Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller

The most famous music video in the history of the medium, Michael Jackson's Thriller debuted on prime-time television in 1983 and immediately returned the singer's album of the same name to the top of the charts. Directed by John Landis, Thriller is an ode to the creature features of the past, complete with the now-legendary zombie dance sequence, and featuring both a walking dead Jackson and a Jackson werewolf transformation courtesy of makeup effects legend Rick Baker.

Working from the original 35mm camera negative, Landis has overseen a complete restoration and 3D conversion of his masterpiece. The frame-by-frame process involved visual FX artists in three countries and cutting-edge technology. Landis has also remixed the audio in Dolby Atmos, bringing this historic collaboration up to the highest standard of theatrical presentation.

Conceived to help fund the production of Thriller, the making-of documentary was shot simultaneously and debuted alongside its subject. Chronicling the elaborate production, it is a virtual film school, displaying the process from makeup to choreography to filming at a time when such glimpses behind the screen were exceedingly rare. "I can't tell you how many filmmakers have told me that The Making of Thriller was their first window into how movies are made and inspired them to become filmmakers themselves," Landis says. In addition to a thorough how-to, the digitally remastered documentary contains extensive footage of the reclusive Jackson at the height of his popularity and creative powers.

JESSE WENTE