I really appreciated your review. I hope to see it myself. It would really
have been something to see FA in rehearsal. Some home movies have already
surfaced, so maybe we will have the opportunity someday.

--- In astaire@yahoogroups.com, "P.J. Thum" <pjthum@...> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> I had the chance to watch "This Is It", the Michael Jackson
> documentary, today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fred's admiration for
> Michael Jackson- and especially for his dancing- is well documented.
> Jackson's adoration of Fred and of Sammy Davis Jr is also well known.
> Setting aside Jackson's own troubled childhood and personal life, I
> just wanted to comment on what I saw onscreen today.
>
> I came away convinced that this might be nearest we ever come to
> seeing a documentary of Fred himself rehearsing for one of his
> broadway shows. Jackson was utterly professional, never raised his
> voice, was never angry, and was always courteous to cast and crew. He
> clearly enjoyed what he was doing, and was very precise about what he
> wanted. With his collaborator, Kenny Ortega, he micro-managed the show
> to perfection, correcting timing, refining cues, talking about small
> but critical details about the music and dance. He was always in
> control, the auteur of his shows.
>
> His dancing was also impeccable. Built upon very precise movements, he
> flawlessly kept up with supporting dancers half his age. He never
> showed any signs of tiring.
>
> Watching, I imagined Fred, halting the orchestra to explain to them
> the tango (the Dance of the Sacred Cow), or dancing with his men half
> his age in the television specials.
>
> Cinematically, there was a lot of Fred as well. The entire "Smooth
> Criminal" number was a tribute to "The Girl Hunt Ballet", with the
> white suit and cleverly inserted clips that allowed him to interact
> with Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth. The dancing was always filmed
> with Jackson's entire body, in continuous shots with few abrupt cuts-
> just as Fred would have wanted.
>
> The documentary is as much a tribute to a master entertainer and his
> devotion to his craft as it is a movie about a concert that never came
> to be. I really enjoyed myself and highly recommend it to anyone who
> appreciates watching a dancer at the top of his game working
> relentlessly on creating a piece of art for his fans to enjoy.
>
> cheers,
> PJ
>