title: Spirit level

text: 'Tilting level', dumpy level or 'automatic level' are terms used to refer to types of 'leveling instruments' as used in surveying to measure height differences over larger distances. A surveyor's leveling instrument has a spirit level mounted on a telescope (perhaps 30 power) with cross-hairs, itself mounted on a tripod. The observer reads height values off two graduated vertical rods, one 'behind' and one 'in front', to obtain the height difference between the ground points on which the rods are resting. Starting from a point with a known elevation and going cross country (successive points being perhaps apart) height differences can be measured cumulatively over long distances and elevations can be calculated. Precise levelling is supposed to give the difference in elevation between two points apart correct to within a few millimeters.


title: Spirit level

text: A traditional carpenter's spirit level looks like a short plank of wood and often has a wide body to ensure stability, and that the surface is being measured correctly. In the middle of the spirit level is a small window where the bubble and the tube is mounted. Two notches (or rings) designate where the bubble should be if the surface is level. Often an indicator for a 45 degree inclination is included.


title: Spirit level

text: A line level is a level designed to hang on a builder's string line. The body of the level incorporates small hooks to allow it to attach and hang from the string line. The body is lightweight, so as not to weigh down the string line, it is also small in size as the string line in effect becomes the body; when the level is hung in the center of the string, each 'leg' of the string line extends the level's plane.


title: Spirit level

text: An engineer's precision level permits leveling items to greater accuracy than a plain spirit level. They are used to level the foundations, or beds of machines to ensure the machine can output workpieces to the accuracy pre-built in the machine.


title: Spirit level

text: The history of the spirit level was discussed in brief in an 1887 article appearing in "Scientific American". Melchisédech Thévenot, a French scientist, invented the instrument some time before February 2, 1661. This date can be established from Thevenot's correspondence with scientist Christiaan Huygens. Within a year of this date the inventor circulated details of his invention to others, including Robert Hooke in London and Vincenzo Viviani in Florence. It is occasionally argued that these "bubble levels" did not come into widespread use until the beginning of the 18th century, the earliest surviving examples being from that time, but Adrien Auzout had recommended that the Académie Royale des Sciences take "levels of the Thevenot type" on its expedition to Madagascar in 1666. It is very likely that these levels were in use in France and elsewhere long before the turn of the century.


title: Spirit level

text: The Fell All-Way precision level, one of the first successful American made bull's eye levels for machine tool use, was invented by William B. Fell of Rockford, Illinois in 1939. The device was unique in that it could be placed on a machine bed and show tilt on the x-y axes simultaneously, eliminating the need to rotate the level 90 degrees. The level was so accurate it was restricted from export during World War II. The device set a new standard of .0005 inches per foot resolution (five ten thousands per foot or five arc seconds tilt). Production of the level stopped around 1970, and was restarted in the 1980s by Thomas Butler Technology, also of Rockford, Illinois, but finally ended in the mid-1990s. However, there are still hundreds of the devices in existence.


title: Spirit level

text: Today level tools are available in most smartphones by using the device's accelerometer. These mobile apps come with various features and easy designs. Also new web standards allow websites to get orientation of devices.


title: Spirit level

text: Digital spirit levels are increasingly common in replacing conventional spirit levels, particularly in civil engineering applications such as traditional building construction and steel structure erection, for on-site angle alignment and leveling tasks. The industry practitioners often refer to those levelling tools as a "construction level", "heavy duty level", "inclinometer", or "protractor". These modern electronic levels are capable of displaying precise numeric angles within 360° with 0.1° to 0.05° accuracy, can be read from a distance with clarity, and are affordably priced due to mass adoption. They provide features that traditional levels are unable to match. Typically, these features enable steel beam frames under construction to be precisely aligned and levelled to the required orientation, which is vital to ensure the stability, strength and rigidity of steel structures on sites. Digital levels, embedded with angular MEMS technology effectively improve productivity and quality of many modern civil structures. Some recent models feature waterproof IP65 and impact resistance features for harsh working environments.


title: French nationality law

text: French nationality law is historically based on the principles of "jus soli" (Latin for "right of soil") and "jus sanguinis", according to Ernest Renan's definition, in opposition to the German definition of nationality, "jus sanguinis" (Latin for "right of blood"), formalised by Johann Gottlieb Fichte.


title: French nationality law

text: The 1993 Méhaignerie Law, which was part of a broader immigration control agenda to restrict access to French nationality and increase the focus on "jus sanguinis" as the citizenship determinant for children born in France, required children born in France of foreign parents to request French nationality at adulthood, rather than being automatically accorded citizenship. This "manifestation of will" requirement was subsequently abrogated by the Guigou Law of 1998, but children born in France of foreign parents remain foreign until obtaining legal majority.


title: French nationality law

text: Children born in France to tourists or other short-term visitors do not acquire French citizenship by virtue of birth in France: residency must be proven. Since immigration became increasingly a political theme in the 1980s, both left-wing and right-wing governments have issued several laws restricting the possibilities of being naturalized.


title: French nationality law

text: French nationality and citizenship were concepts that existed even before the French Revolution, loosely based on the premise that people spoke the same language within specific institutional frameworks.


title: French nationality law

text: Afterward, in the late 1700s and early 1800s, France was fairly unique among countries in tying its nationality laws to its election laws, and working to increase the joint ambit of citizenship and the right of the franchise.


title: French nationality law

text: Soon after the approval of the French constitutions, statesman Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès drafted and presented a new civil code that would unify private law, including nationality law—and with application for all French citizens outside of France.


title: French nationality law

text: Military service and state education were two processes central to the creation of a common national culture. Military conscription (universal from 1872, in theory if not in practice) brought inhabitants of the state's regions together for the first time, creating bonds of friendship and encouraging the use of French rather than regional languages. Universal education (the aim of the Jules Ferry Laws, 1879–1886) brought the whole of the population into contact with state-sanctioned version of French history and identity. State teachers, the "Black hussars of the Republic," conveyed the national language to the people of the regions.


title: French nationality law

text: In a series of expansions in the late 1800s, French nationality law was liberalized for great conferment of French citizenship, partly with an eye to increasing French military ranks. These included re-introduction of simple jus soli (at first with a right of the person to repudiate French citizenship, but that right was later removed), elimination of the loss of citizenship when emigrating from France, and repeal of the loss of citizenship by a French woman on marriage to a foreigner when she did not automatically obtain her husband's citizenship.


title: French nationality law

text: In 1927, French nationality law was further loosened to increase naturalization so as to attract a larger work force for French industry. The measure also extracted the nationality law from the French civil code and made it an independent text, as it had grown too large and unwieldy.


title: French nationality law

text: Legislation in 1934, motivated by xenophobia, imposed burdens on naturalized citizens and provided the government powers to forfeit citizenship, which the Nazi-collaborator Vichy regime used widely.


title: French nationality law

text: A 1945 post-war measure promulgated a comprehensive nationality code that established very lengthy and detailed rules to shield citizens from government whimsy.


title: French nationality law

text: Amendments were by legislation in 1962 and by constitutions in 1946 and 1958, with the latter creating the status of "citoyen de la Communauté", vaguely akin to the British status of "Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" established by the British Nationality Act 1948.


title: French nationality law

text: The 1993 law that attempted to restrict conferral of French citizenship also transferred the contents of the Code de la Nationalité Française back into the Code Civil, where they had existed from 1803 until 1927.


title: French nationality law

text: There are various ways a person can acquire French citizenship, either at birth or later on in life. The nationality provisions of French law are detailed in the opening divisions of the .


title: French nationality law

text: Children born in France (including overseas territories) to at least one parent who was also born in France automatically acquire French citizenship at birth ("double jus soli").


title: French nationality law

text: A child who was born abroad and who has only one French parent can repudiate their French nationality during the six months prior to their reaching the age of majority, or in the year which follows it (article 19-4 of the Civil Code).


title: French nationality law

text: Parentage to the parent from whom the French nationality is claimed, must be established while the child is still a minor (under 18).


title: French nationality law

text: When the child is born abroad from a French parent, it is essential for the French parent to record the birth of the child in the French civil register. In the event of litigation or to establish definitive proof of French nationality (or request a French passport) French nationality may be established by petitioning for a French nationality certificate from the Tribunal d'Instance (local court) of the person's place of residence, or if residing abroad, via the Paris Court (service of French nationality) having jurisdiction over French persons residing abroad.


title: French nationality law

text: Article 30-3 of the French Civil Code (previously numbered Article 95 of the French nationality code) is a "long-standing bone of contention" in French nationality law that can act as a practical limitation on the number of generations under which French citizenship by descent may be transmitted through births outside France.


title: French nationality law

text: Under that provision, a person cannot prove his French citizenship by descent to French authorities when neither that person nor his French parent(s) had, for fifty years, "possession d'état de Français" (contact or links with French authorities, such as a French passport renewal, voting registration, French consular registration, and so on), while residing outside France.


title: French nationality law

text: The 1993 legislation did insert a new Article 21-14 into the Civil Code, offering such first and second generation offspring of French emigrants the opportunity to "reclaim French citizenship through simple declaration", if they demonstrate military, "cultural, professional, economic, or family connections with France".


title: French nationality law

text: A child (legitimate or natural) is French if born in France to at least one parent who (i) is a French citizen; or (ii) was also born in France (even if the parent is not themselves a French citizen). The principle in point (ii) is known as "double jus soli".


title: French nationality law

text: A child born in France before 1 January 1994 to a parent born in a former French overseas territory prior to its acquisition of independence, is automatically French. The same is true for a child born after 1 January 1963, to a parent born in Algeria before 3 July 1962.


title: French nationality law

text: If both parents are foreign and neither parent was born in France, simply being born in France does not confer French citizenship at birth, except for children born to unknown or stateless parents, or if the citizenship laws of the parents' countr(y)/-ies of origin do not allow citizenship to be transferred to the child.


title: French nationality law

text: There are cases in which a child born in France to foreign parents can acquire French citizenship at various points during their childhood and upon turning 18, subject to certain conditions.


title: French nationality law

text: The foreign parents of a child aged between 13 and 16 can obtain French citizenship for their child by making a declaration if all of the following conditions are met:


title: French nationality law

text: A child aged between 16 and 18 and born to foreign parents can obtain French citizenship by making a declaration if all of the following conditions are met:


title: French nationality law

text: The child does not require parental consent to make this declaration, unless they have a mental or physical disability that renders them unable to perform the procedure unilaterally.


title: French nationality law

text: A child born to foreign parents acquires French citizenship automatically upon turning 18 if all of the following conditions are met:.


title: French nationality law

text: Plenary adoption is the only act of filiation which carries direct effects on nationality. Unlike the process of simple adoption, a child adopted according to the procedure of plenary adoption breaks any bond with his family of origin.


title: French nationality law

text: Filiation must be established while the child is a minor to take effect. Consequently, the recognition of a child older than the age of majority has no effect on his or her nationality.


title: French nationality law

text: A person aged 18 or above may apply for French citizenship by naturalization after five years' habitual and continuous residence in France (if married and with children, then the applicant must be living in France with his/her family). In addition, it is required that the applicant has his/her primary source of income in France during the five-year period. Those applying who are not European Union, European Economic Area or Swiss nationals are required to be in possession of a "titre de séjour" (a residence permit).


title: French nationality law

text: The residence period is counted backwards from the date on which the applicant lodged his/her naturalization application.


title: French nationality law

text: The applicant must show that he/she has been residing legally in France during the 5-year residence period. Any periods of irregular residence in France "before" the 5-year residence period will not be taken into account when the application is considered. If the applicant's residence period is completely waived, he/she must have resided legally in France in the 2 years immediately preceding the date on which he/she lodged his/her naturalization application.


title: French nationality law

text: Naturalization will only be successful for those who are judged to have integrated into French society (i.e. by virtue of language skills and understanding of rights and responsibilities of a French citizen, to be demonstrated during an interview at the local prefecture, as well as an ability and/or potential to integrate in the labour market), and who respect the values of French society. The applicant must also be of good character (no criminal offences with a sentence of 6 months' imprisonment or more and no tax avoidance). In assessing the applicant's character, the decision reached must be proportionate (for example, a naturalization application should not be rejected solely because the applicant occasionally declared/paid taxes late).


title: French nationality law

text: Naturalization through residency is accorded by publication of a decree in the Journal Officiel by decision of the Home Ministry and the prefecture of the region where the applicant has submitted his/her application. There is an obligatory delay of 12 months from the date of submission before the applicant is notified of the result of his/her naturalization application.


title: French nationality law

text: The partner of a French national can apply for nationality, and must be able to prove that they have been married for five years and live together, (four years if the couple can prove continuous residence in France for three years since the wedding, or if when living abroad, the French spouse has been registered as a French citizen living abroad (article 79 of law 2006-911 published in the JO of 25/07/2006).) The applicant must also have a good knowledge of the French language, spoken and written, and the couple must appear in person together to sign documents.


title: French nationality law

text: Foreign nationals may apply for naturalization after three years of service in the Foreign Legion, a wing of the French Army that is open to men of any nationality. Furthermore, a soldier wounded in battle fighting for France may immediately apply for naturalization under the principle of "Français par le sang versé" ("French by spilled blood").


title: French nationality law

text: According to the French Republic, the French people are those who are in possession of French nationality. According to the French Constitution, "France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs. It shall be organised on a decentralised basis." Article 1


title: French nationality law

text: Since the middle of the 19th century, France has exhibited a very high rate of immigration, mainly from Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Maghreb, Africa and Asia. According to a 2004 report by INED researcher Michèle Tribalat, France has approximately 14 million persons (out of nearly 63 million, or approximately 22%) (see demographics of France) of foreign ascendancy (immigrants or with at least one parent or grandparent immigrant). In 2015, 7.3 million people born in France had at least one immigrant parent (roughly 11% of the population). The origin of the descendants of immigrants reflects the immigration flows that France has experienced for over a century.


title: French nationality law

text: The absence of official statistics on French citizens of foreign origin is deliberate. Under French law passed after the Vichy regime, it is forbidden to categorize people according to their ethnic origins. In France, like in many other European countries, censuses do not collect information on supposed ancestry. Moreover, all French statistics are forbidden to have any references concerning ethnic membership. Thus, the French government's assimilationist stance towards immigration as well as towards regional identities and cultures, together with the political heritage of the French Revolution, has led to the development of a French identity which is based more on the notion of citizenship than on cultural, historical or ethnic ties.


title: French nationality law

text: For that reason, French identity must not necessarily be associated with the "ethnic French people" but can be associated with either a nationality and citizenship, or a culture and language-based group. The latter forms the basis for La Francophonie, a group of French-speaking countries, or countries with historical and cultural association to France. The concept of "French ethnicity" exists outside France's borders, in particular in Quebec where some people claim membership to a "French ethnic group", but again many view it as not so much ethnicity-based as language-based and would also include immigrants from, for example, Lebanon and Haiti. France's particular self-perception means that French identity may include a naturalized, French-speaking ethnic Portuguese, Italian, Spaniard, Pole, Romanian, Lebanese, Vietnamese, Tunisian, Algerian or Moroccan. Nonetheless, like in other European countries, some level of discrimination occurs, and there are higher unemployment rates among job-seekers with foreign-sounding names.


title: French nationality law

text: Despite the official discourse of universality, French nationality has not meant automatic citizenship. Some categories of French people have been excluded, throughout the years, from full citizenship:


title: French nationality law

text: Modern Citizenship is linked to civic participation (also called positive freedom), which includes voting, demonstrations, petitions, activism, etc.


title: French nationality law

text: Some scholars, such as Annette Joseph Gabriel, argue that citizenship is part of a colonial agenda and is not a universal practice. In order to create an equitable and safe space for all, she believes that there must be several different forms of belonging so that everyone feels included instead of being tied to one sole identity factor. She also argues for what she calls decolonial citizenship, which is work has already been done by black women such as Suzanne Cesaire, Jane Vialle, and Paulette Nardal. Although their activism fought against colonialism and fought for multiple cultural and racial identities to be noted, their ideologies were sadly overlooked and silenced.


title: French nationality law

text: Visa requirements for French citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of France. As of May 2020, French citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 189 countries and territories, ranking the French passport 2nd in terms of travel freedom (tied with the Canadian, Italian, South Korean, Spanish, and Swedish passports) according to the Henley Passport Index.


title: French nationality law

text: The French nationality is ranked number one as of 2018 in The Quality of Nationality Index (QNI). The ranking is considering internal factors such as peace & stability, economic strength, and human development and external factors such as travel freedom. France's comparative advantage lies in its greater settlement freedom (attributable mainly to the country's former colonial empire.)


title: French nationality law

text: Dual citizenship was officially recognized for both men and women on 9 January 1973; since then, possession of more than one nationality does not affect French nationality.


title: French nationality law

text: Before 19 October 1945, dual nationality was prohibited and any French national who acquired another nationality before that day automatically lost French nationality unless they were male nationals under the obligation of military service and did not sought for the release of their French nationality by decree. Until 1927, women who married a non-French national were also subject to the automatic loss of nationality if they acquired their husbands' nationalities upon marriage.


title: French nationality law

text: The 1945 French Nationality Code (ordonnance n° 45–2441) added a provision to indicate that for a maximum period of 5 years following the "legal cessation of hostilities", the permission for the loss of nationality must be sought from the French government if the person was male and under the age of 50. The transitional period was deemed to have ended on 1 June 1951. Also, the new code specified that a woman would lose her French nationality only when she declared that she did not want to remain French after marriage.


title: French nationality law

text: The 1954 amendment to the Nationality Code (loi n° 54-395) removed the five-year period and, retroactively from 1 June 1951, no male national of France under the age of 50 would be subject to the automatic loss provision (section 87) of the 1945 Nationality Code without the specific permission from the French government. This limited the automatic loss of nationality to men over 50 and women, as the permissions to lose French nationality were automatically given to them upon their naturalizations. In 2013, a woman who lost her French nationality under section 87 appealed to the Constitutional Council, which found the provision to be unconstitutional under the 1946 Constitution and the 1789 Declaration and ordered the reinstatement of her nationality. As a result of this decision, all women who lost their nationality between 1951 and 1973 solely under section 87 may voluntarily request for the reinstatement of their nationality by invoking this decision, and their descendents would also be able to invoke this decision if their female ancestors have done so.


title: French nationality law

text: Since 1973, dual nationality has been legalized for all French nationals, although a person might still be deprived of their French nationality under bilateral or multilateral treaties or agreements France concluded with other countries. In 2007, the Ministry of Justice concluded that a French male residing in the Netherlands and naturalized as a Dutch national in 2006 based on his marriage to a Dutch man lost his French nationality upon naturalization, because a 1985 agreement between France and the Netherlands stipulated that any national of either country who acquired the other country's nationality would cease to be a national of their country of origin. A provision in the agreement provided exemptions for married couples, but as France did not recognize same-sex marriage in 2006, it was deemed to be not applicable to him as he was not considered to be married under French law.


title: French nationality law

text: Due to the case which sparked national outrage, the Sarkozy administration announced that it would be taking steps to denounce some portions in the agreements with the Netherlands and other countries in 2009. France later denounced Chapter I of the Council of Europe's Convention on the Reduction of Cases of Multiple Nationality and on Military Obligations in Cases of Multiple Nationality of May 6, 1963. The denunciation took effect on March 5, 2009.


title: French nationality law

text: Because France forms part of the European Union, French citizens are also citizens of the European Union under European Union law and thus enjoy rights of free movement and have the right to vote in elections for the European Parliament. When in a non-EU country where there is no French embassy, French citizens have the right to get consular protection from the embassy of any other EU country present in that country. French citizens can live and work in any country within the EU and EFTA as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty.


title: French nationality law

text: According to Giorgio Agamben, France was one of the first European countries to pass denaturalization laws, in 1915, with regard to naturalized citizens of "enemy" origins. Its example was followed by most European countries.


title: French nationality law

text: As early as July 1940, Vichy France set up a special Commission charged with reviewing the naturalizations granted since the 1927 reform of the nationality law. Between June 1940 and August 1944, 15,000 persons, mostly Jews, were denaturalized. This bureaucratic designation was instrumental in their subsequent internment and murder.


title: French nationality law

text: In 2001, as Bill Clinton finished his second term as President of the U.S. (the legal limit of terms under the U.S. Constitution), a theory was published by CNN that he could claim citizenship of France and run for leadership there. The open-letter by historian Patrick Weil held that a little known "law, passed in 1961 [article 21-19(5º)], enables people from former French territories to apply for immediate naturalisation, bypassing the normal five-year residency requirement for would-be French citizens." As Clinton was born in Arkansas which had been part of French Louisiana before it was sold to the US, it was held that he would qualify under this law. And as a naturalised French citizen, he could run in the French presidential election.


title: French nationality law

text: Clinton himself later repeated this claim in 2012 as an amusing thought when speaking to an interviewer. Clinton had always dismissed the idea, and at the time of his retelling of the story in 2012, unknown to him, the possibility had already ended. This was because article 21-19(5º) of the Code civil was repealed (by article 82 of law 2006–911) on July 25, 2006, under the direction of Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then Minister of the Interior. Since "Weil's article made this provision of the French nationality law notorious, the French parliament abolished it".


title: Russian military deception

text: Russian military deception, sometimes known as maskirovka (), is a military doctrine developed from the start of the 20th century. The doctrine covers a broad range of measures for military deception, from camouflage to denial and deception.


title: Russian military deception

text: Deceptive measures include concealment, imitation with decoys and dummies, manoeuvres intended to deceive, denial, and disinformation. The 1944 "Soviet Military Encyclopedia" refers to "means of securing combat operations and the daily activities of forces; a complexity of measures, directed to mislead the enemy regarding the presence and disposition of forces..." Later versions of the doctrine also include strategic, political, and diplomatic means including manipulation of "the facts", situation, and perceptions to affect the media and opinion around the world, so as to achieve or facilitate tactical, strategic, national and international goals.


title: Russian military deception

text: Deception contributed to major Soviet victories including the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and Operation Bagration (in Belarus): in these cases, surprise was achieved despite very large concentrations of force, both in attack and in defence. The doctrine has also been put into practice in peacetime, with denial and deception operations in events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Prague Spring, and the annexation of Crimea.


title: Russian military deception

text: The Russian doctrine of military deception has evolved with time, and it encompasses a number of meanings. The Russian term "маскировка" (maskirovka) literally means "masking". An early military meaning was camouflage, soon extended to battlefield masking using smoke and other methods of screening. From there it came to have the broader meaning of military deception, widening to include denial and deception.


title: Russian military deception

text: The practice of military deception predates Russia. "The Art of War", written in the 5th century BC and attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tsu, describes a strategy of deception: "I will force the enemy to take our strength for weakness, and our weakness for strength, and thus will turn his strength into weakness". Early in Russia's history, in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, Prince Dmitry Donskoy defeated the armies of the Mongol Golden Horde using a surprise attack from a regiment hidden in forest. The tactics of that battle are still cited in Russian cadet schools.


title: Russian military deception

text: The Russian Army had a deception school, active in 1904, disbanded in 1929. Meanwhile, military deception was developed as a military doctrine in the 1920s. The 1924 Soviet directive for higher commands stated that operational deception had to be "based upon the principles of activity, naturalness, diversity, and continuity and includes secrecy, imitation, demonstrative actions, and disinformation."


title: Russian military deception

text: The 1929 "Field Regulations of the Red Army" stated that "surprise has a stunning effect on the enemy. For this reason all troop operations must be accomplished with the greatest concealment and speed." Concealment was to be attained by confusing the enemy with movements, camouflage and use of terrain, speed, use of night and fog, and secrecy. "Thus 'in Soviet military art during the 1920s the theory of operational "maskirovka" was developed as one of the most important means of achieving surprise in operations.'"


title: Russian military deception

text: The 1935 "Instructions on Deep Battle" and then the 1936 "Field Regulations" place increasing stress on battlefield deception. The "Instructions" define the methods of achieving surprise as air superiority; making forces mobile and manoeuvrable; concealing concentration of forces; keeping fire preparations secret; misleading the enemy; screening with smoke and technical deception; and using the cover of darkness. In the 1939 Russian invasion of Finland, white winter camouflage was worn by Soviet troops.


title: Russian military deception

text: The 1944 "Soviet Military Encyclopedia" defines military deception as the means of securing combat operations and the daily activities of forces; misleading the enemy about the presence and disposition of forces, objectives, combat readiness and plans. It asserts that it contributes to achieving surprise, preserving combat readiness and the survivability of objectives.


title: Russian military deception

text: The 1978 "Soviet Military Encyclopedia" defines deception similarly, placing additional stress on strategic levels, and explicitly including political, economic and diplomatic measures besides the military ones. It largely repeats the 1944 Encyclopedia's concept, but adds that


title: Russian military deception

text: Russian military deception is broadly equated with "maskirovka", but other Russian terms are also used in the area, including the "fog of war", "tuman voyny". "Khitrost" means a commander's personal gift of cunning and guile, part of his military skill, whereas deception is practised by the whole organization and does not carry the sense of personal trickiness; nor need the Russian use of deception be thought of as "evil". Indeed, Michael Handel reminds readers, in the preface to the military analyst David Glantz's book, of Sun Tzu's claim in "The Art of War" that all warfare is based on deception; Handel suggests that deception is a normal and indeed necessary part of warfare. The goal of military deception is however surprise, "vnezapnost", so the two are naturally studied together.


title: Russian military deception

text: However, the military analyst William Connor cautioned that in the Soviet sense, the doctrine covered much more than camouflage and deception. It had, he suggested, the connotation of active control of the enemy. By the time of Operation Bagration in 1944, Connor argues, the Russian doctrine of military deception already included all these aspects. The meaning evolved in Soviet practice and doctrine to include strategic, political, and diplomatic objectives, in other words operating at all levels.


title: Russian military deception

text: This differs from Western doctrines on deception, and from information warfare doctrines, by its emphasis on pragmatic aspects. According to the analyst James Hansen, deception "is treated as an operational art to be polished by professors of military science and officers who specialize in this area." In 2015, Julian Lindley-French described strategic "maskirovka" as "a new level of ambition" established by Moscow to unbalance the West both politically and militarily.


title: Russian military deception

text: In military intelligence, the Russian doctrine roughly corresponds to Western notions of denial and deception. The United States Army's "Glossary of Soviet Military Terminology" from 1955 defined "maskirovka" as "camouflage; concealment; disguise." The "International Dictionary of Intelligence" from 1990 defined it as the Russian military intelligence (GRU) term for deception.


title: Russian military deception

text: Robert Pringle's 2006 "Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Intelligence" defined it as strategic deception. Scott Gerwehr's "The Art of Darkness" summarized it as deception and operational security. The historian Tom Cubbage commented that military deception was enormously successful for the Soviets, and whatever the United States might think, for the Soviet Union it was something to make use of both in war and in peacetime.


title: Russian military deception

text: An article in "The Moscow Times" explained: "But маскировка has a broader military meaning: strategic, operational, physical and tactical deception. Apparently in U.S. military terminology, this is called either CC&D (camouflage, concealment and deception) or more recently D&D (denial and deception). It is the whole shebang—from guys in ski masks or uniforms with no insignia, to undercover activities, to hidden weapons transfers, to—well, starting a civil war but pretending that you've done nothing of the sort."


title: Russian military deception

text: In his comprehensive study, "Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War", Glantz summarized the Russian doctrine as involving both active and passive deception and surprise. For the Soviets, deception permeated all levels of war. And since they thought of war as just an extension of politics by other means, deception could and should be used and constantly considered in politics before a war began, if it was to work effectively.


title: Russian military deception

text: The American defence researcher Charles Smith identified different dimensions of Russian military deception. He divided it into multiple types—optical, thermal, radar, radio, sound/silence; multiple environments—aquatic, space, atmosphere—each involving active or passive measures; and organizational aspects—mobility, level, and organization. The levels are the conventional military ones, strategic, operational, and tactical, while organization refers to the military branch concerned. Finally, Smith identified principles—plausibility, continuity through peace and war, variety, and persistent aggressive activity; and contributing factors, namely technological capability and political strategy.


title: Russian military deception

text: Smith also analyzed the Soviet doctrine, considering it as "a set of processes designed to mislead, confuse, and interfere with accurate data collection regarding all areas of Soviet plans, objectives, and strengths or weaknesses".


title: Russian military deception

text: The Battle of Kulikovo in 1380 was cited by Smith as an early example of the successful use of deception; a regiment had hidden in the forest, and the battle is seen as the beginning of the freeing of the Russian lands from Tatar rule.


title: Russian military deception

text: At least three elements, namely deception, concealment, and disinformation with false defensive works and false troop concentrations, were used by Georgy Zhukov in the 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol against Japan. The deceptions included apparent requests for material for bunkers, the broadcasting of the noise of pile-drivers and wide distribution of a pamphlet "What the Soviet Soldier Must Know in Defence". In his memoirs Zhukov described them as such, noting that they were worked out at army group or "operational-tactical" level.


title: Russian military deception

text: The first offensive to have its own deception operation was in Zhukov's part of the attack on the Rzhev-Vyazma salient to the west of Moscow in July and August, 1942. The offensive was conducted by Ivan Konev's Kalinin Front on the north, and Zhukov's Western Front with 31st Army and 20th Army on the south. Zhukov decided to simulate a concentration of forces some to the south near Yukhnov, in the sector of his 43rd, 49th and 50th Armies.


title: Russian military deception

text: He created two deception operation staffs in that sector, and allocated 4 deception ("maskirovka") companies, 3 rifle companies, 122 vehicles, 9 tanks and other equipment including radios for the deception. These forces built 833 dummy tanks, guns, vehicles, field kitchens and fuel tanks, and used their real and dummy equipment to simulate the unloading of armies from a railhead at Myatlevo, and the concentration of armour and motorized infantry as if preparing to attack Yukhnov. The radios communicated false traffic between the simulated armies and Front headquarters.


title: Russian military deception

text: The real tanks and other vehicles made tracks like those of troop columns. When the Luftwaffe attacked, the deception units returned fire and lit bottles of fuel to simulate fires. The deception had the immediate effect of increasing Luftwaffe air strikes against the railhead and false concentration area, while the two railheads actually in use were not attacked, and the Wehrmacht moved three Panzer divisions and one motorized infantry division of XL Panzer Corps to the Yukhnov area. Meanwhile, the real troop concentration to the north was conducted at night and in thick forests.


title: Russian military deception

text: Zhukov's attack began on 4 August, and the 20th and 31st Armies advanced in two days. The Russians claimed that surprise had been achieved; this is confirmed by the fact that German intelligence failed to notice Zhukov's concentration of 20th and 31st Armies on Rzhev. Other small offensives on the same front had poorly planned and executed deception measures, but these were largely unsuccessful. The successful deception for the attack on Rzhev showed that military deception could be effective, but that only certain Red Army commanders applied it correctly.


title: Russian military deception

text: Military deception based on secrecy was critical in hiding Soviet preparations for the decisive Operation Uranus encirclement in the Battle of Stalingrad. In the historian Paul Adair's view, the successful November 1942 Soviet counter-attack at Stalingrad was the first instance of Stavka's newly discovered confidence in large-scale deception. Proof of the success of the Soviet deception came, Adair notes, from the Chief of the German General Staff, General Kurt Zeitzler, who claimed early in November that "the Russians no longer have any reserves worth mentioning and are not capable of launching a large-scale attack." This was two months before the German 6th Army capitulated.


title: Russian military deception

text: Hitler's own self-deception played into this, as he was unwilling to believe that the Red Army had sufficient reserves of armour and men. Further, the many ineffective Red Army attacks to the north of Stalingrad had unintentionally given the impression that it was unable to launch any substantial attack, let alone a rapid army-scale pincer movement. Careful attention was paid to security, with greatly reduced radio traffic. The Germans failed to detect the creation of five new tank armies. Troop movements were successfully concealed by moving the armies up only at night, and camouflaging them by day on the open, treeless steppes.


title: Russian military deception

text: Strategic deception included increasing military activity far away, near Moscow. At the sites of the planned attack, elaborate disinformation was fed to the enemy. Defence lines were built to deceive German tactical reconnaissance. Civilians within of the front were evacuated, and trenches were dug around the villages for Luftwaffe reconnaissance to see. Conversely, along the uninvolved Voronezh Front, bridging equipment and boats were prepared to suggest an offensive there. The five real bridges that were built for the attack were masked by the construction of seventeen false bridges over the River Don.


title: Russian military deception

text: To the south of Stalingrad, for the southern arm of the pincer movement, 160,000 men with 550 guns, 430 tanks and 14,000 trucks were ferried across the much larger River Volga, which was beginning to freeze over with dangerous ice floes, entirely at night. Overall, Stavka succeeded in moving a million men, 1000 tanks, 14,000 guns and 1400 aircraft into position without alerting their enemy.


title: Russian military deception

text: Despite the correct appreciation by German air reconnaissance of a major build-up of forces on the River Don, the commander of the 6th Army, Friedrich Paulus took no action. He was caught completely by surprise, failing either to prepare his armour as a mobile reserve with fuel and ammunition, or to move it on the day of the attack. The historian David Glantz considered that the concealment of the scale of the offensive was the Red Army's "greatest feat".


title: Russian military deception

text: Deception was put into practice on a large scale in the 1943 Battle of Kursk, especially on the Red Army's Steppe Front commanded by Ivan Konev. This was a deception for a defensive battle, as Hitler was planning to attack the Kursk salient in a pincer movement. The Soviet forces were moved into position at night and carefully concealed, as were the extensively prepared defences-in-depth, with multiple lines of defence, minefields, and as many as 200 anti-tank guns per mile. Soviet defences were quickly built up using deception techniques to conceal the flow of men and equipment.


title: Russian military deception

text: This was accompanied by a whole suite of deception measures including feint attacks, false troop and logistics concentrations, radio deception, false airfields and false rumours. In mid-June 1943 German army high command (OKH) had estimated 1500 Soviet tanks in the Kursk salient, against the true figure of over 5100, and underestimated Soviet troop strength by a million. The historian Lloyd Clark observes that while the Wehrmacht was "feeding on intelligence scraps", the Soviets were "mastering "maskirovka"".


title: Russian military deception

text: The result was that the Germans attacked Russian forces far stronger than those they were expecting. The commander of the Soviet 1st Tank Army, Mikhail Katukov, remarked that the enemy "did not suspect that our well-camouflaged tanks were waiting for him. As we later learned from prisoners, we had managed to move our tanks forward unnoticed." Katukov's tanks were concealed in defensive emplacements prepared before the battle, with only their turrets above ground level. Glantz records that the German general Friedrich von Mellenthin wrote


title: Russian military deception

text: The 1944 Operation Bagration in Belarus applied the strategic aims and objectives on a grand scale, to deceive the Germans about the scale and objectives of the offensive. The historian Paul Adair commented that "Once the Stavka had decided upon the strategic plan for their 1944 summer offensive [Bagration], they began to consider how the Germans could be deceived about the aims and scale of the offensive... the key to the "maskirovka" operation was to reinforce the German conviction that operations would continue along this [southern] axis".


title: Russian military deception

text: In particular, the Stavka needed to be certain that the Germans believed the main Soviet attack would be in the south. The Soviet plan successfully kept the German reserves doing nothing south of the Pripyat marshes until the battle to the north in Belorussia had already been decided. Stavka succeeded in concealing the size and position of very large movements of supplies, as well as of forces including seven armies, eleven aviation corps and over 200,000 troop replacements. As for the strategic offensive itself, its location, strength and timing were effectively concealed. Stavka and the Red Army applied the doctrine of military deception at three levels:


title: Russian military deception

text: The German Army Group Centre (where the main attack fell) underestimated Soviet infantry by 40%, mechanised forces by 300% and the number of tanks as 400 to 1800, instead of the 4000 to 5200 in fact arrayed against them. The German high command (OKH) and Adolf Hitler grossly underestimated the threat to Army Group Centre, confidently redeploying a third of its artillery, half its tank destroyers and 88% of its tanks to the Southern front where OKH expected the Soviet attack. Only 580 German armoured vehicles were in place for the battle.


title: Russian military deception

text: In the battle, Army Group Centre was almost totally destroyed, losing its Fourth Army encircled east of Minsk, its 3rd Panzer Army (LIII Corps encircled in Vitebsk), and its Ninth Army encircled east of Bobruisk. In military historian Bruce Pirnie's view, "the Germans were more completely fooled prior to Operation Bagration than they had been prior to Operation Uranus [at Stalingrad]". Pirnie concluded, based largely on Bagration and Uranus with a look at other Second World War operations, that the Soviet military deception in Bagration was unsophisticated, but "clever and effective".


title: Russian military deception

text: The Soviets succeeded in distorting OKH's intelligence picture, given that German intelligence had to rely mainly on radio intercept, aerial photography and agents left behind in the territory they had once held. Stavka deceived OKH by playing to their three sources of information; Stavka systematically denied the Germans real intelligence on Red Army forces as they concentrated for the attack, and revealed other real and simulated forces in other places. However Stavka may have come to do this, it "played well to the Germans' mental attitude".


title: Russian military deception

text: Hitler's own reckless optimism and determination to hold on to captured territory at all costs encouraged him to believe the picture suggested by the Russians. Meanwhile, his advisors believed the Soviet Union was running out of men and materiel, with much less industrial production than it in fact had. Thus they underestimated the forces ranged against them, a belief encouraged by continued deception operations. Pirnie points out that it did not have to succeed in every aspect to be successful. In Belarus, the German armies involved had a good idea of the locations and approximate timing of Operation Bagration, but the higher levels, Army Group Centre and OKH failed to appreciate how strong the attacks would be, or the intention to encircle the Army Group. The "combination of display and concealment, directed at the highest command levels, typified their most successful deception."


title: Russian military deception

text: The Soviet intelligence services and the Soviet military used deceptive measures to conceal from the United States their intentions in Operation Anadyr, which led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. According to CIA analyst James Hansen, the Soviet Army most likely used large-scale battlefield deception before the Cuban Missile Crisis "more frequently and with more consistent success than any other army."


title: Russian military deception

text: The soldiers involved in Anadyr were provided with winter clothing and informed they would be going to the east of the Soviet Union. On board ship, intelligence officers allowed the 40,000 soldiers involved on deck only during the hours of darkness. The force, including missiles, reached Cuba before US intelligence became aware of it.


title: Russian military deception

text: Anadyr was planned from the start with elaborate denial and deception, ranging from the soldiers' ski boots and fleece-lined parkas to the name of the operation, a river and town in the chilly far east. Once America had become aware of Soviet intentions, deception continued in the form of outright denial, as when, on 17 October 1962, the embassy official Georgy Bolshakov gave President John F. Kennedy a "personal message" from the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev reassuring him that "under no circumstances would surface-to-surface missiles be sent to Cuba."


title: Russian military deception

text: Hansen's analysis ends with a recognition of the Soviet advantage in deception in 1962. In Hansen's view, the fact that the Killian Report did not even mention adversarial denial and deception was an indication that American intelligence had not begun to study foreign D&D; it did not do so for another 20 years. Hansen considered it likely that with a properly-prepared "deception-aware analytic corps", America could have seen through Khrushchev's plan long before Maj. Heyser's revealing U-2 mission. In Hansen's view, it would take four decades before American intelligence fully understood the extent of Soviet deception before the Cuban Missile Crisis, especially the way the Soviets hid the truth of its strategic missile deployment behind a mass of lies, on "a scale that most US planners could not comprehend".


title: Russian military deception

text: The Soviet Union made substantial use of deception while preparing for their military intervention of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The historian Mark Lloyd called the effect on the Prague Spring "devastating". When the Kremlin had failed to reverse the Czechoslovak leader Alexander Dubček's liberal reforms with threats, it decided to use force, masked by deception. The measures taken included transferring fuel and ammunition out of Czechoslovakia on a supposed logistics exercise; and confining most of their soldiers to barracks across the northern Warsaw Pact area. The Czechoslovak authorities thus did not suspect anything when two Aeroflot airliners made unscheduled landings at night, full of "fit young men".


title: Russian military deception

text: The men cleared customs and travelled to the Soviet Embassy in the centre of Prague. There they picked up weapons and returned to the airport, taking over the main buildings. They at once allowed further aircraft to land uniformed Spetsnaz and airborne troops, who took over key buildings across Prague before dawn. Reinforcements were then brought in by road, in complete radio silence, leaving NATO electronic warfare units "confused and frustrated".


title: Russian military deception

text: The 2014 annexation of Crimea was described in the West as "maskirovka". As the BBC writer, Lucy Ash put it: "Five weeks later, once the annexation had been rubber-stamped by the Parliament in Moscow, Putin admitted Russian troops had been deployed in Crimea after all. But the lie had served its purpose. Maskirovka is used to wrong-foot your enemies, to keep them guessing." The area was swiftly occupied by so-called "little green men", armed men in military trucks who came at night, with no insignia, so that even pro-Russian activists did not understand what was happening.


title: Russian military deception

text: They were later revealed as Russian special forces, but at the time Vladimir Putin denied this. "Time" magazine reported in April 2014 that the troops in eastern Ukraine described themselves as Cossacks, whereas analysts in Ukraine and the West considered at least some of them to be Russian special forces. Their obscure origins made them seem more menacing and harder to deal with.


title: Russian military deception

text: The article observed that the wearing of face masks (actually, balaclavas) was typical of the Russian tradition of military deception, making asking why they were worn, as one masked separatist remarked, "a stupid question". In April 2014, the "Huffington Post" asserted that "President Putin's game plan in Ukraine becomes clearer day by day despite Russia's excellent, even brilliant, use of its traditional "maskirovka"".


title: Russian military deception

text: The subsequent war in the Donbass region of Ukraine has also been described as a Russian "maskirovka" campaign. As with Crimea, the conflict began when armed 'rebel' forces without military insignia began seizing government infrastructure. Unlike the action in Crimea, there were no Russian military bases to deploy soldiers from. Support for Russia amongst the local population was not as high, and Donbass was larger and less isolated than the peninsula.


title: Russian military deception

text: A variety of deceptions were practised. Russia sent "humanitarian" convoys to Donbass; the first, of military trucks painted white, attracted much media attention, and was described as "a wonderful example of maskirovka" by a US Air Force General. Regular Russian troops were captured by Ukraine numerous times, making denial of their involvement increasingly implausible.


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: The Blue Line (Line 3 & Line 4) is a metro rail line of the Delhi Metro, a rapid transit system in Delhi, India. It is the longest line (by total length) of the network and consists of a Main Line (Line 3) with 50 stations from Noida Electronic City to Dwarka Sector 21, with a length of and a Branch Line (Line 4) consisting of 8 stations from Vaishali to Yamuna Bank, with a length of .


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: The Main line (Line 3) was the longest line of the Delhi Metro network until 6 August 2021, when an unfinished section between Mayur Vihar Pocket 1 and Trilokpuri Sanjay Lake stations on the Pink Line was inaugurated and it became one 59-km-long corridor.


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: The Dwarka – Barakhamba Road section of the line was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on 31 December 2005 and opened to the public on 31 December 2005. Subsequent sections opened between Dwarka – Dwarka Sector 9 on 1 April 2006, Barakhamba Road – Indraprastha on 11 November 2006, Indraprastha – Yamuna Bank on 10 May 2009, Yamuna Bank – Noida City Centre on 12 November 2009, and Dwarka Sector 9 – Dwarka Sector 21 on 30 October 2010.


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: A branch of the Blue line with a length of was inaugurated on 8 January 2010 from Yamuna Bank metro station up to the Anand Vihar in East Delhi. It was further extended up to Vaishali, with it opening to public on 14 July 2011. On 9 March 2019, a 6.67 km extension of the line from Noida City Centre to Noida Electronic City was opened for public by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: Karkardooma station on the Vaishali branch is the second highest station of Delhi metro with a platform height of . Rajouri Garden station on the main line is the third highest station with a height of .


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: A small extension of length was constructed and opened on 14 July 2011 connecting Anand Vihar station of the Blue Line branch with Vaishali Metro station in Ghaziabad, a satellite city near Delhi.


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: A branch line from Dwarka station to Najafgarh was constructed under Phase III. It was designated as the Grey Line. This line has 3 new stations. Construction work on this extension started in September 2013. The Dwarka-Najafgarh stretch opened for public operations on 4 October 2019. Another extension towards Dhansa Bus Stand became operational on 18 September 2021, after delays due to Covid-19 pandemic.


title: Blue Line (Delhi Metro)

text: In April 2014, the Central government approved the extension of the line eastwards from Noida City Centre to Noida Electronic City (Sector-62). The extended line has 6 new stations in a distance of , which became operational on 9 March 2019. Later, the government approved an additional line starting from Noida Sector 51 to Greater Noida, which became the Aqua Line under control of the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC). This line was thrown open to public on 25 January 2019.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film about Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, at the O2 Arena, but cancelled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. The film includes additional behind the scenes footage, including dancer auditions and costume design. The film's director, Kenny Ortega, confirmed that none of the footage was originally intended for release, but after Jackson's death, it was agreed that the film would be made. The footage was filmed in California at the Staples Center and The Forum.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: The film was given a worldwide release and a limited two-week theatrical run from October 28 to November 12, 2009, but the theatrical release was later extended. Tickets went on sale a month early on September 27 to satisfy a high anticipated demand; the film broke numerous pre-sale and box office records.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Since the film's confirmation, AEG Live faced criticism, mostly consisting of claims that they had made the film only to make a profit. Multiple members of Jackson's family had confirmed that they did not support the film, and some family members went as far as to try to stop the film agreement in August. The film has also been surrounded by allegations regarding the appearance of body doubles in place of Jackson, which Sony denied, and it faced outrage from some of Jackson's fans, with some going as far as to start a protest against the film. In August 2009, a judge approved a deal between Jackson's estate, concert promoter AEG Live, and Sony Pictures. The agreement allowed Sony to edit the hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage needed to create the film; Sony subsequently paid $50 million for the film rights.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: The film received generally positive reviews from both critics and Jackson fans; the portrayal of Jackson and his performances were generally praised, while criticism mainly consisted of both critics and fans have felt that the film was made simply to profit from Jackson's death and that Jackson would not have wanted the film released because he was a "perfectionist". Despite some fans boycotting the film and his family not endorsing the film, the ticket sales for "This Is It" broke international records a month before its release. It made $261 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing documentary/concert film of all time.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: The film begins with a short text introduction stating the purpose of the footage and its intent "For the fans...". After short dialogues from various dancers, Kenny Ortega is heard talking through the original concert opening sequence involving a bodysuit made from screens that display fast clips and images with bright intensity from which Jackson emerges on stage. Immediately after this, Jackson begins "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" first solo, which pauses halfway through and a small snippet of Jackson singing his song "Speechless" Acappella is shown. Jackson is then joined by dancers and completes the first number. A short clip showing rehearsals of the "toaster" mechanism is shown before rehearsal footage of "Jam" is played. This plays directly into the green screen adaptation of soldiers dancers for "Bad" which are also used for "They Don't Care About Us" which is shown next. From here, the film shows Michael directing Ortega and his band for his solo rehearsal performance of "Human Nature" which he performs Acappella, then with keyboard, and finally with a full band. Green screen rehearsals for the video vignette for "Smooth Criminal" come next (with scenes from his film "Moonwalker" as well as the film "Gilda" featuring Rita Hayworth singing "Put the Blame on Mame"). Jackson is seen next directing his musical team for the cues in his song "The Way You Make Me Feel". Jackson then performs a rehearsal with dancers which he alters and changes as he goes. Jackson then rehearses a medley of The Jackson 5 songs: "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" and "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)". After this, Jackson sings with Judith Hill, one of his backup singers, on his duet song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". The filming for the "Thriller" vignette is then shown with Jackson and Ortega watching with 3D glasses. Jackson is then seen rehearsing "Thriller" with the vignette intertwined like that in "Smooth Criminal". Footage of the show's aerialists rehearsing to the instrumental of "Who Is It" is shown next.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: During the dance sequence, puppets are suspended in the audience aisles while Jackson emerges from a robotic spider originally seen in the vignette. Jackson and Ortega rehearsing the cherry picker is seen next, along with Jackson rehearsing "Beat It". Footage of Jackson and the band rehearsing "Black or White" is shown next, with guitarist Orianthi Panagaris finishing with a high guitar riff. The video sequence for "Earth Song" is shown next, featuring a little girl who wanders through a forest, falls asleep, and wakes up to find the forest destroyed by man. He then performs a quick version of his song "Billie Jean". Michael is then seen talking to all crew members and wishing everyone the best for the London performances. At a soundcheck, Michael performs "Man in the Mirror" with strong backing vocals. The credits are shown next, with a montage of rehearsal clips and "This Is It" being played in the background. After the show, a live recording of "Heal the World" was played. Then, the audio of "Human Nature" was played, with a clip of Michael rehearsing it in early June (the 3D Screen was not set up yet). Then, a clip of what could have been a Dome Project video of "Heal the World" was shown, in which the girl that appeared in the "Earth Song" video was shown holding the world and a signed message, by Michael, saying "I Love You".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On March 5, 2009, at the O2 Arena, Jackson announced that he was to perform 10 concerts as part of a comeback. On March 11, two days before pre-sale began, an extra 40 dates were added to meet high demand, bringing the number of shows to 50 — five of these dates were reserved in their entirety for the public sale. Jackson's 50 dates would have made the concerts the longest residency at the arena. In May 2009, the tour was originally set to have begun on July 8, 2009, and finished on February 24, 2010.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On May 20, 2009, it was announced that the first concert would be pushed back by five days to July 13, and three other July dates would be rescheduled for March 2010. AEG Live stated that the delay was necessary because more time was needed to prepare, mainly for dress rehearsals. The revised schedule called for 27 shows between July 13 and September 29, 2009, followed by a three-month break, and resuming in 2010, with 23 more shows between January 7 and March 6, 2010. The This Is It concert tour would have been Jackson's first major performances and series of concerts since the HIStory World Tour that began in 1996 and finished in 1997. In preparation for the concerts, Jackson had been collaborating with multiple well known and high-profile figures, such as Kenny Ortega, who would have served as his choreographer. On June 29, 2009, only days after Jackson's death, AEG Live, the concert's promoter, offered ticket holders two choices—to either be refunded the money for their tickets or to keep the tickets as a souvenir and memento by receiving the printed ticket that Jackson had designed himself.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: The album, "This Is It," was released on October 26 and debuted at #1 on the "Billboard 200" album chart with the sales of over 373,000 in its first week of release. The two-disc album features music 'that inspired the movie'. Sony said of the albums that: "Disc one will feature the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film" and stated that "the disc ends with two versions of the 'never-released' "This Is It". This song is featured in the film's closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael Jackson's brothers, The Jacksons." Sony also stated that the second disc will feature "previously unreleased versions" from Jackson's 'catalogue of hits' and that It will also include a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth" (which originally appeared in the liner notes of the "Dangerous" (1991) album) and a 36-page commemorative booklet with "photos of Michael [Jackson] from his last rehearsal".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: The film's director and choreographer, Ortega, stated that the rehearsal footage and concept of making a film to document the preparation of the concerts had come about as "an accident". Ortega stated the film was pieced together from "private footage" shot by documentarians Sandrine Orabona and Tim Patterson of Jackson and the concerts crew rehearsing and that before Jackson's death, was never intended to be released. "The recordings were made so we could use them, then the tapes were destined for Michael [Jackson]'s private library. They have a real unguarded honesty to them." Ortega stated that he had gotten the idea to use the rehearsal footage from Jackson's fans after his death: "At first I got so many messages from fans around the world asking to see the shows, asking to see the footage and eventually I realized the journey wasn't over and we had to do this", and Ortega also stated that the film was made only for the Jackson fans: "[The film] is for the fans and the film will show the development and intentions of the show, and the concert as it moved closer to London."


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On August 10, a Superior Court Judge officially approved the deal between Columbia Pictures (film distributor) and AEG Live (the concerts promoter) for Columbia to be able to purchase and distribute rehearsal footage of Jackson and the rehearsal crew for the film. The deal also included a merchandising agreement with Bravado International Group—the company is a division of Universal Music Group that is owned by Vivendi—so that they can distribute and sell "Jackson-themed products". Columbia had reportedly paid $60 million (£35 million) for rights to the rehearsal footage in court documents that were filed. The papers filed had also reportedly stated that Jackson's estate will get 90% of the profits and that AEG will get the remaining 10% from the film's revenue. In the agreement, Columbia and AEG Live both agreed in the deal that the final version of the film should be no longer than 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes), and that the film must attain a PG rating. The contract also stated that the film is not allowed to show footage of Jackson that shows him in a negative way, stating that: "Footage that paints Jackson in a bad light will not be permitted and "Under the terms of the proposed contract, the film will have to be screened for Jackson's estate and cannot include any footage that puts the superstar in a bad light." The court papers stated that in order for the film to be released to the public the final version of the film must be screened to representatives of Jackson's Estate.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On September 9, 2009, the film's official theatrical movie poster was released. On September 10, 2009, it was reported that MTV's Video Music Awards, which at the time had already announced that they would honor Jackson at the show, would premiere the film's first, and only known, trailer. Along with Janet Jackson's tribute to Michael, the trailer of the film premiered at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. On September 13, 2009, it was reported that a "secret Michael Jackson [promotional music] single is being produced" to promote the film, at which the film would have, at the time, been released the following month. It was reported that Jackson had recorded the song for release with his planned summer tour but after his death, it was shelved until producers in Los Angeles remixed the vocals with an orchestral accompaniment.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On September 23, 2009, it was reported that the film's new song "This Is It" would be released on October 12, 2009, sixteen days before the film's release. On October 9, it was confirmed that the song would debut online the following Monday at midnight, receiving its world premiere on MichaelJackson.com. On September 21, 2009, Sony released a 45-second clip of Jackson rehearsing his performance for "Human Nature" and also released stills from the video clip. As part of a print marketing campaign for the film, "Entertainment Weekly" magazine did a cover story of the film for the magazine's October 16, 2009 issue, to collide with the film's release for that same month. Also as part of promotion for the film, "Entertainment Weekly" released 8 "never before seen" movie stills from the film. On October 21, a clip of Jackson rehearsing "The Way You Make Me Feel" was released. On October 21, a 2-minute featurette of the film was released.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: In September 2009, Sony launched "This-Is-It-Fans.com", which allowed fans to sign up for an 'alert' so that they can be able to take part in 'Michael Jackson's This Is It mosaic', in which fans could upload photos to the website, beginning September 21 and running to September 30, and the completed mosaic would be posted online on October 22, six days before the film's release. On September 24, 2009, MTV announced, after the success, the project proved with "", that they will allow MTV registered users, to "watch and comment on any scene in the film's already released trailer". MTV described the project as "essentially [being] an in-video graphical overlay that allows users to comment on the video as it plays and review comments from other users.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On September 25, 2009, lines opened at the courtyard outside the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. It is estimated that hundreds of people were in line; venue owners permitted them to bring chairs and umbrellas during the wait. Lenticular commemorative tickets were made available to the first 500 people in line, as well as those who traded in tickets purchased for the original tour. Jeff Labrecque of "En" commented, "Three months after Michael Jackson's death, I'm still surprised by the passion of his fans." Bridget Daly of Hollyscoop commented on the waiting time for tickets that, she could "expect nothing less" from Jackson's fans.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On September 27, 2009, the first day of ticket sales, all 3,000 tickets to the advance screenings of the film had "sold out within two hours." Cinema Blend reported that over 160 showings had sold out. Reuters.com, stated that "hundreds of screenings in North America have already sold out, a month before the film's October 28 opening." According to MovieTickets.com, sales of tickets to the film have "accounted for more than 82 percent of all the tickets sold at the site today [Monday, September 28, 2009]." CinemaBlend.com described the sale of tickets on MovieTickets.com as being "fairly significant"—but remarked that "this is after all, just a concert documentary." It was reported that over 80 percent of tickets sold on Fandango.com were for this film.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: It was also reported that the film had "accounted for some 80% of all online ticketing in the U.S. within its first 24 hours of sales, dominating presales compared with such upcoming titles as "Avatar" and "". Sony, confirmed that over 30,000 tickets were sold in the first 24 hours that tickets went on sale. Sony also stated that the film had moved over 1 million dollars in tickets sales in Japan. Sony announced in a press release that in the "last 24 hours [since September 27]", over 80% of all Fandango.com and Movietickets.com sales for the film, had already sold out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Nashville and New York, among others and: "Internationally, exhibitors from London and Sydney to Bangkok and Tokyo have experienced the same epic demand." Sony stated in a statement of the film's good ticket sale's that: "Staggering advance sales were reported in Australia, where tickets for "Michael Jackson's This Is It" purchased through Village Cinemas exceeded the lifetime pre-sales of such blockbusters as "Transformers" and "".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On October 1, 2009, Fandango.com stated the film was the 'top ticket seller' on the site. Both Fandango.com and Movietickets.com are reported that more than 1,600 screenings had already been sold out, via online pre-sales, by October 15. In United Kingdom, Vue Entertainment stated that they'd sold 64,000 tickets in the two-and-a-half weeks since ticket purchasing was made available, while Odeon Cinema stated that they'd had the sales of over 60,000 tickets by October 15. E! Online said of the film, based on its current record ticket selling, out-selling and making more revenue then "" that: "Last year, Disney billed Miley Cyrus' "Best of Both Worlds" show as a one-week-only event. Then the film scored a $31 million opening weekend, and one week turned into 15. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus became the top-grossing concert movie of all time. So far. While it's still early, "This Is It" is on track to top Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. During its first three days of sales, Fandango said, Jackson's film outpaced Cyrus' first three days by a wide three-to-one margin." Joel Cohen, the executive vice president of MovieTickets.com, said of the ticket sales: "Michael Jackson is such an iconic figure, with a fan base that transcends even some of the most bankable stars in Hollywood [...] We expected there to be a large demand for tickets for an 'event' film like this one, but MovieTickets.com has never seen such a high volume of sellouts this far in advance for any movie."


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Stuart Boreman, Vue Entertainment's film buying director, stated that the film's sales of over 300,000 tickets in the period of 1 day (24 hours) had "broken box office records" of having the "biggest ever one-day sales record" in the United Kingdom. Boreman stated: "I've never seen anything like it in the 25 years I have been film buying" and described the film's ticket sales as "a true phenomenon and sales show no sign of slowing down." It was reported that fans had lined up at the box office ticket counters throughout the city of Bangkok, Thailand and that by the end of the first day "all tickets for the first showings across Bangkok were sold out." It was also reported that there were "sell-outs at theaters in France" and that "thousands of fans lined up at The Grand Rex in Paris and quickly bought out the film's first screening there [...] Record-setting sales also were recorded in Germany [...] hundreds of fans lined up outside one theater in Munich at midnight to await the opening of the box office." A German exhibitor said of crowds of people lining up for tickets to the film, that: "Something like this [has] never happened before in Germany." Among other countries, "record sales" and "sell-outs" were also reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand. On October 7, 2009, three weeks prior to the film's release, MovieTickets.com stated that the film had entered their "Top-25 Advance Ticket Sellers of All-Time", bumping "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" from the Number 25 slot. By October 27, Kinekor cinemas sold over 24,000 pre-sale tickets in South Africa, tripling the previous pre-sale record.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Despite the fact that IMAX screenings are usually planned and booked months in advance by the film's movie distributors, Regal Entertainment Group, America's largest cinema chain, stated on September 30, that they would screen IMAX versions of the film at their cinemas. Regal stated that they are planning on making 25 of their IMAX locations available for the screening of the film when it opened to the public on October 28. Dick Westerling, head of marketing and advertising for Regal, stated that the film was selected due to its strong ticket sales. IMAX Corporation and Sony stated that the film will open in digital IMAX theaters and that the limited IMAX release will be played domestically during "evening show times" in 96 IMAX digital theaters, and additionally the movie will be played in 27 of the company's international digital locations. A key part of the IMAX DMR process includes re-mastering the soundtrack to take advantage of IMAX's 14,000 watt digital audio system.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: On August 11, it was widely announced, and later confirmed, that the film would be released to theaters in October 2009, though at the time no specific date was released or confirmed. When confirmed it was reported that the film was set be released worldwide on October 30, 2009. Later in August it was announced that the film's release date was rescheduled two days early for October 28. Sony stated that the film's release date was moved up by two days due to an 'overwhelming demand' for the film." On October 6, it was reported and confirmed by a Sony executive, that the film had been chosen to be one of the last of China's "20 annual foreign movie import slots". China only allows 20 major foreign films to be released in the country every year on a revenue-sharing basis. Chinese censors had reportedly approved the film before the countries weeklong holiday that started on October 1, clearing it in time for the global release date of October 28. Li Chow, manager of Sony Pictures Releasing International's stated that Sony will give the movie as wide a release as possible because of Jackson's popularity in China.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: In September 2009, AEG stated, based on the positive enthusiasm by fans for waiting in lines for days for tickets to the film, that they'd hoped that it was a sign that the public hadn't felt that they were exploiting Jackson after his death. Tim Leiweke, the president of AEG, stated that he hoped that the film would give fans some peace of mind that as a company, Jackson's 'legacy' and well-being was always a priority and the fact that people had thought otherwise had really "hurt" people at AEG. Leiweke said:


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Multiple members of Jackson's family had opposed the film since August 2009 and Jackson's nephews tried to go to court to stop negotiations between AEG Live and Sony. Jackson's older sister La Toya said she felt that Michael wouldn't have wanted the film to have been released because he wasn't giving his all into his performances. In October 2009, Jackson's father, Joe, strongly insisted that the film "is mostly body doubles" and that "the media is going to tear this movie apart" because of it. TMZ also stated members of the Jackson family had felt that footage of "Jackson" in the film wasn't him but rather body double(s). However, Sony released a statement denying rumors that the film had rehearsal footage of Jackson body doubles, describing the story as "pure garbage".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: At the time of Jackson's death, and in its aftermath, multiple reports surfaced that AEG Live purposely tried to hide Jackson's health concerns during preparations for his proposed concerts. Concerns included Jackson's frail appearance due to lack of nutrition that had reportedly caused him to be unable to perform properly, causing AEG to use stand-ins during rehearsals. After Jackson's death, AEG stated that there was no truth to any of the rumors and that Jackson was in "really good shape.". On October 23, 2009, days before the film's release, fans of Jackson launched a protest campaign against the film entitled "This Is "not" It". The campaign's focus was to convince people that Jackson's health was neglected by AEG, among others, and that AEG was partly responsible for Jackson's death which they were now profiting from. The group started a website and created their own 'trailer' for the movie to showcase their point-of-view on the documentary. The protestors also inaccurately claimed that Jackson was 108 pounds (49 kg) at his death, contradicting Jackson's autopsy, which had stated that Jackson weighed 136 pounds (61 kg). Shortly after the protest became news, "The Guardian" conducted a poll on their website asking users "What do you think of Michael Jackson's posthumous film Is This It?", 51.4% agreed with one of the two options: "I agree with the fans who are boycotting it — it's shameless profiteering".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: In the United States, "This Is It" finished first at the box office in its opening weekend with $23.2 million at 3,481 theaters—with a per-theater average of $6,675 over the period of five days. This return was deemed "underperformed" by both Sony and film analysts' expectations—Sony's had originally expected the film to make an estimated $50 million, but after the film's "disappointing" three-day gross, due to some fans, mostly in North America, boycotting the film and issuing boycott propaganda in social networks and media, they lowered their expectations to $35 million, while analysts expected an estimated $30 million for the weekend. In the film's second weekend of wide release, it declined to 43.4%, making $13.2 million, placing it at second at the box office, behind "A Christmas Carol". The film completed its theatrical run in North America on December 3, 2009.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: "This Is It" made its international debut in 110 territories on October 28–30, 2009. The film's revenue mainly consisted of international sales (72.4%). Throughout the film's international release, it performed strongly at the box office, despite some criticism from other fans in North America. On November 7, the film surpassed the $100 million mark at the foreign box office, reaching block-buster status. "This Is It", at the Australian box office grossed $8.7 million and $1.9 million (in Australian currency). "This Is It" debuted at first place at the United Kingdom box office, with the revenue of £4.9 million. In the film's second weekend of release, with the gross revenue of the previous week being down 52%, with £.4 million, it placed at second at the United Kingdom—having been outgrossed by "A Christmas Carol", which, similar to its second week at the North American box office, had been knocked to second place by the film. The film's international revenue was significantly contributed to within Japan—with $58.4 million, followed by the United Kingdom—with $16 million. With $261 million worldwide, "This Is It" became the highest-grossing documentary of all time.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 81% of 186 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.13/10. The site's general consensus is that "While it may not be the definitive concert film (or the insightful backstage look) some will hope for, "Michael Jackson's This Is It" packs more than enough entertainment value to live up to its ambitious title." Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 67 based on 32 reviews.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun Times" described the film as being an "extraordinary documentary", and stated that the film was "nothing at all like what" he was expecting to see. Ebert dismissed reports that Jackson was in poor health and was underperforming, stating that the film didn't show a "sick and drugged man forcing himself through grueling rehearsals, but a spirit embodied by music" and referred to Jackson's rehearsal performance(s) as having been "something else". Kirk Honeycutt of "The Hollywood Reporter" praised the film for being "strange yet strangely beguiling" for capturing Jackson in "feverish grips of pure creativity" and stated that while the film presents that audience with a screen filled with everyone ranging from "performers, musicians, choreographers, crew members, craftsmen", he took notice that the film had primarily focused on Jackson. Honeycutt perceived based on what he'd seen from the behind-the-scenes look of rehearsals that he understood what it takes to "attain such dizzying heights in entertainment" and that he understood why Jackson "chose to stay away" from performing "for a decade" and, based on what he saw from footage from rehearsals that it "looks like the world has missed one helluva concert". Honeycutt cited that the only thing that frustrated him more than knowing the "tragedy" that prevented the concert from happening was "not knowing what you're looking at" and commented that the film did not feel like a complete concert film because it had a grip on the audience, stating: "Where are Jackson and his conspirators at any given moment in the creative process? The film tries to be a concert film without having the actual footage. So when everything comes to a halt, audiences get thrown." Peter Travers, of "Rolling Stone" described watching Jackson's "struggle" as being "illuminating, unnerving and unforgettable" and felt that the film was a great "transcendent tribute" to Jackson because it didn't have, nor need, a "safety net".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Joshua Rothkopf of "Time Out New York" referred to being a "must-see danceumentary". Rothkopf described Jackson as "obviously" having been "shooting for the moon right before his death" based on what he could tell from the "stunning bits of concert spectacle" of "phalanxes of computer-generated dancers, tempo changes on a dime, a bombshell of a blond guitarist who plays Eddie Van Halen's "Beat It" solo flawlessly". Rothkopf stated that: "But the true value of this raw rehearsal footage is its emphasis, less known, on MJ's laserlike attention to detail, as he works for his band and troupe up to speed. A firm floor manager himself, he's often exposed—and probably wouldn't have approved of this film. (One on one, "High School Musical"s Kenny Ortega, meanwhile, treats him with kid gloves: "I agree, Michael.") But to see him sweetly lose himself in "Human Nature" ("I like living this way...") is to feel a creature of the stage finally returned home, and possibly on the cusp of redemption." Peter Paras, of "E! Online" felt that watching Jackson and his performances in a positive aspect is the "genius and the sadness of the entire film". He did note that Jackson's performance of "Earth Song", which consists of using Jackson's voiceover to emphasize his environmental concerns while a bulldozer threatens to eat him, was well-intentioned—because it brought attention to environmental concerns—but felt it was a little over the top. Paras felt the film showed an "exacting and refreshingly funny side of Jackson to be revealed" and "had Jackson lived, we never would have seen those moments" and felt the film was a proper way to "finally say goodbye" to Jackson.


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Marjorie Baumgarten of "Austin Chronicle" referred to the film as being "neither a true concert film nor a strict behind-the-scenes documentary, This Is It is, like Jackson himself, a real hybrid" and felt that while the film's "made up of lots of grainy footage, which Ortega has edited together seamlessly" it will also "provide a fitting farewell". Baumgarten noted that "the finished film is a fairly complete concert run-through with each song edited" and that while the film will easily show that it was made for a profit, that, the audience will see a "film to be a fitting elegy." Joe Morgenstern, of "The Wall Street Journal", felt the film was "expertly packaged—brilliantly packaged", and noted that the film "quite convincingly" had emphasized that Jackson had enough energy to perform, even with his "wraith-thin body". Ann Powers, of "Los Angeles Times" said that while the film offers only a few such "insights into Jackson's artistic process, though enough surface to make this a useful document, as well as a beautiful one" that the film is "a piece with Jackson's body of work: dazzling and strange, blurring the line between fantasy and reality". She described Ortega's editing to make the film feel like a real concert film as being "almost too good to believe". Powers praised the film for showing "intimate views" of Jackson, like his "vulnerable moments" during performances and felt the film was made "to honor not just the memory of Jackson but the hard work of a big cast and crew that never made it to opening night", which she felt mostly is a tribute to the "power of Jackson's body and voice". Powers stated she'd felt the film was such "a tragic teaser for the shows that might have been, 'This Is It' hurts. If Jackson had been able to perform as he frequently does during these scenes, he would have accomplished the comeback for which he was so hungry." She noted that Jackson's "total lack of engagement with the cameras adds to the unreal mood" because he was always performing—"but for the imagined masses, not for the filmgoer" and that the film doesn't "entirely acknowledge that reality, and that's a little odd".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: Lou Lumenick, of the "New York Post" strongly criticized both the film and Jackson's performances. Lumenick criticism of Jackson's performances was he felt Jackson moves "stiffly and lethargically" and that it was "clear" that Jackson was lip-synching while performing 'Thriller'. He felt Jackson's performance of 'Smooth Criminal' looked "incongruous, to say the least" and that "the hokey environmental visuals accompanying 'Earth Song' are even worse", and cited "Beat It" as being the movie's "only half-decent number". Lumenick said that he was certain that a "perfectionist" like Jackson wouldn't want to have been remembered by a "shoddy piece of exploitation". David Edwards, of "Daily Mirror", stated that while he felt that the film is a "success" he overall disliked the film, having felt that "as an exercise in wringing every last penny from Jackson's legacy" the film "most certainly isn't it" a tribute. Alex Fletcher, of Digital Spy described the film as having been an "essential viewing" and praised the film for showing "the real Michael Jackson"—which consisted of "difficult, odd, kind, obsessive and funny". He cited Jackson's best performances as "Thriller" and "Billie Jean" and the "worst material", "Earth Song". However, Fletcher did feel that, while based on the rehearsal footage, Jackson "falls short of his groundbreaking 'Dangerous' and 'Bad' world tours", he noted that Jackson's age and thinness was mostly likely a factor in his performances and described Jackson as having more "star quality and charisma than a million Simon Cowell factory-line production pop singers".


title: Michael Jackson's This Is It

text: "This Is It" was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on January 26, 2010. It sold over 1.5 million units in the U.S. alone within its first week of release, setting a new record for the first week sales of a music DVD. By the end of 2010, in the US alone, DVD sales stood at 2.8 million, with gross earnings of $45 million. The film was released on the same day in Japan, also breaking records, with $18 million in sales on the title's first day of release—$11.3 million in DVD and $6.7 million in Blu-ray—breaking "Ponyo"s record of $6.2 million. In Ireland, the DVD became the joint-third best-selling music "record" in terms of units, going five-times Platinum by the end of 2010.


title: Fernando Colunga

text: Fernando Colunga Olivares () (born 3 March 1966) is a Mexican actor best known for his work in Mexican telenovelas.


title: Fernando Colunga

text: Colunga gained international fame for playing Luis Fernando de la Vega in the Mexican soap opera "Maria la del Barrio". He is also known for his roles as Manuel Fuentes-Guerra in the historical drama set in the Mexican post-independence period of the mid-19th century, "Real love", and for playing Jesús García in "Porque el amor manda". He received his drama education at Centro de Educación Artística de Televisa (CEA) in Mexico City.


title: Fernando Colunga

text: Colunga worked as an actor in 1988, when he debuted twice as Eduardo Yañez's stuntman in the soap opera "Dulce Desafío". After that, he decided to start his acting career and enrolled in the Centro de Educación Artística de Televisa in 1990. In his early career, he was known to many audiences for his role in the Mexican version of "Sesame Street." Colunga also starred in other shows, such as "The Web", "Marked Time", and "All Of It".


title: Fernando Colunga

text: He starred in telenovelas, including "Cenizas y Diamantes", "Madres Egoístas" and "Maria Mercedes". Carla Estrada offered him a role in the soap opera, "Más Allá del Puente," together with Maria Sorté in 1993-1994. After this telenovela, Colunga played a role in "Marimar." In 1994, the film "Kiss Me On The Mouth" featuring Colunga and Paulina Rubio, was shown in the cinema. In 1995, Colunga played the role of Lieutenant Raul Gutierrez in "Alondra", a period novel produced by Carla Estrada. He acted alongside Veronica Merchant, Gonzalo Vega, Ernesto Laguardia, Marga Lopez, Ana Colchero, Juan Manuel Bernal, Beatriz Sheridan, and Eric del Castillo.


title: Fernando Colunga

text: In 1995-1996, Colunga got his first starring role with Thalía in the telenovela, "Maria la del Barrio," giving life to Luis Fernando de la Vega. With this telenovela, Colunga began to be known internationally.


title: Fernando Colunga

text: He later starred in "Esmeralda" (1997) with Leticia Calderon, seen in countries as disparate as Indonesia and the Czech Republic. After the success of "Esmeralda", he made a foray into theater with "Original Sin Not" where he starred with Chantal Andere, as Jenny and Bill, in an unhappy marriage in the process of destruction. His next show was in 1998, "La Usurpadora", with Venezuelan actress Gabriela Spanic, Juan Pablo Gamboa, Chantal Andere, Alejandro Ruiz, Enrique Lizalde and Dominika Paleta. He played Carlos Daniel Bracho, a man who knows that the usurper, Paulina, has replaced his wife Paola, and is being blackmailed for it.