EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (dir. Baz Luhrmann)
Baz Luhrmann knows a thing or two about shiny things, and the shiniest may just be Elvis Presley. Luhrmann was an ideal fit for the singer’s over-the-top aesthetics on 2022’s Elvis and hopefully nobody feels the need to give us another biopic on the man any time soon (lord knows there was already a few before Baz threw his hat in that ring). Likewise, there have been several Presley concert documentaries, so it might have been hard to justify another when stuff like Elvis: That’s the Way It Is exists. But, again, trust Luhrmann to do something that feels fresh and entirely relevant. Trust Baz Luhrmann to realise “Elvis Presley in Concert” acronymises as a word that he has been obsessed with for his entire career. And it's a relief that that it is entirely appropriate of a title for this assemblage of never-before-seen tour and rehearsal footage found within the Warner Bros. and Graceland vaults.
Luckily for us, Elvis does already exist and so EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, Luhrmann's all-too-brief (not even 100 minutes, it's his shortest since Strictly Ballroom) yet exceedingly kinetic documentary, gets to dispel with all of the frou-frou that tends to come with a musician bio-doc these days. We thankfully get very little of the traditional “who was Elvis” place-setting and instead throws us right into the thick of it. Immediately, the bombast of its sound design hits you in the guts—especially if you’re lucky to catch this in an IMAX theatre. Inter-cutting between backstage preparations and a variety of live recordings from his residency in Las Vegas, we get a dizzying and compelling tour through a rather large swathe of Presley’s musical career. Luhrmann highlights not just his physical on-stage prowess, but also his real vocal talents, his skills as an interpreter (on something like The Beatles’ “Yesterday”), the ease of his charm offensive techniques, and (as Luhrmann highlighted in his post-film Q&A) the man’s goofy humour. I mean, “It’s dry up here, like I’ve got Bob Dylan in my mouth” is objectively a very funny line.
Luhrmann’s prerogative has always been to make the historic relevant. Shakespeare, movie musicals, ballroom dancing, epic romances and classic novels. Or, yes, Elvis Presley. It’s always an admirable goal that I find works far more than it doesn’t (although I know that mileage varies for others). Something like EPiC was always going to be more of a personal passion project, culling 65 boxes of unearthed 16mm and 8mm footage into a 98-minute testament to a man who is now several generations removed from genuine, era-spanning pop cultural significance. I think it works, although getting younger audiences interested might be a stretch; even those who may have ventured to the more traditional biopic thanks to its big stars and Oscar-nominated excesses.
If they did, they would find a movie that is often thrilling and funny, emotional and engaging. They'd see somebody who was doing "it" before their faves. The material has been painstakingly restored—NEON, the film’s American distributor, needs to get that sound crew out on the Oscar campaign trail to discuss their two-year audio-visual syncing efforts!—and even blown up to the size of a (real) IMAX screen lacks any significant traces of decay. It looks and sounds extraordinary. When “Suspicious Minds” begins, it’s really hard to deny the power that Luhrmann clearly saw in the material to justify spending a further four years of his (limited) creative output on this man. He is wise, also, to eschew talking heads, letting Elvis speak for himself.
Ultimately, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert may play like an encore to Luhrmann’s Elvis, but that doesn’t really matter. Together, they’re probably a fitting double-feature that demonstrates more of Elvis’s charm and talent than either could alone. Viewed independently of Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, EPiC works; offering viewers a glimpse into one revered performer in his element by another (I very much consider Baz a performer) that we should be thankful can now exist out there in the world for fans and newcomers alike to admire and appreciate. This is likely the last-gasp of Presley paraphernalia that we'll get to see cinematically so we may as well embrace it.
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