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Look at this guys contstant bashing...Sickening!!!You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginMichael Jackson's Vision, reviewJackson's video collection is by turns extravagant and nostalgic, but Neil McCormick just feels pity. Poor Michael. It is impossible to watch his collection of videos without feeling pity at this visual evidence of his self-destruction. In four and half hours of extravagant (over-) productions, you see the handsome, smiling young black entertainer of 1979’s ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’ gradually mutate into the stick thin, white scarecrow figure of 2001’s ‘You Rock My World’, his final official appearance. With sawed off button nose and painted on lips, by the end he barely looks human, and it seems peculiar the way the typically heavyweight cast (including Chris Rock and Marlon Brando) casually interact with a zombie in their midst. The title ‘Michael Jackson’s Vision’, and the assertion that these aren’t promo videos but “short films”, is typical of the grandiosity attached to every Jackson project. The hits of the eighties retain nostalgic charm, but apart from the genuinely ground breaking and still impressive ‘Thriller’ few really stand the test of the time. The overlong shorts (including Martin Scorcese’s woeful Bad) are narratively baffling to a point that would be comical if they weren’t so bloated with an air of preening narcissism in which fawning guest stars gasp at Jackson’s mystical super-powers. They are further burdened by a kind of egotism of budgetary excess. As Jackson’s star wanes in the 90s, the videos keep getting bigger and madder, more bucks for less bangs. Certain themes repeat. There is a surprisingly destructive streak to Jackson’s videos: windows are smashed and violent gangster fantasies run rife, with the willowy star putting himself in the centre of aggressive dance offs between gangs of over-styled thugs. The extended dancing sequences remain Jackson’s strongest suit, the moment when he seems most fully connected with his music and art, although a five minute, crotch grabbing sequence at the end of ‘Black And White’ is as embarrassing as it is weirdly compelling. His constant self fondling may have something to do with the box set’s dubious 15 certificate, along perhaps with Jackson’s penchant for horror movie imagery. My seven year old wasn’t put off, however. Unburdened by any sense of Jackson’s tragedy, he bounced enthusiastically around, attempting to replicate exuberantly physical dance moves in our living room. He thinks Jackson is “really great”. But he did, innocently, wonder why he turned into a white man. Michael Jackson’s Vision: a 3 DVD box set featuring 40 videos is released by Sony today
My seven year old wasn’t put off, however. ............. he bounced enthusiastically around, attempting to replicate exuberantly physical dance moves in our living room.
... few really stand the test of the time.
