The Michael Jackson concert rehearsal documentary This Is It is approaching the end of its theatrical run, but fans will only have to wait two months to bring the King of Pop to their home theater — the film’s DVD and Blu-ray will be released on January 26th, 2010. The bonuses on the This Is It DVD include an hour of additional footage not seen in theaters, two making-of documentaries and featurettes about the costuming, dancer auditions and memories of Jackson, Variety reports. And for those who wanted to give the gift of This Is It this holiday season, there’s also good news: Pre-orders for the DVD and Blu-ray will begin December 24th.
Read our opening night review of This Is It.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, This Is It’s run in multiplexes was extended after theater owners afraid that a quick DVD release would diminish ticket sales put pressure on Sony to delay the DVD. The film has grossed around $70 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide. Instead of tying in the DVD release to the big Christmas sales, Sony will instead hitch This Is It to the surge of sales that follows the Grammy Awards, which will be broadcast five days after the disc hits stores, on January 31st, Variety reports.
Look back at Michael Jackson’s most memorable moments.
In case you needed more of a reason to put a Blu-ray player on your gift list this holiday season, the This Is It Blu-ray will house another 30 minutes of footage not available on the standard DVD, plus the “Smooth Criminal” vignette that was filmed for Jackson’s planned London O2 concerts. Portions of the “Smooth Criminal” video, which featured old school gangster clips of Humphrey Bogart and other black-and-white criminals, were shown in This Is It.
See photos from Jackson’s This Is It rehearsals.
As Rolling...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily