WATCH: Spike Lee Directs Michael Jackson Video
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MICHAEL JACKSON
Michael Jackson's death last June has inspired many emotional tributes from fans across the globe. Now Do the Right Thing filmmaker Spike Lee has released his nod to the fallen King with the official music video for "This Is It." Watch below.
The song -- originally recorded in 1983 and released posthumously this past October -- inspired the documentary film of the same name, featuring footage from Jackson's final rehearsals for the London concert residency planned for last summer. Like the blockbuster doc, the music video reminds us of the singer's incredible talent and significance to music fans worldwide.
Produced under Lee's 40 Acres & a Mule company, the five-minute clip opens at the corner of 2300 Jackson Street and Jackson Family Boulevard, the location of the singer's childhood home in the working class industrial town of Gary, Indiana. Next, it artfully intersperses iconic images of the singer with video footage of fan tributes, from bouquets of flowers outside his Neverland Ranch to mass gatherings of dancers wearing homemade MJ t-shirts and silver-sequined gloves.
It's a heartfelt remembrance of the King of Pop not just from one of film's most celebrated directors, but from one of MJ's biggest fans.
"This Is It," directed by Spike Lee:
17 Comments
Click here to comment- Posted By theumpteenthtimes
12.28.09 10:49 PM
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- Posted By Anonymous
12.28.09 8:05 PM
Thank you so much for this tribute. I cannot put into words the sadness I have felt for the death of someone whom I have never met. What an amazingly beautiful human being Michael was. I only wish that more of the world could be made aware of the many selfless acts of love and grace he bestowed upon the sick, dying and poor, especially the children. The world could surely stand to have a few more like him. I feel blessed to have grown up with his music while dreaming of meeting him someday. Maybe in heaven. Michael, we love and miss you. RIP!
- Posted By Anonymous
12.28.09 8:02 PM
I'm glad Spike Lee made this video. I also wish Sony had voluntarily given him the footage from the rehearsals instead of having it turned into the film, "This Is It", which wreaked of exploitation. (So, how did Sony get paid, anyway?) Spike is a talented filmmaker, who could have incorporated the rehearsal footage into either his music video, or even better, could have created an honest, thoughtful documentary.
- Posted By MJ Fan lover
12.28.09 7:45 PM
THANK YOU Mr. Spike Lee for such a loving video of Michael Jackson. It is one of the best i have seen. He is in GODS arms now. What a wonderful entertainer and person. I just wish he could have found the love he so desired here on earth. But now I know he is filled with all the love and happiness. THANKS AGAIN Mr. Lee
- Posted By ladierose1021
12.28.09 6:12 PM
Wonderful, wonderful. Spike, thank you for the beautiful tribute to Micheal Jackson. Very well put together, and tastefully done. I am glad you took the time to direct this fitting tribute to Michael. We won't see another Michael Jackson in this life time. I am glad I had the opportunity to witness sheer, raw, God-given, talent. R.I.P. Michael.
- Posted By Adryenn Ashley
12.28.09 3:49 PM
I feel privledged that I saw Michael perform at the Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr in Hollywood in the late 80's. I was less than 10 feet away when he performed. It was amazing.
I've always been able to spot who has the "IT" factor. I get goose bumps. I can pick them out of a room of thousands. When I saw him perform it was way more than that! To this day I have never seen another with more talent.
His life was destined to be a struggle and a mystery. Someday, his children might be able to shed some light on what it was like for him, because he just wasn't a regular guy. He was more than that.
We should be thankful that we had him on loan for a little while.
- Posted By Anonymous
12.28.09 3:27 PM
michael is God's special angel that's y he was only loaned 2 us 4 a little while, he was too perfect 2 b amongst us 2 long, but the important thing about it all is he left us messages that just can't die bcause he is gone. Being the man in the mirror everyday is what matters...long live his message and his Legacy, michael was as special as a mom u only get one. PEaCE
12.30.09 7:09 AM
Some say Michael should be thought of as nothing more than an 80’s artefact, a relic of the bad, brash, Lucas-filmed, pre-Aids, pre-9/11 years, when we thought the whole world loved America and people adored their stars like the old movie idols from back in the day. But what they fail to realize is this; every kid I know is discovering Star Wars for the first time. The Sistine Chapel is no less beautiful now than it was when its painter first stepped down and exhaled. Michael often quoted Michelangelo – who said: ‘I will bind my soul to my work.’ This is what Michael Jackson did. He put all that young idealism, that thirst for freedom, that yearning to ‘move’ and be moved, his love and joy, his rage, his pain, his sorrow, his confusion and his loss - into his work. And when all the lies and the untruths have faded with time, and those predators who even now pick at his memory like vultures to the bone have finished their feasting – his work will remain.
Because true art is Immortal.