#22: EPiC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT

 

STARRING: ELVIS PRESLEY. Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Budget $11 million. Running time 97 minutes.

The story behind the making of this film is worthy of a film in its own right. While making his 2022 bio pic of the King, Elvis Baz Luhrmann went looking for unseen footage from the two legendary Elvis concert films – Elvis: That's the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour when he stumbled across 68 boxes of unseen footage in the Warner Bros film archives, situated in a Kansas salt mine. The film, both 35mm and 8mm featured not only Elvis's legendary 'Gold Jacket' performance from his 1957 Hawaii show, but also outtakes and previously unseen material, although sadly it all came with absolutely no sound. He also uncovered a previously unheard 45 minute audio recording of Elvis talking about his life and an unseen clip of Presley singing 'Oh Happy Day'. Baz then spent the next two years getting the footage restored and synced to existing audio sources. So far, so Wikipidia.

Although what Baz did next was to craft all that incredible footage into this utterly unique and extraordinary hybrid movie that's simultaneously a classic Elvis Las Vegas concert film stitched together from various shows and also a genuinely unique glimpse behind the scenes as we watch Elvis and his band rehearse and practice, then added to that, listening to the man himself talk about about his life and answer questions from various press interviews. There's also an after party sequence, with Elvis in his black leather outfit as he talks to a obviously delighted Cary Grant and Sammy Davis Jnr.

It all works to create a truly wondrous experience that's actually breathtaking. There's something about watching Elvis that is truly memorising, he is the consummate performer, and his obvious knowledge of music and its structure is mesmerizing to behold, watching him with his band, sweating, practising, shaping the performance to come is a true delight, much in the same way the superlative Beatles: Let it Be was, it's always a genuine privilege to watch true musicians, or artist, to craft their art, to seem to peek behind the curtain and watch the magic being stirred. There's a scene, from the Vegas shows, a reverse shot from the stage back at the audience that is simply staggering, a sea of fans, all moving as one, all cheering, waving, and you can feel the sheer delight and excitement of each and every one of them. All those marvellous 1960s and 70s fashions, sunglasses, haircuts and screaming, it's breathtaking. Good I loved this! The vibrant colours, the cinematography, the film throbs and surges with life and energy and the running time, flew by. This was a film to enjoy on the big screen, Elvis's head, hair and sideburns huge for all to see, and then when he's performing, Oh. My. God. There's a reason he was called The King. That man was pure power transcendent. 

This was a fantastic, film that left me with goosebumps, dazed by his voice, his physicality, his sheer musical prowess and his magnificent high collared white suits. 

Go and see this at the cinema and watch the best concert you've ever seen. 

10/10