It’s that time of the year again. The leaves are changing, the days are growing shorter, and the Halloween candy is already on sale at the grocery store. And it just would not be Halloween without Michael Jackson’s epic fourteen minute music video Thriller, directed way back in 1983 by horror/comedy master John Landis. Remember that? Dancing zombies and scary movies and a Vincent Price voiceover? Yeah, those were the days. Well, we might have a chance to experience Thriller all over again, and then not just in tiny form on YouTube. Landis recently announced his intention to bring Thriller to the big screen, this time in 3D.
Conversing with the New York Daily News (via Geek Nation), Landis confirmed that he’s working on Thriller again, having settled a long-term battle with Jackson’s estate over money issues. The director said that his iconic music video is going to “reappear in a highly polished and three-dimensional way that is very exciting on the big screen.” Landis’s statement is further confirmed by the Jackson family, who say that the director has been working on the revamp for some time now, and they hope to release the video both in theaters and on Blu-ray.
It would be very cool to see Thriller on a big screen, as it’s one of the few music videos from any period that might actually merit a theater release. I’m not so certain about the 3D, though: 3D post-conversion has never looked quite right, even with a director of Landis’s caliber supervising it. Nevertheless, it will be interested to see what he comes up with.
If you need a refresher course in Thriller, or have actually managed to miss watching the extended and pretty awesome music video, you can watch it in full below. It’s kind of a Halloween tradition where I come from.