The base of the DVD This is it is to offer music lovers a backstage all access pass to witness the King of Pop’s plan and create what would have been his electrifying and triumphant return to the stage in London’s O2 Arena.

The DVD allows fans to go beyond the theatrical experience of the film with the two documentaries Staging The Return: Beyond The Show and Staging The Return: The Adventure Begins, in which Michael Jackson is shown developing, creating and rehearsing for his sold-out This Is It tour. Also on offer in the package are a series of illuminating featurettes, including The Gloved One, a costume themed featurette; Memories of Michael, in which cast and crew pay moving tribute to the legacy of Michael Jackson; Auditions: Searching for the World's Best Dancers, spotlighting the search for the show’s incredibly talented backup dancers; and the film’s Theatrical Trailer.

Michael Jackson sadly passed away (Jackson died on June 25th 2009) before he got to perform his grueling 50 date engagement in London that was to open in July. This film shows rehearsals at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Fortunately for the fans footage was filmed of his rehearsals. So what you get here is exclusive footage chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, just days before he was to embark on the massive tour.  The film is drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, and genius as he creates and perfects his final show. 

Michael performs material that spans his career, from a Motown medley to multi-platinum hits from Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. It also has a stock full of interviews with those associated with Michael Jackson's planned London concerts, many snippets of creative discussions with his team, other "behind the scenes" activities, sharing time with his dancers, praying together and much more. The perfectionist that Michael was, we can see in the video his retakes until he perfected the move to his satisfaction. Also shown as film sequences that would have been included in the concerts, including some wonderful filmed sequences (one "co-starring" Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth). Memorable moments in the DVD include among others, songs like They Don't Care About Us which is truly amazing, The Smooth Criminal dance steps are impressive, so was the Earth Song which had a beautiful video of a little girl in a forest, waking up to see that all of it has been destroyed. There is so much more, you just have to watch the film. After you have watched the entire spectacle, you cannot but shed a tear for all the work the King of Pop endured to bring one of the best ever concerts to date, but sadly that never happened. Having this film as part of the memorabilia is of course something every Michael Jackson fan will desperately wish to own.  Even if you aren’t a very big fan it is still a fab set to view.

On DVD 2 we have featurettes of Meeting the dancers, Meeting the band and Meeting the vocalists. There’s also the must see Dancing Machine besides an exhaustive photo feature of Michael Jackson pictures.

Rating: *****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira