If you’re not that familiar with E (as his band, his bodyguards, and I called him), it’s hard to explain. You see girls in vintage clothes going crazy over a performer and you go “huh?” The beauty of the new Baz Luhrmann movie, ELVIS is that he really captures just what made Elvis Presley so extraordinary. I foresee anyone watching this movie under 40 going “Okay, I get it now.”
Granted, it’s hard to convey that sense of performing genius and its affect on people. And to me, that’s what makes ELVIS so special. And also why Austin Butler was so amazing as Elvis. The moves, the charisma — he really delivered. He’ll be going to the Oscars. There have been countless Elvis movies and TV series and for my money, none of the other Hollywood “impersonators” could wear this young actor’s cape.
Along the way, you also see Elvis’ influences, his private side, and his evolution. Since it’s Baz Luhrmann, the screen is constantly filled with a kaleidoscope of dazzling images and colors better suited for the big screen than your phone. And you get Tom Hanks, as Colonel Tom Parker. It’s fun to see him in a sleazy role (besides his most famous role — that of Lawrence Bourne III in the iconic classic VOLUNTEERS). The key relationship in the film is the Presley-Parker partnership. Elvis certainly signed a Faustian contract. The fame and fortune came at an enormous price and ultimately a tragic end. It’s hard to fathom when you see the young vibrant Elvis of the comeback TV special of 1968 that less than ten years later he would be dead. But such is the lore of this larger-than-life modern-day Icarus.
Go see ELVIS. How odd that it’s better to see a movie about Elvis than a movie starring Elvis.
Thank yew, Ken. Thank yew very much.
ReplyDeleteThere's a photo of Presley with Louis Armstrong in 1969, probably taken in Las Vegas. They're admiring each other, though I don't know how familiar Elvis was with Louis's music (or vice versa). But both were musical revolutionaries; Armstrong's Hot Five records of the 1920s laid the foundation for jazz, just as Presley's Sun sides of 1954 and '55 did likewise for rock. Both then made the seamless transition to pop music and also conquered that genre, while never forgetting their roots.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who saw Elvis in September 1974 (he was in good form that night, which according to experts on Presleyana wasn't always the case on said tour), I'm hoping this film truly conveys what he was all about. And apparently it has.
Austin Butler was awesome. He had everything down. The way he walked, the mannerisms, the 68 special, Elvis in Vegas. You forget it's Austin Butler and accept him as Elvis. it didn't come across like a impersonation. he made him human. He makes you really feel for Elvis. He had a complicated relationship with colonel. It's a shame things could not have ended better. As great a career as Elvis had, it could have been even better.
ReplyDeleteThe only other thing I had seen Austin Butler in was "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood". He played Tex Watson of the Manson Family. You would never know it was the same guy. This is definitely a star making performance and he deserves a Oscar nomination.
Elvis and Marilyn Monroe both became bigger legends after their deaths.
ReplyDeleteSo you reject King Creole.
ReplyDeleteThis movie would have to be damn good to beat that.
You don't mention that even though the film takes place in the 50s, 60s and 70s, it has hip hop versions of Elvis songs, which makes no sense at all.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! That was the only part of the movie I didn't like.
DeleteJames Van Hise: Moulin Rouge takes place around 1890 and includes Your Song and Lady Marmalade.
ReplyDeleteBaz Luhrmann isn't known for historical accuracy on soundtracks.
I’m definitely going to watch it!
ReplyDeleteMy wife (b. 1961) saw the ad and asked "Was Elvis really that sexy?" She only knows Fat Elvis, the caricature of himself. I (born 1953) said, "Yes. Yes, he was."
ReplyDeleteRemember, this film comes from the director of "Moulin Rouge," which had its share of musical anachronisms. And, sad to say, our youth culture today almost requires hip-hop, rap, whatever you call that irritating genre.
ReplyDeleteWhat the fuck is a Laz Burrman?
ReplyDeleteDoes the movie recreate Elvis' late 60s movie period?
ReplyDeleteCome on come on, untwist my legs
Pull my arms a lot
How did I get so tied up
In this yoga knot
You tell me just how I can take this yoga serious
When all it ever gives to me is a pain in my posteriors
"Elvis and Marilyn Monroe both became bigger legends after their deaths." I'd say the same about Judy Garland and Whitney Houston.
ReplyDeleteJames Dean was another.
DeleteGlad you loved it, Ken.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the few times I wished a film was longer. Luhrmann said the original cut was 4 hours. I'm not saying it should have been that long, but 3 hours would have allowed for scenes like when Elvis visited Nixon, which Luhrmann said they filmed.
While I was watching it, I kept hoping they hadn't dropped the ball with the ending, by which I mean the final shot. I've seen great movies that had weak or lousy closing moments, but Luhrmann delivered an ending that had beautifully dramatic and cinematic heft. The whole of the last ten minutes brings home the tragedy of how Elvis ended up.
Elvis and Marilyn Monroe were plenty big before their deaths. (Judy Garland was MGM's most bankable star for most of the 1940s)
ReplyDeleteAs for movies, I'd go with Jailhouse Rock as the best. Viva Las Vegas the most watchable.
Ann-Margret was the only one who could completely hold the screen with Elvis.
I haven't seen it and probably won't, but I was glad to see the movie depicts Hank Snow, the country singer, who wrote in his autobiography that Parker was his manager, Snow basically discovered Elvis, and Parker used Snow to sign him up and stole the money from him.
ReplyDeleteMichael, the movie shows Hank Snow as a prude who was disgusted by Elvis's gyrations.
DeleteI'm old enough to remember him in top form, I'm not sure we've seen his kind of talent since. Even when he became fat Elvis, he still had that voice, rich and powerful. It's been 45 years, so even if he wasn't dead then, it's unlikely he would still be with us today. But I do like the idea that he might have managed to slip away and have some normal years.
ReplyDeleteKen -
ReplyDeleteLoved the movie and your review. I would add that Tom Hanks was Brilliant as
Colonel Parker. I can see Oscar nominations all around. Almost 2 hours and 40-minutes and my wife and I both hated to see the movie end. I would love to see the
80-minutes that they edited out of the 4-hour version.
"How odd that it’s better to see a movie about Elvis than a movie starring Elvis."
ReplyDeleteOf course it is. He was a lousy actor. When discussing people who became big movie stars despite being dreadful actors, my usual go-to examples are Bela Lugosi, John Wayne and Elvis, with Wayne doubling as my example of an Oscar going to a terrible actor. (Sadly, Wayne is not the only example of an Oscar going to a dreadful excuse for an actor.)
Almost 30 years ago I was constantly mentioning the irony of Martin Landau winning an Oscar for playing Bela, an honor it is impossible to imagine the real Lugosi ever even being nominated for. But sometimes a really good actors do a fine job of playing lousy actors. Just ask the actors in The Mischief Theater, who do The Play That Goes Wrong and all the other Goes Wrong shows.
I'm a boomer, but I was just never the least bit interested in Elvis. Give me The Beatles. (Yes, I know John and Paul admired Elvis. This does not obligate me to do so.) I have no intention of seeing the new movie. I saw the one with Kurt Russell. That was enough.
When I hear of Elvis, what I always think of first is how he died 3 days before Groucho Marx, upstaging Groucho. Groucho was my idol, my GOD! Pride of place is given on my living room wall to the photo of myself with Groucho, placed even above the shot of me with Barry Humphries. The handful of times I met Groucho shine as golden moments in my life, especially the time he told me he'd seen a TV show I had written and that he thought I was a good writer.
I was devastated by Groucho's death, and the TV was still awash with people whining on about Elvis's death. I yelled at the TV again and again that week, "WHO CARES THAT SOME FAT HILLBILLY JUNKIE FINALLY, INEVITABLY, OD'D? GROUCHO MARX IS DEAD! THE SUN IS GONE FROM THE SKY!!!"
As always, Ken, thanks for any review you publish. Despite being "only" eight years apart, I'm struck by how different the impact is by the redoubtable Presley.
ReplyDeleteIf you’re a boomer you lived through the phenomenon that was the King of Rock n’ Roll.
I was born in 1958 - still a "boomer" - albeit "late" - but by the time I became aware of popular music, Elvis was "old" - old news - not really a thing - cooler than Frank Sinatra by virtue of being old enough to be Frank's son (so it seemed).
My folks had an Elvis LP - a movie soundtrack. We never played it (unlike Jungle Book and Mary Poppins).
I recall Beatles, Monkees, Archies and their music - probably because they all had TV shows.
Go see ELVIS. How odd that it’s better to see a movie about Elvis than a movie starring Elvis.
Odd? Maybe someone can cite a "good" Elvis movie? Surely his life, at least his early rocketing to fame, before he was drafted, is way better than those low-budget, formual movies?
Anyway, thanks again - we'd considered going to see it - and you've tipped the balance.
Jahn
Delete"Surely his life, at least his early rocketing to fame, before he was drafted, is way better than those low-budget, formual movies?"
That's the point Ken was making.
Saw it Wednesday. Found it dazzling and depressing. We'll discuss.
ReplyDeleteA while ago went through a disc of three Elvis movies. Elvis was at least professional, doing what was called for while neither elevating nor mocking the material. All had a weird Disney / Universal B vibe.
ReplyDelete"Speedway" was cheerful Hollywood schlock, from days when Technicolor and air conditioning were reason enough to go to the theater.
"The Trouble With Girls" was a period piece about a Chautauqua troupe bringing entertainment and uplift to a small town. Not successful, but somebody brought a little ambition.
"Harum Scarum" ... Did you ever see a dumb movie about the making of an even dumber movie? I imagine this as the movie being made.
For those relatively unfamiliar with Presley or who would like to explore his music a bit more, these suggestions (these were all CD issues, but nearly all the tracks have surfaced on YouTube):
ReplyDelete* "The Sun Sessions" -- The claim that Elvis blended country and R&B is simplistic, but he assimilated many genres he heard in the early '50s -- bluegrass (Bill Monroe's classic "Blue Moon of Kentucky"), blues (Wynonie Harris's "Good Rockin' Tonight"), even standards (Presley's take on "Blue Moon" is stark and beautiful). Essential.
* "Elvis: 1956" -- This compilation of Presley's breakthrough year has his first major hit, "Heartbreak Hotel"; major chart-toppers such as "Hound Dog," "Don't Be Cruel" and "Love Me Tender"; and the Elvis take on rock/R&B favorites by other artists ("Shake, Rattle and Roll," "I Got A Woman," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy").
* "Elvis Is Back!" -- Presley's first album upon returning from the Army (and his first release in true stereo) has several gems, including "The Girl of My Best Friend," soon covered by Elvis imitator Ral Donner; the R&B favorite "Such A Night"; and a magnificent version of Lowell Fulson's "Reconsider Baby" (produced by Chet Atkins), where the band rocks out for 3:41 (a marathon in that era). This and the Everly Brothers' "It's Everly Time" proved top-tier rock albums were indeed being made in 1960, a year deemed desultory by most critics.
* "From Elvis in Memphis" -- Fast-forward to 1969, not long after the well-received '68 "comeback" special, and Presley's momentum continued with this LP. He transferred recording from Nashville to Chips Moman's American Sound Studio in Memphis, and the result was more in the vein of southern soul. (About this time, Moman produced Dusty Springfield's landmark Memphis album.) Presley's vocal work on Eddy Arnold's "I'll Hold You in My Heart (Till I Can Hold You in My Arms)" is brilliant, and he also successfully covers Jerry Butler's "Only the Strong Survive" and Chuck Jackson's "Any Day Now." The album closes with the thought-provoking "In the Ghetto," a top-three single that made Elvis hip again.
The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite was number one vs NBC and ABC for years. Rather than lead with the news of Elvis's deathon the day he died, the telecast relegated the story to later on in the broadcast. Many viewers tuning in expecting to hear about the story at the top of the show, changed channels and never went back. You have got to know your audience.
ReplyDeleteWalter Cronkite was vactioning when Presley died; Roger Mudd handled the CBS Evening News on Aug. 16, 1977. Who knows if Cronkite would have moved Elvis to the top of the broadcast? Cronkite did lead off with John Lennon's murder three years later.
DeleteDavid Brinkley opened NBC Nightly News with Presley's death.
I opened this door with the key of imagination.
DeleteOn that subject, I always found it striking that it was Howard Cosell who broke the news to the country that John Lennon had been assassinated.
DeleteIndeed...Cosell announced Lennon's death at least twice during a New England Patriots-Dolphins game from Miami on ABC's "Monday Night Football" Dec. 8, 1980. An ABC News staffer being treated that night at Roosevelt hospital in New York for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident when Lennon was brought in relayed the story and it soon reached Cosell and Frank Gifford in Miami.
DeleteCronkite's lead on Lennon's murder the following evening on CBS: "The death of a man who sang and played the guitar overshadows the news from Poland, Iran, and Washington tonight."
I was in high school in West TN when Elvis died - one of his cousins was in my class. It was a HUGE deal. We always started our school year in mid-August, and it was only our second day of school. All after-school activities were cancelled.
ReplyDeleteWhen families would purchase a car in Memphis in the 70s, we hoped Elvis would show up, because he was always buying people cars.
The Memphis CBS affiliate had a HUGE film library, so I grew up watching TONS of Elvis movies, as well as many classic films from all of the studios. (This was before VHS hit.) I happen to have liked "Follow That Dream" (1962) I was a young kid in Miami, and it was filmed in Florida.
"The Girl of My Best Friend," soon covered by Elvis imitator Ral Donner
ReplyDeleteElvis's version is good. Ral's version is better.
As a later "Boomer", 61 next week, I still don't get the hype on him. Maybe if I witnessed his rise I would, but he has always seemed cheesy to me.
ReplyDeleteI remember Singer [the sewing machine people] had stand alone stores and sometime in the late 60s they had a promo where they gave away an Elvis album. After elementary school let out, I made a beeline for the store on my way home to grab one [actually ended up with two but one was lost over the years] I can only remember that the album had "Singer presents...Elvis Chokes Down A Roast Buffalo".....well, not really the name of it, I just remember the "Singer Presents..." part. I still have it somewhere in my record collection. I can remember the TV stations breaking into the programming late afternoon announcing his death. He was one of those singers you'd thought would be around forever. I knew that was a sea change in music history and fully expected to see sobbing females my mom's age hurling themselves to their death from bridges, tall buildings, stacks of his LPs. Then all the sordid details about the way he died came out.....ugh!
ReplyDeleteYou have an interesting take on this. Personally, I can't stand Baz Luhrman movies. There's an edit every 1.25 seconds. Gorgeous cinematography but no time to linger and appreciate the visuals. Like pouring expensive white wine over Lucky Charms. Pretty, but nauseating.
ReplyDeleteI was not a big fan of E until I moved to Nashville. The girl on whom I had my all-time high school crush was in love with him (I graduated in '73). I got a teaching job in Nashville and one weekend went to Memphis. That day, I became an Elvis fan. I happen to be a Baz fan. Thanks, boss, for the review. I confess my confidence Hanks' ability to play one of the 20th century's greatest villains came from having seen Volunteers. I look forward to this movie.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I know about Elvis' movies is from Eddie Murphy's routine on them in Delirious.
ReplyDeleteSo, the question I have for the others is: Are any of the Elvis movies worth watching? Not for the camp value, but are any of them legitimately good movies?
KING CREOLE for sure. It's actually a very good movie.
ReplyDeleteThough it's been years since I've seen it, I recall Elvis was pretty good in 1960's "Flaming Star," a Western. It's a straight dramatic role with only two songs, the title song and one other, early in the picture. His director was Don Siegel, one of the best, who usually managed to get good performances out of actors with limited range, Clint Eastwood most prominently.
ReplyDeleteI was in Selawik, Alaska when I heard that "Elvis Died!"
ReplyDeleteIt was 75F and wall-to-wall blue when the news raced around the village.
I've seen both his pre- and post-Army Elvis movies. The pre- ones are some of the best of his career while I remember enjoying some of his post- ones though they're usually from producer Hal Wallis and stop at around 1966 (Pardise, Hawaiian Style). Silly though many of the Wallis efforts are, they probably aren't ridiculous compared to some of what I heard of the M-G-M ones from around the same period. By the way, anyone here seen his last one as an actor, Change of Habit with Mary Tyler Moore?
ReplyDeleteChange of Habit isn't bad. Late 1960s feel good stuff.
ReplyDeleteNotable for Ed Asner and Mary Tyler Moore paired up a year before the TV show.
I'm another late boomer (1960), and didn't really become aware of Elvis until I saw "Jailhouse Rock," on TV when I was a kid. My parents were Brits, so I was much more aware of The Beatles. My Dad was a drummer, and had a kit, and he would play along with the Fabs' records. It was neat. My favourite Elvis movie was/is "This Is Elvis," a pseudo-documentary with Ral Donner doing the voice-over narration. There's a funny bit where Elvis is hustled into a limo by a few of the Memphis Mafia guys, and announces: "I just spent all mornin' buried in a beaver". I imagine that I will stream the Baz version when it turns up on HBO-Max in a month or so.
ReplyDeleteYEKIMI, was it this album?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.discogs.com/release/2971647-Elvis-Presley-Singer-Presents-Elvis-Singing-Flaming-Star-And-Others
Released November 1968.
There's two other "Singer Presents Elvis" albums/LPs as well. Just go to Discogs.com and search for "Singer presents Elvis."
My wife and I just got back from seeing the movie. Way better than I thought it would be. I hope they get some nominations for it. Really done well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation on King Creole, Ken.
ReplyDeleteMy college-age daughter's review: "Meh".
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed it. But I so wanted Elvis to kidnap the "Colonel" one night. Let his mafia give him some sleeping pills and allow him to wake up without a passport in Brussels! (Or wherever the hell the old phony was from). Ken, you know that's what Tarantino would have done ... if you don't like history, rewrite it! How is it possible that E never played outside the U.S.? How could he have allowed his films and music to get so bad! I worked on "This is Elvis" and Joe Esposito was a special advisor. Joe was from Brooklyn and had served with E in Germany. He became his righthand man. He was there all three days we looped. He told us Elvis truly lost it toward the end and that he let the Colonel run everything. I could go on and on but the movie was well done although I would also have loved a scene with him flying to Washington to get an official FBI badge from Nixon! Oh well.
ReplyDeleteSomeone earlier said Elvis was a terrible actor. Really?? I have not watched one Elvis movie where he stunk the joint up. For a guy who never had one acting lesson he held his own with respected, established actors. Walter Matthau, Angela Lansbury, Barbara Stanwyck, Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Harry Morgan, Dabney Coleman and more said nothing but nice things about him and said he was a pleasure to work with.
ReplyDelete