreciation for what that music meant to millions of ordinary people — how Jackson’s music during this era not only defined the time, but made the world a better place simply by its existence.

Lee shows us quite a bit of footage from the Jacksons’ “Triumph Tour” shows at the Los Angeles Forum in 1981. I was there, and can confirm the director’s enthusiasm for these remarkable shows, which were not only displays of Michael’s ceaseless energy and creativity, but also performances that dramatized, onstage, the fact that Michael had outgrown his brothers — he was ready to step out on his own, gloriously.

The documentary stops just at the point Jackson was beginning to record Thriller, and does so for a reason. In Lee’s view, the immense popularity of Thriller overshadowed Off The Wall, and Lee wants to rehabilitate the latter’s reputation. But beyond that, Lee knows that, with Thriller, Jackson’s rise to the preeminent perch in popular music was also the period that would begin a decline into self-consciousness, self-doubt, eccentricity, fear, and ultimately withdrawal from the world that inspired so much of Jackson’s best work.

Better to stop where Spike Lee does, and revel once again in the magnificence of Michael Jackson at the apex of his will to greatness.

Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown To Off The Wall airs Friday at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/michael-jackson-spike-lee-review-documentary-154717713.html
 
officialspikeleeRESTOCK ALERT: In anticipation for Friday's television premiere of MICHAEL JACKSON'S JOURNEY FROM MOTOWN TO OFF THE WALL on Showtime, copies of Spike Lee's BAD 25 on Blu Ray and DVD are once again available. Get rare behind the scenes footage and hear the stories that led to the creation of Michael Jackson's Bad album. Purchase your copy with an autographed signature from Spike Lee at SpikesJoint.com

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBVne38SquY/
 
officialspikeleeRESTOCK ALERT: In anticipation for Friday's television premiere of MICHAEL JACKSON'S JOURNEY FROM MOTOWN TO OFF THE WALL on Showtime, copies of Spike Lee's BAD 25 on Blu Ray and DVD are once again available. Get rare behind the scenes footage and hear the stories that led to the creation of Michael Jackson's Bad album. Purchase your copy with an autographed signature from Spike Lee at SpikesJoint.com

https://www.instagram.com/p/BBVne38SquY/

Does he ship worldwide?
 
As a big fan of Talking Heads, it's really great to see David Byrne in a documentary about Michael.
 
Does anyone know outside of concert footage what new footage we have? I'd really like to know what MJ stuff we get to see..
 
Fantastic reviews on NYT and rogerebert.com. I can not post from here. If anyone else sees them please post. :)
 
Sheila O'Malley
February 4, 2016 |



Michael may be the purest talent I've ever seen. He's incapable of a false moment."

(Director Sidney Lumet, on Michael Jackson in "The Wiz.")




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Michael Jackson, along with his almost otherworldly talent, was always one of the most emotional performers. In the pantheon with James Brown, Judy Garland, Jackie Wilson, and a handful of other electric live performers, Jackson's onstage persona and performing ability was akin to the Big Bang, there was no end to the expansion. People responded to him personally, and, because he started out so young, a generation grew up with him, identified with him, watched in awe at his transformations. Spike Lee's documentary "Michael Jackson’s Journey From Motown to Off the Wall," premiering on February 5th on Showtime, is as emotional as its subject matter. Kobe Bryant, interviewed in the documentary, says at one point, "It's easy for people to get sidetracked. They talk about his complexion. They don't focus on what this man was, and how he was that." What with the tabloid frenzy of Michael Jackson's life, not to mention his early death, Lee's documentary is a welcome corrective as well as an almost aggressive act of redress and celebration. It does not get "sidetracked." It's about Michael Jackson's work, and how he worked. Maybe most pleasingly, it's a track-by-track history lesson of Jackson's 1979 album "Off the Wall," an album that still gets so much radio play today that if you didn't know better you might think it was released last weekend.The plot points of Jackson's early life (the rise of the Jackson 5 on Motown, their jump to Epic, Michael emerging as the solo star, culminating in Off the Wall) may be well-known to those who grew up in that era but Lee presents it in a way that passes the information on to a new generation. When there is an artist as big as Michael Jackson was, as important, as ... improbable, really (and it's more improbable the more you learn), it's essential that an understanding of the achievement of that art is passed on (especially to kids who may only know him as the weird man in sunglasses on the cover of every tabloid). A film like Lee's says: "See what he did? See how much space he created for others? For you? Honor that."

Format-wise, the documentary is pretty standard: fun archival footage of concerts and cartoons and interviews, beautiful still photographs, and lots of interview subjects. Quincy Jones, Motown's Berry Gordy, Philadelphia soul producers Gamble and Huff, Ron Alexenburg at Epic, Marlon and Jackie Jackson, all provide background for the Motown years, the Epic years, for the explosion of the Jackson 5 as a worldwide phenomenon.Counterpointed against the professional memories of Jackson's colleagues, are the voices of those inspired by Michael Jackson, including Lee himself. Lee Daniels ("He's everything I aspired to be"), David Byrne, Mark Ronson, Rosie Perez, John Leguizamo, Questlove, Misty Copeland, Kobe Bryant, Pharrell, John Legend ... all weigh in with memories of what he meant to them, how he pushed them to be better in their own work, try harder, work harder.

What happens as you listen to the chorus of voices is that a different kind of story starts to emerge. Talent is one thing. Michael Jackson obviously had that. But he was not just a raw genius who knew how to sing and move. Even as a child, he approached his work (and the Motown giants around him) with curiosity, inquisitiveness, and an insatiable desire to learn from them. He himself said that the key to success was "listening." The documentary pays tribute to his dancing as well as his singing. Jackson was a prodigy dancer, obsessed with The Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis, Jr., able to replicate their routines perfectly after watching them only once. What became his recognizable dance style had long roots in the culture, and his moves incorporated the whole history of American dance.One of the most gratifying sections of the documentary is the in-depth "Off the Wall" discussion, song by song by song: the "hooks," the rhythm sections, the horns, the guitars.

Musicians reminisce about playing on that album, and contemporary musicians talk about the impact that this or that specific sound had on their own work. It's so rich and so informative that the moment I finished watching the documentary I listened to the album front to back. I grew up with Michael Jackson. I have all the albums. It may sound trite, but watching all of the footage in the documentary, the concerts, music videos, television appearances, his beautifully simple performance of "Ben" at the 45th Academy Awards, at age 14, drives home just how much we lost when we lost him. The other element of Michael Jackson's career that becomes crystal clear in the documentary is the fact that nobody —not even music industry people who thought Michael Jackson was talented—could perceive just how big he was going to get. How many cute child-stars go on to become as huge an adult star as Michael Jackson? Who could even envision something like that? The perception of the Jackson 5 was that they were very successful, but they were a "packaged" commodity, a novelty act. A lot of the people at Epic didn't want them on the label. Campaigns on their behalf had to be fought all along the way, as insane as that sounds now.

Michael Jackson's career is a powerful example of what it looks like when an artist loves what he does. It's a high bar, but that's as it should be. If you don't approach your work like that as an artist, why do it? It's a concept brought up again and again in the documentary, perhaps its most emotional component. How many music stars today barely seem to like what they're doing, let alone love it? The documentary is a reminder, and an important one, about what Michael Jackson brought to the table, and it was more than talent, it was love. That is what audiences felt when they watched Michael Jackson, and when they listened to his songs. It's why Rosie Perez almost tears up in her interview, talking about her sense of "thankfulness" to him because of how much joy he brought to her life. Exquisitely researched, beautifully put together, with that celebratory knowledgeable chorus of voices pouring over us, what Spike Lee's documentary really is is an act of love.​


http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/michael-jacksons-journey-from-motown-to-off-the-wall-2016
 
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Reading that list of interviewees/participants I'm little disappointed as there are significantly less collaborators and session musicians than on Bad 25.
 
That seem to always happen we miss the ppls who really work on the album. In the lawsuit it was mention that nothing could be change without QJ consent i could be wrong but Spike had to work with what he had. It look like it is going to be good i am set to watch it on Showtime at 9:00 pm my time. I took off from work to see this was not going to miss it.
 
Brooke *******?

Yeah, for some weird reason Damein Sheilds' name is banned on MJJC (while Roger Friedman's isn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). So automatically Brook S. and anyone who have his name or surname, that persons name can't be spelled here.
 
It's FRIDAY!!!! It's OFF THE WALL Documentary day, WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! :party:

:bugeyed:bugeyed aaaww shit!! ooooohhhh my sexy Michael :woohoo:takes my breath away :heat: that absolutely HOT sexy, wow!!!!!! :woohoo::woohoo::woohoo:
he looks so hot I can't help but drool :dribble:can't take my eyes off his crotch :swoon: and that yummy neck :woohoo::woohoo:daamnn I jut LOVE his neck :dribble: even the the big vein on is neck is so delicious :dribble: :woohoo::woohoo:
can't handle the hotness :head_bang:
 
Hey Sheila! Yep, I'm anxious to see the docu too. I especially wanna see what performance footage will be included.
The first video in your post has ALWAYS been a favorite performance for me from Michael. I watch it....well, a lot. Lol!

18 and a half hours.


.....and counting. :)
 
For all you chalk enthusiasts, Amazon is selling 16-packs that have multiple colors for only $6 bucks!
It will compliment the the white piece included in the Off The Wall package really well.

I'm gonna add it to my order of the BluRay/CD right now.

That's an awesome idea!!! :wild: I'll do that too
 
I can't check all posts here..
Could someone tell me about the showtime please?
I can't understand well from the website as below.

1.could you someone tell me where can I watch the world premier?
http://www.sho.com/sho/reality-docs...ns-journey-from-motown-to-off-the-wall#/index

Is this the right URL?

2. Can I watch on internet? Cause I have the time difference so I can't watch the live broadcasting.

3. Can I watch on free?

Thank you in advance.
 
I can't check all posts here..
Could someone tell me about the showtime please?
I can't understand well from the website as below.

1.could you someone tell me where can I watch the world premier?
http://www.sho.com/sho/reality-docs...ns-journey-from-motown-to-off-the-wall#/index

Is this the right URL?

2. Can I watch on internet? Cause I have the time difference so I can't watch the live broadcasting.

3. Can I watch on free?

Thank you in advance.
It is the right URL and this is where I'm going to watch it. Showtime free trial on the internet for a month. But it says US only.
I think they made separate tv deals with other countries.
 
It is the right URL and this is where I'm going to watch it. Showtime free trial on the internet for a month. But it says US only.
I think they made separate tv deals with other countries.

Thank you for the info,barbee0715 :)
That is pity that it says US only..
I will wait the youtube video ( If that is allowed )
 
"SHOWTIME is available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon and Google. Consumers can also subscribe to Showtime via Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Sony PlayStation® Vue."

Does that mean that people outside of the US can get that stand-alone streaming service thingy that is mentioned above or can get Showtime from UK Amazon prime?

I can't even find that damn Amazon Prime video from UK Amazon:-(
 
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