Mark Brown
Special to MSN Movies

It's not the first posthumous concert film. It's not the first quick cash-in on a celebrity death (there was talk of album releases at Jimi Hendrix's funeral). But the release of "This Is It" turns the Michael Jackson perfect storm of profit into a tsunami. With breakneck speed the estate and promoters have managed to engineer a windfall from tragedy: "This Is It" is hitting theaters while the body is barely in the ground. The movie will open in the United States starting Oct. 28 on a limited two-week run that will no doubt be extended if it's as successful as promoters hope.

But even if there's fascinating rehearsal footage, can such a cash-grab stand the test of time the way the great concert films have? One has only to look at this year's fascination with Woodstock to realize that sometimes thrillers can't be planned; they just happen, and the filmmakers happen to be in the right place at the right time, by design or otherwise. Plenty of great films didn't make this list, but these are the concert films that have as much impact and verve as the day they were released. (Sony Pictures)