The Michael Jackson movie 'This Is it' -- containing footage of rehearsals for his planned 50-date London residency -- took place on Tuesday night in 19 cities around the world.

Jackson's brothers Jermaine, Marlon Tito and Randy attended a premiere in Los Angeles, while another screening took place in London and a third in New York.

The film's director Kenny Ortega described it as "the last sacred document of our leader and friend." The film was created out of more than 100 hours of rehearsals footage for the shows Jackson was due to play at London's O2 Arena.

Jackson died on June 25 weeks before the concerts were due to take place. He had been rehearsing in Los Angeles for four months. his death has been ruled as homicide.

At the London screening there were protests outside the cinema from a group of fans who say the film does not accurately depict the star's declining health.

The Jackson fans, who have set up a campaign group known as called This Is Not It, claim promoters AEG Live put too much pressure on the star ahead of the concerts.

More than 800,000 tickets had been sold for the shows, which was billed as one of the "most expensive and technically advanced" concerts to be staged.

Apart from London, New York and Los Angeles, premieres were also held in cities in Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay.

Meanwhile, Jackson's long-time friend Dame Elizabeth Taylor made her thoughts known on Twitter, calling it, "The single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen. I wept from pure joy at his God given gift. There will never, ever be the likes of him again."

She added, "We have this piece of film to remind us forever and ever that once there was such a man. God kissed him."