Michael Jackson

• Cat.no: 501389
• Cert: E
• Running time: 107 minutes
• Year: 1997
• Pressing: 1998
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 16 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: English lyrics available
• Promo videos presented in different, respective ratios
• 16:9-enhanced: No
• Macrovision: No
• Disc Format: DVD 10
• Price: £19.99
• Extras : Scene index

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Michael Jackson: History On Film Volume II is a collection of some of the self-proclaimed ‘King Of Pop’s best videos such as Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Stranger In Moscow, Earth Song and Thriller, the latter of which has appeared in its own 15-certificate video before so it’s interesting that the overall package is exempt from certification, although a number of music titles with strong language or adult content have also done the same.

The picture quality is the best I’ve ever seen for a UK DVD with not a hint of artifacts on display and a superb transfer given the age of some of these clips. The average bitrate is an extremely high 9.7Mb/s on side one and 8.91Mb/s on side two. Given that most of the promos are 4:3, the disc is obviously not anamorphic – a process used for prints with a ratio of 16:9 or wider which allows extra resolution on widescreen televisions.

The sound is also reproduced brilliantly and options for Stereo and Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround) are available.

Extras :

Chapters :

There are 16 chapters, one for each song as well as the intro and the outro sequences. The track listing is as follows :

Side One

1. Programme Start
2. Teaser
3. Billie Jean (Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever)
4. Beat It
5. Liberian Girl
6. Smooth Criminal
7. 1995 MTV Video Music Awards Performance
8. Thriller

Side Two

1. Scream
2. Childhood
3. You Are Not Alone
4. Earth Song
5. They Don’t Care About Us
6. Stranger In Moscow
7. Blood On The Dance Floor (Refugee Camp Mix)
8. Brace Yourself

Languages/Subtitles :

As you’d expect all the songs are sung in English, or their native language depending on the song such as part of Liberian Girl. What I didn’t expect, is that lyrics are an option. As expected, they’re in English, but unexpectedly they also include any extra dialogue from characters onscreen.

The lyrics are great for working out what Wacko Jacko’s on about and I’m sure that They Don’t Really Care About Us was once used for the ‘Guess The Lyrics’ round in BBC2’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

Menu :

The menu is static and functional. Navigation between the different sub-menus is easy.

Overall, this DVD is of course going to be mainly of interest to big fans of Michael Jackson’s work, but it’s also worth a purchase for anyone who wants an exceptional demo disc with which to show off their system – not to mention anyone who wants the full-length promo for Thriller on the best format possible.

If I had any complaints, the first would be to ask why programme is split over two sides but given the high bitrate and excellent quality, I’m more than happy to overlook that. Some notes on MJ’s career would be of interest too, considering that he’s had plenty of “HIStory”.