Spike Lee Directs Final Michael Jackson Video ‘This Is It’

Michael Jackson constantly raised the bar (and the budget) to keep his music videos on the cutting edge of the art form, but the new Spike Lee-directed clip for “This Is It,” the recently unearthed original song included in the concert film of the same name, derives all its power from simplicity. Lee crafted the moving video using photos and video of Michael’s boyhood home in Gary, Indiana, spliced together with footage of Jackson during his prime and video of his fans reacting to the King of Pop’s death by celebrating his life. Get your kleenex ready, you’re about to miss MJ all over again. Vid after the jump.

It’s like June 25 just won’t end. Touching, classy and — as if we needed it — another reminder of Jackson’s utterly unique talent. This isn’t the first time Spike Lee has worked on a Michael Jackson video—he directed “They Don’t Really Care About Us” filmed in Rio de Janeiro (although a second music video would be filmed set inside a prison). “This Is It” would be the perfect video to cap off Jackson’s career… although we’re sure we’ll be getting another Jackson music vid (or two, or a dozen) somehow over the the next few years. Hey, The Beatles did it.

Michael Jackson: This Is It is released on DVD on January 26.