[.ca] This Is Elvis

Good Documentary:
This video has Elvis singing 2 songs from his last tour when he was fat from the CBS TV special done 2 weeks or so before he died. This is rare footage. He actually does an inspired performance of "My Way". He was truly "facing the final curtain" as the words to that song say. This is probably one of the best documentaries available. It's interesting though. I saw this movie when it came out in the theatre in 1981. This movie has been edited to cut out dirty words Elvis used during the filming of some of the concert tour footage from 1972. Most notably in the back of a limo, Elvis in unaware that a microphone is on during filming. He tells Joe Esposito he didn't see the launch of the Apollo space craft because he was busy doing something with some lady at the hotel that night. What he really said was scrubbed and new words were dubbed over his voice making him appear to say something completely different or really toned down at least. Also, arriving at another coliseum he jokes with his body guards about what he was doing with a lady the night before at the hotel. Once again in this video, his original real words are scrubbed out and a voice double is used to put other words in Elvis's mouth which I guess are supposed to be less offensive. What he originally said might not even rate a PG rating but it's interesting to note that someone thought it better to edit out the truth and replace it with a lie apparently to make Elvis appear less... I don't know what. The new words kind of say the same thing but in much toned way which only comes out kind of weird though. The story of his life. Like Elvis says in one interview, "The image is one thing and the human being is another." Yea, even in death. If you want a good summary of the Life Of Elvis with some decent concert footage thrown in, this can work for you.

For the price, A must own.:
Inspired by Gary's review below, I purchased this video through an Amazon seller expecting that anything so cheap would have to be utter rubbish. I'm pleased to report that this video is most decidedly not utter rubbish. At over 140 minutes of run time it is chockablock full of enough Elvis material to make any Elvis fan happy. The premise of this video is to document the life of the 'King' from childhood to overnight sensationalia through military, marriage and moviestardom and finally to decline and ultimate demise. The director's conceit is to use actors to portray phases of his life as a set up for the plot and then to use actual film footage of subsequent events to flesh out the story. In addition, we are guided by narrations from 'Elvis,' 'Priscilla,' his 'Mom' and others all with suitably hill billy accents, where appropriate. In my opinion this departure from straight documentary hurts the film and I found my mind wandering from bits because they seemed bothersome and artificial. In addition, I believe that the story was poorly told in any event because the video comprised more than two hours of material (some of which was not on the big screen release), and still did an inadequate job of covering many of the many issues the story raised. For instance, we are shown a gathering of Elvis impersonators and Teddy Boys in Liverpool England which, apart from the spectacle, had absolutely nothing to do with the film. It was almost as if someone wanted to do a section on the spawn of Elvis kitsch, clubs, and impersonators but then begged off, and forgot to cut this clip. Also, a section is given over to a revelatory book written by his former body guards and mention is made of law suits, but with no other information. Now, these visual and audio clues might be enough to inform an Elvis fan, but it leaves one such as I who knows little about Elvis clueless. It is possible that since this film depended upon cooperation from the Elvis estate the director was unable to do more, I wonder? On the plus side is the large amount of film footage of early Elvis performances, his hollywood numbers and interviews he gave and shows he put on. Especially nice are the interviews because they seem to allow one to observe Elvis form honest responses to unexpected questions; answers which often make him seem to be a really thoughtful and intelligent human being. The early performances are, of course, riveting and alone would make the video worth owning. One walks away from this video thinking that it would have been much improved by extracting the faked bits and adding more actual film footage of Elvis. If this had been done, I'd have given this four or five stars without a thought.

Feelins':
Goodness, there's a lot of Elvis on this week. Did someone die? I've been walking the streets whistling Heartbreak Hotel, so the man had something. "This is Elvis"? Well, yes, up to a point. It's made with the approval and cooperation of the Prestley estate so it's either good or bad according to your taste. Taste not being something you neccessarily associate with Elvis. The spectrum must have been invented to describe his life. In this polite history of the man you won't be seeing the footage where the King appologies to a television reporter over his tardiness due to a dam making mammal. In fact, Elvis appears to be speaking to us from beyond the grave (allegedly) and invites us to share his hurtin'. His wife, for instance, hurt him by asking for a divorce. This unreasonable request was due to his touring and not what he was doing while touring which the big E mysteriously forgets to mention. Obviously, he's hurtin' too much to speak. Later his bodyguards write an expose after being sacked by phone by a subordinate after 16 years service with only a weeks severence pay. Curiously, despite being told this possible understandable grievance, Elvis is oblivious to their hurtin' and tells us that it's he whose hurtin'. There's a whole lot of hurtin' going on. Maybe if he had a few ladies round Graceland once in a while they wouldn't have all been so miserable. The only person not hurtin' Elvis, apparently, is The Beatles whom he welcomes to the US by phone. No mention of the fact that he called them a menace to America's youth and had a fireside chat with Nixon on the subject and *gulp* drugs. Ayluvis is hurtin' so much it's time to do some hurtin' of his own and we are subjected to a protracted and baffling display of his Kung Fu skills which seem to last half the remaining picture. Careful Elvis, you don't want to try that while being tardy with a dam making mammal. Then you'll REALLY be hurtin'. (I've waited years to say "careful, Elvis!" Just like that TV reporter warning Elvis that the mike was on while reporting his tardiness due to a dam making mammal. Hey, at least I ain't hurtin'.) Soon everythings hurtin' Elvis and he's helped on stage by his minders in Las Vegas. This section is very poignant as Elvis seems to be far from dispondent and has a winning sense of humour about his decline while forgetting the words to Love Me Tender. Okay, he died young but who wants to be an old f**t anyway? When you hit forty you become invisible and have trouble climbing the stairs. So I've heard. Life is short and this ending is powerful and majestic, even. Now I'm hurtin'. The whole world's hurtin'. This film has renewed my dread of dieing on the John like Elvis middle-name Presley. No, not drugs, the lock jams and there's no window.

A lovely introduction to Elvis.:
I am a new Elvis fan, having only discovered the King about four months ago, and only much more recently did I become curious about his life. I purchased _This is Elvis_ four days ago and have watched it no fewer than eight times since then. Much has been said here already about this film, so I will focus on two much-maligned aspects of the film--the dramatic reenactments and the voiceovers. The first moments of the film are dramatic reenactments. We open with a reenactment of Elvis's loved ones finding his body at Graceland, and then we have reenactments of scenes from Elvis's childhood growing up in Tupelo and then, Memphis. While the phrase "dramatic reenactment" can immediately bring to mind fears of copious cheese, this need not be the case here. These portions of the film are tastefully done and decently acted and directed. Most importantly, they are crucial to the structure of the film. It would have been odd, indeed, for a film claiming to be a definitive portrait of Elvis to pick up when he's nineteen or so and cutting records. We need a vision of his earlier life. Since there is no video record of that time, the dramatic reenactments are necessary to fill the void. At any rate, these only take up about the first ten or so minutes of the film. Some have also criticized the use of narration, in general, and the first-person narration of the Elvis impressionist, in particular. First of all, without narration, this film would be nothing more than a collection of video clips strung together. Narration is called for to give this collection the shape of a narrative (as the term "narration," of course, suggests). That said, one might still ask, why first-person narration? Personally, I find the use of first-person narration here to be inspired. It draws the viewer in and gives the story an immediacy and an intimacy that third-person narration would lack. The first-person narration works equally as well for the secondary subjects of this documentary (Priscilla, Gladys, etc.) The film is all the more compelling for the use of this dramatic device. And now for some brief notes on other aspects of the film. I thought the way it handled the issue of Elvis's infidelity to Priscilla was smart and tasteful without skirting the issue. His cheating is never explicitly mentioned, but we do get two instances of Elvis discussing his dalliances with women, during the time that he was married to Priscilla. It is surprising then, that Vernon's brush with the law is baldly misrepresented. The voice of Elvis says that Vernon was sent to jail for writing a bad check--the more full truth is that Vernon forged a check. At the same time, the film references Elvis's displeasure with many of his movies and with his film contracts--even though Col. Parker was a technical advisor on the film. So, in some ways, the film is surprisingly honest, and in other areas, the viewer is advised to take its assertions with a grain of salt. That said, I rate this video five stars. There is a great wealth of footage here, and we are treated to *full* performances--not just little clips and tidbits. We get to experience a bit of Elvis's personality--I had no idea how hysterically funny he could be, or how self-effacing. It is also great to see the reaction of the popular media to his music, particularly in the 1950s. We get clips of a number of officials denouncing Elvis for bringing n****r music to white America. This really helped me to put Elvis into the cultural context of his time, and to understand just how truly groundbreaking and controversial his contribution was.

A Documentary For A True Elvis Fan!:
If you are a true Elvis fan. This documentary is a must have. This was in the making while Elvis was alive. And finished after His death. So the Ronnie Mc Dowell narration is totally accepted. I remember seeing this at the show. When it came out. It covers His life and career so well. It shows the man with faults. And the Entertainer. If you ever saw Him in person. As you left the concert hall. You left with the feeling. He would have sung all night. And in ways He did just that. He was the ultimate entertainer!