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Michael Jackson: The Making of "Thriller": 4 Days/1983
Michael The Making of "Thriller" is an illustrated tribute to the King of Pop and his groundbreaking music video, with never-before-seen photos of its creation. The book features over 200 exclusive, behind-the-scenes photographs of the artist on set during the 1983 production of the Grammy award winning video directed by John Landis.
Considered to be the most successful project of all time, "Thriller" is beloved the world over, inspiring imitation and a cult-like following of millions of fans. Documenting the creation of the most popular and iconic music video of all time, this book celebrates the artist and his music at the top of his career.
Famed photographer Douglas Kirkland and journalist Nancy Griffin were the only members of the media allowed on the set of the video. The resulting photos capture Jackson both in high performance mode and relaxing on the set and depict his transformation into the characters in the video as well capturing the public and private faces of Michael Jackson.
Compelling, intimate photos of the artist are accompanied by interviews and quotes from musicians and celebrities, including Sir Paul McCartney, Diddy, Beyonce, Steven Spielberg and many more. With a holographic cover that, when tilted, transforms the artist into his zombie character, the book is an impressive gift to be treasured by fans and music lovers everywhere.
Considered to be the most successful project of all time, "Thriller" is beloved the world over, inspiring imitation and a cult-like following of millions of fans. Documenting the creation of the most popular and iconic music video of all time, this book celebrates the artist and his music at the top of his career.
Famed photographer Douglas Kirkland and journalist Nancy Griffin were the only members of the media allowed on the set of the video. The resulting photos capture Jackson both in high performance mode and relaxing on the set and depict his transformation into the characters in the video as well capturing the public and private faces of Michael Jackson.
Compelling, intimate photos of the artist are accompanied by interviews and quotes from musicians and celebrities, including Sir Paul McCartney, Diddy, Beyonce, Steven Spielberg and many more. With a holographic cover that, when tilted, transforms the artist into his zombie character, the book is an impressive gift to be treasured by fans and music lovers everywhere.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
196 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
175 people want to read
About the author
Douglas Kirkland
39 books4 followersDouglas Kirkland (b. 1934) is a prominent photographer based in the United States. At age twenty-four, Kirkland was hired as a staff photographer for Look magazine and became famous for his 1961 photos of Marilyn Monroe taken for Look's 25th anniversary issue. He later joined the staff of Life magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 10, 2020
My rating is based solely on the photography content which is splendid, however, if I were to rate it on the textual content I would've given it a mere 1.5 out of 5.
Michael Jackson faced what every child prodigy faces when they reach a certain time of their lives; disdain. He believed in himself when others thought his success would live short, he took pride in his abilities and did not stop at nothing. He felt hurt when his Off the Wall album was ignored by the media and his peers in the music industry-despite the huge success and the massive public's recognition. The rejection he felt when Off the Wall was snubbed at the 22nd annual Grammy Awards with only one nomination only ignited his soul to make another album that they wouldn't be able to ignore.
His next album, Thriller, changed the game forever. Michael Jackson single-handedly saved the music business from its slump, broke the racial barrier, made MTV, and revolutionized music videos.
His circle laughed when Michael told them that his next album, Thriller, would become the best-selling album of all time, they said to him to be "more realistic". He was adamant.
Thriller lived to Michael's expectation, and it indeed became the best-selling album in history to date, in spite of their doubts, his faith in himself and his abilities prevailed. It's noteworthy that Thriller album achieved that status even before the single or the groundbreaking short-film were released.
After the successes of released singles, and the iconic performance at the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever", Michael decided it was time to make another short film, Thriller.
Katherine Jackson wrote in her autobiography that when Michael told her about his choice for Thriller to be his next short-film, she told him that he's not going to be able to top Beat It. Michael confidently told her “Oh, ‘Thriller’ is going to be better.” All she had to do is wait until she saw what he had up his sleeve.
Thriller marked an artistic revolution that shaped the entertainment industry as we know it today and started yet another phenomena that nobody to this day could match let alone surpass.
Kirkland–the only photographer allowed on the set–showcases the experience of creating the most iconic short-film, which Michael Jackson envisioned, and financed much of the budget out of his own pocket (read Moonwalk to learn the details how the expensive budget was managed), in this beautiful photo-documentary book.
The Making of Thriller: 4 Days/1983 takes us in a journey of reminisce of how this much beloved and celebrated short film came about through Kirkland masterful lens. There are tons of stunning photographs whether on or off the set, behind the scenes putting make-up on or taking it off, and from the actual short-film. The large HQ photographs are mesmerizing, I kept on forgetting to move on to the next page because I continue to stare at the marvelous details of each photo, and Michael's beauty shows clearly that it felt like I was under a spell at times.
Now the major turn-off about this otherwise stunning book is the commentaries–especially the ones given by the journalist Nancy Griffin. Griffin words about Jackson are nothing short of distasteful. She speaks of him as if there were something wrong with him mentally, and she also drops an unjustified hint of possible guilt on his part regarding the false allegations (read here). Griffin does not stop there but also goes on to falsely call him ‘‘disfigured, troubled, complicated, irreconcilable’’ saying ‘‘he did not find happiness’’. I'm not sure on what grounds did she build all her unfounded accusations, how did she conclude for instance that ‘‘he did not find happiness’’? I was disappointed by some of the claims especially with that racial undertone that is hard to miss at times in that stereotypical view of almost all African-American artists by a number of the media. He was not disfigured (he actually sued a tabloid paper that falsely claimed that he was that, read here) nor troubled.
However, he was constantly harassed, attacked, degraded, and betrayed. Michael said once that, ‘‘they don't want to give me credit for anything.’’ He was an intelligent person that stopped at nothing to achieve his goals, broke barriers, reshaped the entertainment history, a shrewd business man, a humanitarian to the core, an activist, a fighter who out-smarted the system at their own game.
Not only Griffin but also some of Kirkland's own commentaries are covertly offensive and pretty stereotypical as well like when he had to comment on how Ola Ray had a crush on Michael throughout the shooting: ‘‘the beautiful girl [Ola], who obviously really did like him. & had he just dropped a penny in her direction, it would've been a done deal. But he wasn't wired that way.’’ Kirkland speaks about Michael as if he was unwell mentally saying that with all the money he had, why couldn't he ‘‘pull himself together’’ stating that he did not think Michael managed to do living well.
This is absolutely annoying as they kept referring to his appearance as something sorrowful and ‘‘disfigured’’ as if his face changed completely, they failed to even mention Vitiligo (read here). As if he was asexual (false) and childish/immature/incapable. That's another projection by the media that is far from the truth, stereotypical and unjust: they celebrate him as an entertainer but one way or another bash and undermine the artist and the man.
In spite of the distasteful racial undertone within the commentaries, the totality of photo-book is worth owning because of the gorgeousness of its subject, Michael Jackson. His beauty shines the most in the last part of the book which consists of photos from between the takes of Michael just being his ever-beautiful self. I was captivated by this chapter.
The Making of Thriller: 4 Days/1983 with its good photography content makes it a must have, it feels like owning a piece of Michael Jackson's vision. Other than the precious colored illustrations, it offers brief information about the making of Thriller short-film with a few amusing anecdotes.
All in all, it's a valuable addition to any music, photography, videography lovers and most certainly Michael Jackson lovers.
Read my complete review here
‘‘There's no child singer that you can point to besides Michael Jackson that went from being really big to the biggest pop star ever.’’ -Dream Hampton
Michael Jackson faced what every child prodigy faces when they reach a certain time of their lives; disdain. He believed in himself when others thought his success would live short, he took pride in his abilities and did not stop at nothing. He felt hurt when his Off the Wall album was ignored by the media and his peers in the music industry-despite the huge success and the massive public's recognition. The rejection he felt when Off the Wall was snubbed at the 22nd annual Grammy Awards with only one nomination only ignited his soul to make another album that they wouldn't be able to ignore.
His next album, Thriller, changed the game forever. Michael Jackson single-handedly saved the music business from its slump, broke the racial barrier, made MTV, and revolutionized music videos.
‘‘I wanted to be a pioneer in this relatively new medium and make the best short music movies we could make. I don't even like to call them videos. On the set I explained that we were doing a film, and that was how we approached it. I wanted the most talented people in the business–the best cinematographer, the best director, the best lighting people we could get. We weren't shooting on videotape; it was 35-mm film. We were serious.’’ -Michael Jackson (Moonwalk)
His circle laughed when Michael told them that his next album, Thriller, would become the best-selling album of all time, they said to him to be "more realistic". He was adamant.
‘‘Often people just don't see what I see. They have too much doubt, You can't do your best when you're doubting yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, who will? Just doing as well as you did last time is not good enough.’’ -Michael Jackson (Moonwalk)
Thriller lived to Michael's expectation, and it indeed became the best-selling album in history to date, in spite of their doubts, his faith in himself and his abilities prevailed. It's noteworthy that Thriller album achieved that status even before the single or the groundbreaking short-film were released.
After the successes of released singles, and the iconic performance at the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever", Michael decided it was time to make another short film, Thriller.
Katherine Jackson wrote in her autobiography that when Michael told her about his choice for Thriller to be his next short-film, she told him that he's not going to be able to top Beat It. Michael confidently told her “Oh, ‘Thriller’ is going to be better.” All she had to do is wait until she saw what he had up his sleeve.
Thriller marked an artistic revolution that shaped the entertainment industry as we know it today and started yet another phenomena that nobody to this day could match let alone surpass.
Kirkland–the only photographer allowed on the set–showcases the experience of creating the most iconic short-film, which Michael Jackson envisioned, and financed much of the budget out of his own pocket (read Moonwalk to learn the details how the expensive budget was managed), in this beautiful photo-documentary book.
The Making of Thriller: 4 Days/1983 takes us in a journey of reminisce of how this much beloved and celebrated short film came about through Kirkland masterful lens. There are tons of stunning photographs whether on or off the set, behind the scenes putting make-up on or taking it off, and from the actual short-film. The large HQ photographs are mesmerizing, I kept on forgetting to move on to the next page because I continue to stare at the marvelous details of each photo, and Michael's beauty shows clearly that it felt like I was under a spell at times.
Now the major turn-off about this otherwise stunning book is the commentaries–especially the ones given by the journalist Nancy Griffin. Griffin words about Jackson are nothing short of distasteful. She speaks of him as if there were something wrong with him mentally, and she also drops an unjustified hint of possible guilt on his part regarding the false allegations (read here). Griffin does not stop there but also goes on to falsely call him ‘‘disfigured, troubled, complicated, irreconcilable’’ saying ‘‘he did not find happiness’’. I'm not sure on what grounds did she build all her unfounded accusations, how did she conclude for instance that ‘‘he did not find happiness’’? I was disappointed by some of the claims especially with that racial undertone that is hard to miss at times in that stereotypical view of almost all African-American artists by a number of the media. He was not disfigured (he actually sued a tabloid paper that falsely claimed that he was that, read here) nor troubled.
‘‘Jackson had sued the Daily Mirror, a British tabloid, for an article it published in 1992 claiming that the tip of his nose was missing and that his face was hideously disfigured and scarred by plastic surgery. The lawsuit was settled, by an apology from the Daily Mirror, in November 1998 after doctors and representatives from the Mirror examined Jackson's unmade-up face for 40 minutes. The persistence of this rumor and the scarce notice given to its refutation is a good example of the damage that can be done by false media stories.’’ -Susan Woodward (Otherness and Power: Michael Jackson and His Media Critics)
However, he was constantly harassed, attacked, degraded, and betrayed. Michael said once that, ‘‘they don't want to give me credit for anything.’’ He was an intelligent person that stopped at nothing to achieve his goals, broke barriers, reshaped the entertainment history, a shrewd business man, a humanitarian to the core, an activist, a fighter who out-smarted the system at their own game.
‘‘I'm not a nut. I'm very smart. You can't come this far in success and be stupid.’’
-Michael Jackson (07:43-07:48)
Not only Griffin but also some of Kirkland's own commentaries are covertly offensive and pretty stereotypical as well like when he had to comment on how Ola Ray had a crush on Michael throughout the shooting: ‘‘the beautiful girl [Ola], who obviously really did like him. & had he just dropped a penny in her direction, it would've been a done deal. But he wasn't wired that way.’’ Kirkland speaks about Michael as if he was unwell mentally saying that with all the money he had, why couldn't he ‘‘pull himself together’’ stating that he did not think Michael managed to do living well.
This is absolutely annoying as they kept referring to his appearance as something sorrowful and ‘‘disfigured’’ as if his face changed completely, they failed to even mention Vitiligo (read here). As if he was asexual (false) and childish/immature/incapable. That's another projection by the media that is far from the truth, stereotypical and unjust: they celebrate him as an entertainer but one way or another bash and undermine the artist and the man.
In spite of the distasteful racial undertone within the commentaries, the totality of photo-book is worth owning because of the gorgeousness of its subject, Michael Jackson. His beauty shines the most in the last part of the book which consists of photos from between the takes of Michael just being his ever-beautiful self. I was captivated by this chapter.
‘‘This rather shy individual suddenly radiated confidence. He projected this glorious smile which could warm anybody up. My favorite pictures of him have this smile. That was Michael being Michael, and that's when I made my best pictures.’’ -Kirkland
The Making of Thriller: 4 Days/1983 with its good photography content makes it a must have, it feels like owning a piece of Michael Jackson's vision. Other than the precious colored illustrations, it offers brief information about the making of Thriller short-film with a few amusing anecdotes.
All in all, it's a valuable addition to any music, photography, videography lovers and most certainly Michael Jackson lovers.
Read my complete review here
July 26, 2020
The behind-the-scenes photographs and essays on the process in the beginning portion of the book are great, but the book starts to fall apart when the random captions from artists/actors are included throughout the pages filled with behind-the-scenes images. It goes from being "the making" of this iconic musical short film to different people from those who've worked with him to random artists/actors like M.I.A., Ludacris, Lil Wayne, and Jane Fonda to name a few exclaiming that "there will never be another like Michael." I agree, but what does that have to do with the making of film? This book should've been about the process only with words from the people who worked on it, as well as captions from Michael Jackson himself. His voice is not present in this book.
My rating for this is somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3.
My rating for this is somewhere between a 2.5 and a 3.
September 4, 2016
This is a photo-documentary of the making of Thriller, the award-winning video created by Michael Jackson and John Landis, the director who did Teenage Werewolf in London. Jackson wanted Landis because he was strong with video shorts and could also inject some playfulness and humor; Jackson was not fond of the horror genre.
The photo-documentary is created by Douglas Kirkland, who has a very long and impressive list of other credits. He says that Jackson was not comfortable being photographed behind the scenes, and he himself wasn't all that comfortable either (although he used a long lens to get the close-ups; the close photos are so intense that a novice like me might have thought he was right in the performer's face all the time, had he not set the record straight.)
So, someone loaned this to me on a kindle. The good news was that I got to check it out free, but the bad news is that this really is a coffee table book, one that you would display and have the opportunity to linger over. Kindle is not the optimal media for this type of book. I on the other hand am not sure I am into photography enough to go pay the cover price to own a real hardcover copy, so there you are. If I were able to see it better, I might up this to 4 stars.
The text is almost entirely other people's soundbites. I think my favorite might be Stephen Spielberg's. He states that "If E.T. hadn't come to Elliot, he would have come to Michael's house. I think Michael can be hurt very easily; he's sort of like a fawn in a burning forest."
Thriller made history at a time when MTV was still virtually unheard of and barely off the ground. It blazed new territory. Jackson's pop music bridged a racial chasm in popular music.
For someone with a strong interest in the history of music video or photography, this might be a must-have. For me, it was something more peripheral, a thing I would read for free, but not if I had to pay for it. Consider your interests, and decide. One thing is for certain: there are photographs here that you will not find anywhere else.
For students and researchers working on music video history, every one of these photographs will count as a primary document, something to consider when you choose where to lay down your money.
The photo-documentary is created by Douglas Kirkland, who has a very long and impressive list of other credits. He says that Jackson was not comfortable being photographed behind the scenes, and he himself wasn't all that comfortable either (although he used a long lens to get the close-ups; the close photos are so intense that a novice like me might have thought he was right in the performer's face all the time, had he not set the record straight.)
So, someone loaned this to me on a kindle. The good news was that I got to check it out free, but the bad news is that this really is a coffee table book, one that you would display and have the opportunity to linger over. Kindle is not the optimal media for this type of book. I on the other hand am not sure I am into photography enough to go pay the cover price to own a real hardcover copy, so there you are. If I were able to see it better, I might up this to 4 stars.
The text is almost entirely other people's soundbites. I think my favorite might be Stephen Spielberg's. He states that "If E.T. hadn't come to Elliot, he would have come to Michael's house. I think Michael can be hurt very easily; he's sort of like a fawn in a burning forest."
Thriller made history at a time when MTV was still virtually unheard of and barely off the ground. It blazed new territory. Jackson's pop music bridged a racial chasm in popular music.
For someone with a strong interest in the history of music video or photography, this might be a must-have. For me, it was something more peripheral, a thing I would read for free, but not if I had to pay for it. Consider your interests, and decide. One thing is for certain: there are photographs here that you will not find anywhere else.
For students and researchers working on music video history, every one of these photographs will count as a primary document, something to consider when you choose where to lay down your money.
July 31, 2011
- Un llibre molt interessant, extensament documentat, ben ordenat temàticament, editat amb un format ben gran per veure bé les fotos i amb un paper de bona qualitat. Menció a part és la brutal coberta lenticular que depenent de la inclinació de la mateixa es veu el MJ normal o en versió zombie! Brutal!
- Està molt bé de preu pel contingut del llibre.
- Una pega que li trobo és que em sobren les innumerables cites de tribut al difunt Michael Jackson les quals no acompanyen en res a les fotos. És més, les fotos no tenen, en general, cap peu de foto que aporti alguna informació addicional que podria enriquir el llibre... Més enllà de la introducció inicial i de l’entrevista al fotògraf i autor del llibre, el Sr. Douglas Kirkland, poca cosa s’escriu al respecte del vídeo del Thriller... Val que llibre és un “recull fotogràfic” però no ho trobo incompatible amb unes breus ressenyes complementàries.
- Personalment aquest vídeo em va fer descobrir Michael Jackson i aficionar-me al gènere del terror. Podria dir (amb certa vergonya) que em va marcar més del que voldria reconèixer doncs musicalment i literàriament segueixo molt enganxat ambdues aficions.
En resum, el llibre, malgrat la crítica feta, és una joia documental sobre el vídeo més important de la història dels videoclips. No cal dir que és un dels llibres que més m’aprecio de la meva col•lecció “jacksoniana”.
- Està molt bé de preu pel contingut del llibre.
- Una pega que li trobo és que em sobren les innumerables cites de tribut al difunt Michael Jackson les quals no acompanyen en res a les fotos. És més, les fotos no tenen, en general, cap peu de foto que aporti alguna informació addicional que podria enriquir el llibre... Més enllà de la introducció inicial i de l’entrevista al fotògraf i autor del llibre, el Sr. Douglas Kirkland, poca cosa s’escriu al respecte del vídeo del Thriller... Val que llibre és un “recull fotogràfic” però no ho trobo incompatible amb unes breus ressenyes complementàries.
- Personalment aquest vídeo em va fer descobrir Michael Jackson i aficionar-me al gènere del terror. Podria dir (amb certa vergonya) que em va marcar més del que voldria reconèixer doncs musicalment i literàriament segueixo molt enganxat ambdues aficions.
En resum, el llibre, malgrat la crítica feta, és una joia documental sobre el vídeo més important de la història dels videoclips. No cal dir que és un dels llibres que més m’aprecio de la meva col•lecció “jacksoniana”.
May 9, 2020
I was hoping for the actual making of the video clip l...the dance
.the crew etc. this book is al about michael and how he interacted with everyone and how everyone remembered him.full with rare pictures of michael on and off set. its beautiful to see that he was actually a good man and not like those stars that snap to everyone. I really love michael..his music everything that have to do with him. what I didn't pike was that the book was about thriller and had quotes from sigers and people of the scene talkijg about jis tragic death.
.the crew etc. this book is al about michael and how he interacted with everyone and how everyone remembered him.full with rare pictures of michael on and off set. its beautiful to see that he was actually a good man and not like those stars that snap to everyone. I really love michael..his music everything that have to do with him. what I didn't pike was that the book was about thriller and had quotes from sigers and people of the scene talkijg about jis tragic death.
December 18, 2020
The written parts - especially those by Griffin (allthough Kirkland lags not far behind) - are an absolute disgrace . Tabloid level faux drama that has definitely not its place in this kind of book. It ruins and ridicules an otherwise very nice promenade on the Thriller set, with some gorgeous pics from here and there.
June 18, 2011
A gorgeous book with amazing, never-before-seen photos. There are photos of Michael and the cast, crew on set during takes, between takes, goofing off, etc. Aside from the beautiful photos, there's also quotes and stories about Michael on the set of Thriller.
March 10, 2024
A brief, neat inside-look into the making of the greatest short film of all time. A great companion to the "Making of Thriller" DVD. There is nothing in this that could not be found on YouTube, but the photos are high-quality and beautiful.
Read
January 12, 2016I always enjoyed he video...one of Jackson's best! This book shows the making of the video with excerpts from people who worked closely on the project with Michael Jackson. Their insight, coupled with the numerous pictures was enjoyable!
December 23, 2010
I was hoping for a step by step instructional on the dance moves from the video. Virtually every photo was of MJ only. You barely saw the dance crew and costars. What a whack job.
December 31, 2010
I Love Michael Jackson and I'm gonna add all books about Michael, and also the quotes. just everything about Michael Jackson, King of Pop!
March 1, 2011
This made me miss MJ
April 5, 2017
Interesting photo book with photographic insights over a very brief period in history, yet accessable. Douglas's photographs of Michael Jackson on set, with/without makeup are a must see for anyone interested in both Photography and Michael Jackson.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews