X
- 2016
- Not Rated
- Canvas
- 1 h 33 m
- 2016
- Not Rated
- Canvas
- 1 h 33 m
Summary A look at the life of the late pop star Michael Jackson from his early days at Motown Records to the release of his hit 1979 album, Off the Wall.
Directed By: Spike Lee
- 2016
- Not Rated
- Canvas
- 1 h 33 m
- 2016
- Not Rated
- Canvas
- 1 h 33 m
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
66
6.7
Summary A look at the life of the late pop star Michael Jackson from his early days at Motown Records to the release of his hit 1979 album, Off the Wall.
Directed By: Spike Lee
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
66
50% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
50% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
66
50% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
50% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
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.
This bouncily entertaining doc may boast only a notch more formal ambition than a very well-assembled “Behind the Music” special, but is no less essential than Lee’s first MJ opus, the excellent “Bad 25.”
Lee keeps his celebration smart and not soppy. He gets you excited, makes you feel the moment, see what was new in it, why it mattered.
What it resembles more than anything is a deluxe extended episode of a television music-biography series like “Unsung” (or “Behind the Music” minus the scandals).
It’s a brazen celebration of Jackson, which unlike Lee’s other documentary work doesn’t look under the hood to tell the whole story and examine some of the more uncomfortable inner workings.
Spike Lee’s documentary on this formative period in Michael Jackson’s career derives its electric, enlivening energy from these fantastic clips. Alas, they’re not enough to alter the fact that this non-fiction effort . . . is merely a nostalgic promotional puff piece meant to look back fondly, and uncritically, at an artist transitioning from a youth-oriented pop fad to the biggest star in the world.
The film is a friendly, warm, and inviting documentary that dances and shouts without ever shaking its body down to the ground. There aren’t any revelations, there aren’t any demons, and there’s zero drama. It’s simply another rolodex of talking heads — including David Byrne, speak of the devil — that want to talk about Michael Jackson.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
33% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 6 User Ratings
6.7
67% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
33% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
Optimum Productions,
Sony Legacy,
40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks
Release Date Feb 5, 2016
Duration 1 h 33 m
Rating Not Rated
Genres
