The Media Tourist

New fine-tuned Elvis doc reminds us why he’ll always be The King.

EPIC
Starring Elvis Presley
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Rated PG

In IMAX theaters Friday, Feb. 20, and wide release Friday, Feb. 27

Australian director Baz Luhurmann’s 2022 movie Elvis starred Austin Butler as Elvis. This new one upgrades to the real deal: Elvis as Elvis, and more Elvis-y than ever. EPIC stands for Elvis Presley in Concert.

And that’s exactly what it is, and what makes it epic. It’s Elvis in concert like you’ve never seen Elvis before. Using recently unearthed and newly restored performance footage, old Super8 home movies and TV appearances, it’s a masterfully orchestrated immersion into the remarkable, iconic arc of Presley’s unmatched career, using his own words as narration. Much of the speaking—Elvis talking about his childhood, military service, musical influences, movies, fame, singing, his parents and more—comes from previously unreleased archival interviews, which the movie expertly interweaves throughout.  

A lot of the performance footage is from concerts filmed for two previous movies, Elvis: That’s the Way It Is (1970) and Elvis on Tour (1972). But now it’s been meticulously cleaned up and sharpened into strikingly vivid detail and definition, re-edited with enhanced audio that replicates what it must have felt like to be there live. It’s a movie you don’t just see and hear, you feel—the explosive chords, the bone-shaking seismic rumble of bass guitar, the percussive wallop of drums. It’s the energy, the excitement, the emotional mojo of watching Elvis so clearly, so up close and personal, curling his lips into that megawatt smile and making you feel like you’re right there with him. 

We also see Elvis in the Army and on The Ed Sullivan Show, where he was famously shown from only the waist up to not unsettle viewers with his pelvic gyrations. (We hear Elvis say music makes him feel like he’s got “ants in my pants.”) We watch as his singing superstardom leads him to Hollywood, where he languished in the doldrums of unchallenging acting roles. (Cue “Edge of Reality,” which he recorded in 1970, and its line about “life’s dream lies disillusioned.”)

And we’re along for the ride as he rehearses, then takes his show to Las Vegas for his triumphant musical comeback after all those cheesy films. Over the course of 90 minutes, we see or hear bits of some 75 songs, and some in their entirety, from “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel” to “In the Ghetto,” “Polk Salad Annie” and “I Shall Be Released.” You’ll hear Elvis put his own spin on Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and the Righteous Brothers. It’s jam-packed, start to finish, with music.

We see women wailing, swooning, rushing the stage, grabbing, trying to wrangle a kiss or rip away a piece of his high-collared jumpsuit. We see his manager, Col. Tom Parker, whose dubious machinations kept Elvis from touring internationally, working at a feverish pace, and likely cut him out of money he should have received (cue “Devil in Disguise”). We see Elvis joshing with his backup singers, the Sweet Inspirations, and at home with wife Priscilla and their daughter, Lisa Marie. We learn how he winds down after the hormonal surge of a show by singing old gospel songs for hours with his backup quartet, the Jordanaires.   

But mostly we get Elvis being Elvis, singing, sopping wet with flop sweat, whipping and karate-kicking up a storm on stage, moving like he’s goosed with electrical current, grooving, teasing, pleasing, playing the audience like a showroom-sized instrument, building them up, calming them down, leaving them breathless at the end. “You started to rev it up,” Sammy Davis Jr. tells him after a show, “and it never stopped!”

For legions of Elvis fans, indeed, it’s never stopped.  He’s been gone now for almost 50 years, but this fine-tuned virtuoso documentary, this glossy and glorified salute, reminds everyone anew why he’ll always be The King.

—Neil Pond