EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert

(Directed by Baz Luhrmann) (2025)

Luhrmann’s biopic, Elvis – The Movie came out in 2022 (reviewed here), and whilst it was in preparation, Baz learned of the existence of over 60 boxes of 35mm and 8mm film footage of Presley in concert, in rehearsals and interviews. They were stuck in a Warner Bros vault in a salt mine in Kansas, of all places, negatives near to perishing, with no accompanying sound. Luhrmann had to spend a lot of his own money, and two or three years technical time, to have selections of the film retrieved and synced to existing audio.

What results is a mesmerizing display, a hectic pastiche of Elvis’ Las Vegas concert residence (1969-1976, hundreds of shows) in the main, revealing his great discipline in getting the songs just right, including on harmony and orchestration (while he was funny and highly respectful in rehearsal with his superb backing band and superb backing singers, the devotion to quality of performance was remarkable). There’s no formal narration; rather it’s a kind of superior home movie, brilliantly edited, showing Elvis goofing-off with his musician friends, singing song after song, schmoozing with stars of stage and screen* at after parties, letting women of all ages hurl themselves at him, and giving the kind of scintillating and physically and mentally energetic stage performances that would kill most people, and which perhaps killed him in the end. We never get a complete song**; scenes and songs move on as restlessly as the Man, who, throughout, comes across as sensible, modest and kind, which can’t be the whole truth, but still.

The raw power, the exertion, the total command of the show and the audience, is incredible. There have been many giants of popular music throughout the 20th century, as there are in our current century, but Elvis Presley remains unsurpassed. When he covers songs made famous by others, for example (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Polk Salad Annie, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’), he somehow manages to own them. In terms of charisma, energy, and humility, he stands apart from every pop star.

[* Some footage shows famous folks, such as Cary Grant and Sammy Davis Jnr, showing their admiration for The King. On the other hand, Col. Tom Parker turns up briefly in the shadows.] [**Some favourite song grabs, which demonstrate Presley’s range, include Can’t Help Falling in Love, That’s All Right, Hound Dog, Little Sister (with a seque to Get Back), Burning Love, I Can’t Stop Loving You, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, Always on My Mind, How Great Thou Art, Oh Happy Day, In the Ghetto, and of course, Suspicious Minds.]