Shout Factory | 1979 | 170 mins. | Not Rated
Airing on ABC just two years after his untimely death, Elvis was the first film to examine the life of the legendary entertainer. Directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, Big Trouble in Little China), the three-hour biopic ends in 1969, thus avoiding the last several years of Presley’s life where he seemed destined to become a Las Vegas has been; overweight, and decked out in oversized jumpsuits adorned with sequins. Instead, the screenplay, written by Anthony Lawrence, concentrates on the boy from Tupelo, Mississippi who managed to become one of the biggest entertainers in the world, and become the toast of Sin City despite a chorus of doubters.
Kurt Russell does am amazing job in the lead role. There are only a few fleeting moments when you know you’re watching Russell; otherwise, he seems to literally become Elvis throughout the film. His face (with a little help from Emmy-nominated make-up artists) and hair spot on, but more amazing is the way that Russell nailed Elvis’s voice, cadence and all. Russell earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special–but he lost to Peter Strauss, from The Jericho Mile. While Peter Strauss is a fine actor, I’m not sure what the Emmy voters were thinking there.
The film opens in 1969. A moody and nervous Presley is having doubts about his much-hyped, make-or-break engagement at the International Hotel in Las Vegas – the city where he famously bombed as a live act in 1956. As he waits to begin the show, his life is told in a series of flashbacks. We learn about his humble childhood in Tupelo, living in a two-room shotgun shack with his father, Jesse (Bing Russell, Kurt’s real-life character actor father in a good performance) and doting mother, Gladys (Shelley Winters). Those early scenes also establish that Elvis felt deeply connected to his stillborn twin brother Jessie; regularly visiting his gravesite and talking with him, as though he were right there.
As a teenager, Elvis moves to Memphis. Socially awkward and a devout mama’s boy, he finds it tough to fit in until he agrees to sing in a school talent show. Soon enough, Elvis finds his passion; he wants to be a singer. Within a couple of years, the young man from Tupelo finds himself signed to Sun Records. Soon enough, his fame (localized as it may be), attracts the attention of shady but ingenious manager “Colonel” Tom Parker (Pat Hingle), who talks Elvis into breaking with Sun and signing with RCA, a national label. In short order Elvis appears on The Ed Sullivan Show and becomes an international sensation.
As a biopic, Elvis covers all the big events in his life in a catalog fashion—he was a mama’s boy even when he was a schoolboy. Now show how “That’s All Right” got played on a radio station and Sam Phillips “discovered” Elvis and put him on Sun Records. Then let’s show the endless touring and one of the Ed Sullivan appearances. Let’s show how he moved to RCA, and then show Elvis’s growing isolation and how he surrounded himself with the band and his Memphis Mafia, and when he lived with Priscilla (Season Hubley) after his mama died. Let’s briefly show his movie work, and let’s end with Elvis sitting in the wings waiting to play a comeback appearance in Vegas in 1969.
While that style of filmmaking is somewhat effective, it doesn’t allow for any real character development, and means that some people just appear or disappear in his life with little warning. With such a careful cataloging of events, I was amazed that Elvis’ seminal 1968 comeback special is completely ignored. The film works best when focusing on the interesting relationship between Elvis and his mother. Each is trying so hard to please the other they can’t see their obvious affection for one another. Earning unimaginable amounts of money, Elvis drowns his mother in elaborate gifts while she frets that he’s working himself to death just to please her. Maybe Elvis was working overtime to try and play his role as well as that of the son she lost, and Gladys was holding on so tight out if fear of losing her only child.
Likely because this film was made just two years after Presley died, don’t expect any mention of Elvis’ well documented drug use, dalliances with female co-stars and other assorted women, or any hint of a sexual relationship with the then fourteen-year-old Priscilla; as a matter of fact she’s rarely seen. While the film does show glimpses of Elvis’ controlling nature, the overall impression of him is that of a shy, caring, mama’s boy.
All things considered, Elvis is going to be interesting to hardcore fans, but likely not to compelling. Kurt Russell’s performance males this film worth watching, and should be the measuring stick by which all other actors who play Elvis Presley are measured.
The DVD case says that this print was “restored from the original film elements,” and perhaps that helps to explain why some scenes look very good, considering the film’s age, and others have noticeable dirt and imperfections. There’s the requisite amount of grain you’d expect for a release of this type and age, but the colors hold up pretty well. Skin tones are also pretty natural. “Elvis” is presented in 16×9 aspect ratio.
Packed with a simple Dolby Digital 2.0 mono that’s as front-and-center heavy as it gets, and occasionally sounds as if you’re in a tunnel. Oh, unlike the video, the audio wasn’t remastered.
A Few interesting special features are included:
• A Six-Page Booklet with an essay, “Mr. Carpenter & Mr. Russell Meet the King” written by Michael Felsher for this release. Basically a summary, in context, of how the film came about and what Russell and Carpenter went on to do together.
• A Photo Gallery
• Briging A Legend To Life (10:13) – Featurette from 1979 about the making of the film, with on set interviews with Carpenter and Russell.
• American Bandstand “Elvis Day” (4:52) – Clips from the July 4, 1964 episode of American Bandstand with Dick Clark talking about Elvis and interviewing the audience about him.
• Audio Commentary featuring Ronnie McDowell, the man who sang the Elvis songs for this film, and author Edie Hand. It’s an average track that tells more about the experience than Elvis.
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