Things I’ve Watched Lately: Michael, Elvis, Joni - Musicians and Their Music

 By Len Weiler

Movies about big name rock (and sometimes jazz) musicians have always been popular on Notes On Films and 2026 has brought us two entertaining ones, the first of which, Michael, has set box office records. The second one, EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert, hasn’t broken any records, but was released without a lot of hoopla and is a must for Elvis fans, and should be of interest to music aficionados generally. The third picture under review today, and possibly the best of this trio,  is a beautiful film (or video) entitled Shadows and Light bringing to life a sterling Joni Mitchell concert way from back in 1979.  

Enjoy.

Michael (2026)  When  this film  about Michael Jackson first came out in late April, I read several articles that were critical of the project: complaining that it was a shallow hagiography: all hero worship  and very little depth in its treatment of Michael Jackson’s life.  Plus, and this was the deepest cut, the movie conveniently ends before the swirling controversies about Jackson’s alleged pedophilia and/or sexual grooming of young children raised questions about his proper legacy.  Musically and popularly, it seems that legacy is intact. As of this writing the movie’s worldwide ticket receipts have exceeded $1 billion, the fourth most successful film in a strong year for theatrical releases (measured by box office take), and said to be the most successful musical biopic ever. 

Given this, um, record of success, along with some word of mouth from friends, including an honorable mention from Larry Lee in his 2026 Half Oscars piece  on this site, I ended up watching Michael at home.  And found it quite enjoyable. It no doubt helps that Michael Jackson is played for much of the picture by Jafaar Jackson, Michael’s nephew (son of Jermaine Jackson). Jafaar, who grew up surrounded by Jacksons and Michaelmania, bears a remarkable resemblance to the final version of his uncle and he can sing and dance really well – all of which adds up to a terrific, credible performance, particularly in the many musical numbers. 

The personal biography part of the movie, neither deep nor nuanced, essentially relies on three themes: (1) Michael was preternaturally talented, even as a little kid. He began singing professionally when he was six and was the Jackson Five’s lead singer at eleven years old when  their first hit song, I Want You Back was recorded and released in 1969. (2) The Jackson Five were managed by their extremely dominating, beastly father, Joe (played in a scary register by Coleman Domingo), and Michael did not  finally break from his father’s control until he was 21. (3) Due to the hard restrictions imposed by Joe Jackson and to Michael’s growing fame, he was  extremely lonely as a child and had few, if any, friends his own age outside the family. The trope, probably true, is that he never really had a childhood.

The precocious child piece is clearly true to life. The mean, overbearing father bit may be overstated for dramatic purposes, but is also probably true, but hardly unique.  Overbearing fathers (or mothers) are not that uncommon with young superstars. ( See Brian Wilson, Britney Spears, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, and Macaulay Culkin, for example). The lonely Michael Jackson living in a mostly grown-up universe is an interesting and touching part of the film, as it aligns with the adult Michael Jackson’s desire to play with children, and the troubles that yearning brought him.

Bottom line:  In the end it’s the music which carries this entertaining film and sells it. Songs like Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller, Wanna be Startin’ Somethin’, and Bad are all there, and very cool to watch. It may be hagiography, but it is highly entertaining, questions of possible (though unproven) pederasty aside. 

2 hours 7 minutes

Grade: B+

Available to rent on major platforms like AppleTV, Amazon, and Fandango 

*   *   *   *

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2026) this movie was number 9 on Larry Lee’s 2026 Half Oscars list for reasons I largely agree with. The King’s performances captured live at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in the early 1970s feel very much alive and, as Larry noted, “his charisma, talent and power are obvious”.  

Although directed and co-produced by Baz Luhrman, EPiC is way better than Luhrmann’s bio-pic Elvis from 2022, a fictionalization of his life which included an extended section recreating Presley’s Las Vegas era performances.  This is as you’d expect, because in the new picture we are presented with actual footage of the real Elvis. No offense to Austin Butler, but there’s no one like the original. Even so, I have to say that while the historic quality of EPiC (including shots of a rapturous audience) is interesting,  Elvis’s show-biz style at this stage of his career was disappointing to me. 

If you are a big-time Elvis aficionado or a fan of Vegas-style acts (which emphasize show-biz over substance) you should get a huge kick out of EPiC; but if you prefer the original rock’n’roll Elvis, you’d be better off seeing the  “Elvis  Presley: ’68 Comeback Special” [originally broadcast on NBC TV], if you can find it. A digitally remastered edition of the original is currently available to rent on AppleTV. There’s also what appears to be a somewhat lesser version – sequences  are chopped up and mostly out of order but include most of the original content – on YouTube at this LINK  (if it starts in the middle, just rewind to the start). There is also the 1981 film This Is Elvis, produced by his estate , which is just okay as a documentary but has some great clips of the man in his real heyday and a better feel of what made him so great.

1 hour 38 minutes

Grade: B

EPiC is available to rent on major platforms like AppleTV, Amazon, and Fandango

*   *   *   *

Joni Mitchell – Shadows and Light (1979). Last, but not least, if you are a Joni Mitchell fan, I have a treat for you. This is not a hagiographic biopic like Michael, nor a documentary that idealizes its subject in a series of performances before fawning audiences a là EPiC, above. Rather it’s a fabulous film of Joni Mitchell recorded at a mid-career concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl in September 1979 (which was also released as a record album). Both the film and the recording are entitled Shadows and Light. She is in top form, as is the crack ensemble of jazz musicians supporting her, including Pat Methany on guitar, Jaco Pastoriius on bass, Michael Brecker on sax, Lyle Mays on keyboards,  and Don Alias on drums.  Also joining Joni on two numbers are The Persuasions.

Of the fifteen pieces performed in Shadows and Light, four come from her album Hejira, including Coyote, Amelia, and Hejira; three are from  the album The Hissing of Summer Lawns, including the picture’s title song; two are from Court and Spark, and two from Mingus (cowritten with Charles Mingus), including Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. In addition to the title song The Persuasions join in on a lovely rendition of Why Do Fools Fall in Love, the 1956 hit from Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, to close things out. 

It appears to be the complete concert and, although there are, here and there, a few “arty” video bits inserted above the music - intended (I guess) to illustrate the mood of some pieces - the film mostly just focusses on marvelous Joni and her extraordinary band making music. Terrific music. 

1 hour 13 minutes

Grade: A-

Although available to buy (dvd) on Amazon and Barnes & Noble;  Shadows and Light is not currently available to rent or buy on a  standard streaming platform, but the full video is available free on several YouTube sites. Here‘s a link to one:  Shadows and Light.