Product Details

• Actors: Adam Ant, Nick Ashford, Florence Ballard, Renaldo Benson, Cindy Birdsong
• Directors: Don Mischer
• Writers: Buz Kohan, Suzanne De Passe, Ruth Adkins Robinson
• Producers: Don Mischer, Buz Kohan, Suzanne Coston, Suzanne De Passe
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 1991
• Run Time: 130 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301972317
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,310 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just music................but music history!, October 11, 2005

By	A longtime Motown fan (Colorado Springs, CO. USA) - See all my reviews

I had the pleasure of watching this incredible program when it originally aired on NBC (May 16, 1983). Like cheese and fine wine, it gets better with age. Great sets by Stevie Wonder, Four Tops/Temptations, Lionel Richie and the original Jackson Five/Michael Jackson.

Since this was the first time in 8 years that the original Jackson Five appeared together, it looked as if Michael and brother Jermaine had a reunion/reconciliation of sorts. Jermaine, as we recall, was/is married to Berry Gordy's daughter. That kept him at Motown (in the interest of domestic tranquility) when his brothers left for greener pastures.

Another reason for this being a classic is that several of the performers have passed, and their work has been preserved; e.g., Melvin Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Mary Wells, Lawrence Payton & Obie Benson (of the Four Tops)to name a few. There's also a neat segment about the songwriters that made it all happen.

Note to previous reviewers: THIS IS AVAILABLE ON DVD. If Amazon.com doesn't have it at this time, it won't be long until they do. (I found the DVD on a major online auction website)

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliance Collecting Dust?, May 25, 2004

By A Customer

How is it possible that this is not out on DVD yet? It was one of the highest rated events in television history. Not just Michael Jackson, who is deservedly the most remembered part of the show, but the late Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the incredible Temps/Tops faceoff, and many other elements demand that this piece of black culture and history be placed on a medium that will preserve it as it was meant to be.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!, January 27, 2004

By A Customer

Even though this show is 20 years old, it was great to watch it. Despite his problems, Michael Jackson was a performer to be reckoned with. That Billie Jean performance never gets old. This video also has one of Marvin Gaye's last performances. Knowing his fate and watching his perfomance is almost haunting. There were so many great performers at Motown so I'm still baffled as to why they spent so much time featuring acts like Linda Ronstadt and those dancers when they could have featured more performances by Martha Reeves and the Commodores. Finally, we also see the performance by Diana Ross that marked her downfall. Too bad most of her behavior was edited out. Her bump and grind on Where Did Our Love Go is something that could have used some editing. I don't understand why Motown won't release this special on DVD along with their other products like the Jackson 5 cartoon and Lady Sings the Blues.