EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert – Movie Review
Once again immersing himself in the world of Elvis Presley, following on from his last feature film effort, 2022’s Elvis, visually loud filmmaker Baz Luhrmann invites audiences to experience The King in the only way Luhrmann knows how – a rollicking, rocking concert film comprising of once believed to be lost footage, masterfully restored and remastered.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert plays out as part concert film, part documentary, part visual poem, and part diary. But in its entirety, Baz Luhrmann has created something that even the most hardcore of Elvis fans can admit they’ve never seen before, as it is fully composed of hours upon hours of footage from Elvis’ Vegas shows, as well as rehearsals and personal 8-mm videos, all found in an MGM film vault down in a salt mine in Kansas.
Luhrmann, working alongside film restoration master Peter Jackson and his team, has brought the Elvis concert experience to life on screen in such a visceral and captivating way. The restored footage is jaw-droppingly clear, and when edited together in the frenetic and music video-like style of Luhrmann’s filmmaking, it’s hard not to be fully immersed into Elvis’ musical charms and rockstar demeanour. Featuring at least 19 songs from his show, it’s hard to deny that EPiC is a toe-tapping experience during those scenes.
But, in his continuation to find more out about Elvis Presley the person, Luhrmann intercuts more tender moments into the rock show, with intimate footage of Elvis interacting with his band during rehearsals, and even personal audio recordings of Elvis himself audio-journaling his experiences. These moments play over archival photos or 8-mm footage, and give an incredibly intriguing glimpse into the cheeky, good natured human Elvis was off-stage – a man who deeply cared about giving the audience a damn good show, and caring for the artists who worked with him to make that happen.
Luhrmann’s fictional filmmaking style and tone is occasionally divisive, and for those who aren’t fans of his kinetic editing, booming soundtracks and loud visuals, EPiC will unlikely win you over. However, his distinct style seems to work in tandem with the tone of the Vegas concert’s, and works better than they way Luhrmann utilised his filmmaking prowess in the feature film Elvis. EPiC’s most notable flaw is that even at 97 minutes long, there is an unevenness with the structure of the film, taking a little bit too long to get into the real toe-tapping vibe of it all.
If 2022’s Elvis was Luhrmann’s exploration of Elvis Presley, then EPiC is Luhrmann’s ode to The King. Fans of Elvis will have a lot to chew on here, and will undoubtedly find this to be the definitive Elvis Presley documentary and concert film – one to be experienced on the biggest and loudest screen possible.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is in Australian cinemas February 19
