Since we were talking about Paul McCartney a couple of weeks ago, let’s also mention the film EPiC, Elvis Presley in concert.
This is a roughly 90 minute film that brings together clips of Elvis preparing for and performing in concert, over an extended period of time after his hip swinging period and before the fat era.
It’s produced by Baz Luhrmann. The first part is typical of him, loud and glitzy and all over the place. It gives a little background to Elvis, and we thought we were going to hate the film, but once the concert footage begins, it’s fine.
There are clips from interviews, but the most part is either rehearsal or performance of songs.
We thought it would look all AI glossy and nasty. The clips clearly have been restored and cleaned, but it looks OK. The sound is a bit odd in places and doesn’t match the footage, but, since they had to bring so many bits and pieces together to try to make a coherent whole, we’ll forgive them that.
Elvis clearly enjoys singing and working with other musicians, who work hard at mking him look good (their job after all). He does the showbiz stuff with a tongue in his cheek, not taking it too seriously. Elvis does not come over as an intellectual heavyweight, just a simple soul who could sing like no-one else.
There’s no mention of drugs or other stuff. It’s just a celebration of a great singer singing.
Recommended.
