As long as I live I will never forget the premier of Michael Jackson's Thriller video. I was young. So young in fact, I was not allowed in the room. Mind you, like any cunning kid, I slid up behind the couch and watched with one eye. The lesson I learned that day was that dancing zombies are only a little less scary than regular zombies. It also helped reiterate that there was a time when Michael Jackson was really cool. I know he got weird, but one thing that never changed, his talent. He was undeniably talented. Nothing reminds people of that quite like Thriller.
So I thought, what better time than Halloween to bust out some classic making-of Thriller footage? I owned this on VHS, so there is a real sense of nostalgia here. It is amazing to see how one of the greatest music videos of all time came to be. It could also be said there is a real sense of tragedy behind the childlike wonder you see in him here, only because we all saw how he ended up.
Watch part two here, and part three here.
For some reason, when I was in 8th grade, the entire middle school was shown the whole thing- Making of MJ's Thriller. I thought it was totally cool then.
Looking at it now, I'm struck by Michael. He was so small, his voice so childish. And he could dance! Thanks for posting this.