Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall

"Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall" (2016) is a music documentary you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Spike Lee. It covers Jackson's formative years — from singing with his brothers in Gary, Indiana, to landing on Berry Gordy's Motown label and outgrowing it.

The film's central moment is the making of Off the Wall (1979), the album Jackson recorded with producer Quincy Jones that turned a former child star into something else entirely. Spike Lee builds the story through archival footage that hadn't been seen publicly before — rehearsal clips, early performances, candid moments between sessions.

The roster of interviewees spans decades of music: Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder alongside more recent admirers like Pharrell Williams, The Weeknd, John Legend, and Mark Ronson. Kobe Bryant and Joel Schumacher are there too, speaking to Jackson's reach beyond music. Stream "Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall" (2016) online on iFILM.