Review: "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert"

In 2022, Australian director Baz Luhrmann released his biopic "Elvis," starring Austin Butler in the title role.

Tom Hanks was woefully miscast as Elvis’s infamous manager, Col. Tom Parker.  Despite the stellar, seemingly sure-fire subject matter, the movie was a dud.

On a positive note, Luhrmann has now more than redeemed himself with the release of "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert," an IMAX, big screen, bigger-than-life documentary about Elvis Presley’s glory years in Las Vegas, told by Elvis himself.

The largely never-before-seen footage was recently retrieved from an underground salt mine storage facility in Kansas.  It was a remarkable discovery, 69 boxes of movie reels containing 59 hours of footage.  Another search mission recovered the accompanying audio and music tracks which were reassembled and restored with the aid of Peter Jackson’s film technicians who had resurrected footage of the Beatles for his film "The Beatles: Get Back." (2021).

The resulting film is an electrifying, pulsating, exuberant cinematic experience that IMAX movie technology was created to deliver.  It’s nothing short of a masterpiece.

What sets the project apart from earlier Elvis films is the fact that the story is told by Elvis himself.  Early on, Elvis explains that a lot had been written and said about him over the years, but no one had heard his side of the story.  The film delivers on that insight with an intimate look at the life of Elvis Presley -- his life, his rise to fame and the rehearsals and concerts that happened when he was in his prime.

We see Elvis at the height of his career, a Greek God with a face and physique that set him apart from the remainder of the mere mortals who occupied the planet.  There was also that incredible, incomparable voice that launched him into skyrocketing early success.  It sustained him, even when he was drafted into two years of military service just as he was making a splash as a gyrating, boundary-breaking teen idol.  Critics predicted he could never regain his popularity.  He proved them all wrong.

What followed were a a string of bang-‘em-out, cookie-cutter Hollywood movies which Elvis disdained.  He wanted to refocus on his music and live performances, a journey that led to his long residency in Las Vegas where he became a prisoner in a gilded cage created by his suffocating manager, Col. Parker.

Though Elvis never publicly dissed Parker, who self-destructed in gambling debts after their partnership ended, the movie shows a montage of clips of Parker set to Elvis’s rendition of “Devil in Disguise.”

As expected, "EPiC" is a showcase of Elvis’s Greatest Hits, all performed live.  They are vibrant and powerful, visually and musically.  We also go behind the scenes and into the rehearsal rooms where Elvis sorts out song material with his top talent band members and backup singers.  Though he’s intensely focused and dead-serious, his humanity shines through when he occasionally relaxes and jokes around.  It’s a rare glimpse of Elvis, the man. He's the definition of cool.

Of course, Elvis the superstar dominates the screen with the iconic stage outfits, flashy jewelry, signature sideburns and sunglasses.  Elvis was bigger than life.  The light that emanated through the gaudy stage glitter was the staggering level of his talent, energy and charisma.  Elvis transcended the status of flash-in-the-pan pop star and rose to become an enduring American cultural icon with sold-out venues filled with screaming, adoring fans.

The movie has obvious omissions such as Elvis’s growing dependency on drugs.  Though he didn’t drink or smoke, his physical descent is increasingly apparent in the final part of the movie.  His face is puffy.  His eyes are glazed over.  Elvis’s celebrity lifestyle is starting to take its toll.

He passed away on August 6, 1977, at the age of 42.  The movie skips the final, sad chapter of his life when he became a bloated caricature of himself.  What it captures instead is Elvis at the top of his game, creating music for the ages and showing us what it was like to be Elvis when things were good.

"EPiC" is a movie for Elvis fans and all the uninitiated who will be fans by the time the final credits roll.  It is a movie made to be seen on an IMAX screen with thunderous IMAX audio. 

Baz Luhrmann deserves all the accolades that can bestowed on a filmmaker who did the impossible -- resurrecting a treasure trove of lost footage and creating a film experience worthy of its towering, legendary subject. 

Thanks to him, new audiences can see and hear what all the fuss was about and gain some insight into one of the most popular entertainers of the 20^th century.  Elvis lives, almost a half century after his passing, thanks to the miracle of modern movie technology. His unforgettable music still rocks you out of your seat.