Directed by Spike Lee, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall is a documentary film about the period in the life of Michael Jackson from his success as a child when he was singing with his brothers in the Jackson 5 to the first major solo release of his career with 1979’s Off the Wall where he would begin to break out on his own. Featuring rare archival footage and interviews from historians, musicians, artists, and those who knew Michael reveal the boy who was driven to become one of the greatest figures in the history of pop music. The result is an entertaining and exhilarating film from Spike Lee.
The film chronicles the period in the life and career of Michael Jackson from being this idol for children when he was singing in the Jackson 5 and then leaving Motown for Epic to find creative freedom with his brothers that would lead to wanting to make a solo album of his own. It is really the look of a someone who desires to make something of his own while studying everything around him from those he was inspired by to the legends of the past. It’s a film that showcases a prodigy growing up and finding his own identity as a man and an artist and how this album that would set the course in him becoming a legend would be this impact for many people including musicians, artists, actors, athletes, and everyone else.
With interviews with Michael’s brothers Jackie and Marlon as well as Motown founder Berry Gordy, producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, filmmakers Joel Schumacher and Rob Cohen, songwriters Valerie Simpson and Sediah Garrett, Stevie Wonder, and others that knew him. The people Spike Lee would talk to doesn’t just reveal Michael’s drive and persistence but also that desire to wanting to be more than just some bubblegum singer. Even as it comes to the music as he really did all that he could to make it great as he was known for being a perfectionist. The stories about him at Studio 54 reveal that he was there for the music and would spend much of his time either on the dance floor or in the DJ booth. The film also interviews musicians such as Questlove, Pharrell Williams, the Weekend, and David Byrne as well as producers Mark Ronson and Rodney Jerkins where they would dissect each of the songs on the album and reveal why it still holds up.
With the aid of cinematographer Kerwin DeVonish in filming many of the new interviews where actors like John Leguizamo and Rosie Perez talk about the impact of his music and what it meant to them in their adolescents and growing up into adulthood. Lee also brings his own personal experiences about Michael’s music and the impact it had on him and every African-American child growing up when the Jackson 5 were around. With the aid of editors Barry Alexander Brown and Ryan Denmark in compiling many of the footage of concerts including the ones the Jacksons did in the late 70s and early 80s as well as archival audio from many of Michael’s interviews by sound editor Philip Stockton. Even as some of the demos of the songs Michael made for Off the Wall and the stuff he did with his brothers reveal the work that went into those songs which plays into the importance of musicianship and taking the time to make these songs matter in this age of laptops and machines that doesn’t have the human capacity of what can be done.
Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall is an extraordinary film from Spike Lee. Not only is it a fascinating documentary about one of the finest albums in the history of popular music but also an intriguing look into the man that made it and what it took to make a statement from being this child prodigy to a genius that is nearly unparalleled with anyone else in the world of music. In the end, Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall is a phenomenal film from Spike Lee.
Spike Lee Films: (She’s Gotta Have It) - (School Daze) - Do the Right Thing - Mo' Better Blues - Jungle Fever - (Malcolm X) - Crooklyn - (Clockers) - (Girl 6) - (Get on the Bus) - 4 Little Girls - (He Got Game) - Freak - Summer of Sam - (The Kings of Comedy) - (Bamboozled) - (A Huey P. Newton Story) - 25th Hour - (Jim Brown: All-American) - (She Hate Me) - (Inside Man) - (When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts) - (Miracle at St. Anna) - (Kobe Doin’ Work) - (Passing Strange) - (If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise) - (Red Hook Summer) - Bad 25 - (Oldboy 2013 film)) - Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth - (Da Blood of Jesus) - (Chi-Raq) - BlacKkKlansman - Da 5 Bloods - (American Utopia)
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Alex Gibney, Sinatra: All or Nothing at All is a two-part, four-plus hour documentary film about the life and career of Frank Sinatra through various archival footage and interviews from the man himself as well as those who knew him and biographers that wrote about Sinatra. Inter-cut with footage from Sinatra’s first retirement concert in 1971 in Los Angeles where he sings a selection of his iconic songs which serves as chapters to each part of his life. The film revels into the many highs and lows Sinatra endured as an entertainer and as a man. The result is a fascinating yet elegant film from Alex Gibney.
If there was one vocalist who was pretty much the standard bearer of the 20th Century, it was Frank Sinatra whose voice captured a generation where he was a heartthrob in late 1930s and 1940s into becoming the master crooner who would rule the charts from the 1950s and 1960s defying trends as well as cultivate a successful career in films where he would win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the 1953 film From Here to Eternity. The documentary doesn’t just tell the story of Sinatra’s life but it is told through the songs that made him a legend as he performs them in his first retirement concert in 1971 that is shown through rare footage that hadn’t been seen for many years.
The film is split into two parts that intertwine with footage from the 1971 concert as the first half is about Sinatra’s early life as a child with Italian immigrant parents as well as his early triumphs as a singer where he was a teen heartthrob. The second half revolves around Sinatra in the 1950s after he won an Oscar and recovered from his late 1940s career decline where he would become very popular as well as having involvements with the Mafia and John F. Kennedy as well as his relationships with other women. Much of it isn’t just told through Sinatra’s own words but also from the view of friends and colleagues as it is collected through many archives and such that played into Sinatra’s life. Though there aren’t any real narrators in the film other than a few biographers, it does allow Sinatra’s life to be presented by many as well as display a man who was all sort of things yet remain a man that is from Hoboken, New Jersey.
Alex Gibney’s direction is quite simple where he and his editors Samuel D. Pollard, Ben Sozanski, and Anoosh Tertzakian, along with sound editor Alexa Zimmerman, Gibney compiles many archival interviews including a famous one in the 1960s with Walter Kronkite along with interviews from the late 70s and early 80s. With the aid of cinematographers Antonio Rossi and Samuel Painter along with visual effects supervisor Raul Ortega, they would recreate pictures and old stock footage to play into the impact Sinatra had not just in popular culture but also in American society. Even where he would have a reputation where it is flawed as it played into a man full of contradictions and such that makes him far more compelling.
Then there’s the music as the songs that are chosen to represent each part of his life play into who he is as a performer and why he’s never caught on into any trends where Mia Farrow reveal that singing something that is popular doesn’t mean anything to him if he can’t connect with it. It says a lot to the man as there’s clips of him performing with other acts including Elvis Presley where it represents the old guard passing the torch to the new generation where the two definitely show common ground when singing together. Even in moments that showcase that he is willing to sing at any place including a prison in Washington D.C. where it proves that despite the fact that he’s a womanizer and can be a dick sometimes. The man cares for the people and is willing to give them their times worth for a performance.
Sinatra: All or Nothing at All is a phenomenal documentary from Alex Gibney. The film is definitely not just a captivating portrait about one of the greatest entertainers that ever lived but also managed to show more of the man as just a man rather than the legend he’s known for. In the end, Sinatra: All or Nothing at All is a sensational film from Alex Gibney.
© thevoid99 2015
Directed by Spike Lee, Bad 25 is the story about the making of Michael Jackson’s 1987 album and its impact on the world of pop music where many artists past and present discuss Jackson’s legacy and the album that dared to follow-up his mega-selling 1982 album Thriller. The result is a fascinating and enjoyable documentary from Spike Lee.
The film is essentially the story of Michael Jackson’s goals for Bad and the making of the album and music videos that went along for the album. Through many associates of Michael Jackson including bodyguard/confidant Miko Brando and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, the people discuss about what Jackson wanted to do as well as the fact that he wanted to reach new standards for himself as an artist and performer. While a few songs from the album don’t get profiled like Speed Demon and Just Good Friends, the rest of the album does get talked about. Along with commentaries from other artists like Mariah Carey and Kanye West and journalist Nelson George, they all discuss the brilliance of each song as well as some of the music videos.
The film also features rare footage of the making of those videos including the title track that was directed by Martin Scorsese. Scorese and his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker discuss the video as they’re remastering it for the upcoming Bad 25 DVD release. The footage also includes some rare making of footage that includes Wesley Snipes who was making his acting debut at the time. Other stories include the fact that the song I Just Can’t Stop Loving You was originally supposed to be a duet between Jackson and Whitney Houston. Yet, Houston’s label didn’t want her to do it in fear of overexposure where Siedah Garrett ended up co-singing it with Jackson based on the demo she was singing on.
Spike Lee brings a lot of moments where many of the people who are interviewed are relaxed and provide a few funny commentaries. Also included are voice-overs from Quincy Jones and rare interviews from Jackson during the promotional period for the album. Lee also reveals how many of the dances from those videos were made through the help of choreographer Jeffrey Daniel whom Jackson had known in the 70s as Daniel was a dancer for Soul Train. With some wonderful editing by Barry Alexander Brown who helps fuses a lot of the rare footage with the commentaries made by the people in the interview. It helps tell the story as Lee manages to keep things in tact. The only few flaws in the film do come late when Jackson’s death is discussed along with the appearance of Chris Brown whose immature and thuggish presence was just unnecessary for the film.
Bad 25 is an excellent TV documentary from Spike Lee about Michael Jackson’s Bad. It’s a documentary that not only captures the brilliance of the album but also indicate many of the reasons into why Jackson is so missed. Despite a few flaws in the documentary, it is still engaging for the way it reveal why people love Jackson and this album as well as the fact that it is still a timeless record 25 years since it was release. In the end, Bad 25 is a wonderful tribute to Michael Jackson from Spike Lee.
Spike Lee Films: (She’s Gotta Have It) - (School Daze) - Do the Right Thing - Mo' Better Blues - Jungle Fever - (Malcolm X) - Crooklyn - (Clockers) - (Girl 6) - (Get On the Bus) - 4 Little Girls - (He Got Game) - Freak - Summer of Sam - (The Original Kings of Comedy) - (Bamboozled) - (A Huey P. Newton Story) - 25th Hour - (Jim Brown: All-American) - (She Hate Me) - (Inside Man) - (When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts) - (Miracle at St. Anna) - (Kobe Doin’ Work) - (Passing Strange) - (If God is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise) - (Red Hook Summer) - Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth - (Oldboy (2013 film)) - (Da Blood of Jesus) - (Chi Raq) - Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall - BlacKkKlansman - Da 5 Bloods - (American Utopia)
© thevoid99 2012
