EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert
(Australia, 96 min.)
Dir. Baz Luhrmann
Programme: Special Presentations (World premiere)
Get ready to see Elvis Presley in a way you’ve never experienced him before! Baz Luhrmann gives the rock and roll king the royal treatment in this electrifying documentary. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert presents wonderfully restored gems from different corners of the archives, black market, and well-stuffed salt mines. Part concert doc, part intimate confessional, Luhrmann’s film gives a front row seat to Presley’s Las Vegas residency, as well has an intimate behind-the-scenes glimpse into the King’s personal life and creative process. The film arrives just when it feels as if there’s nothing new left to say about Elvis–even Luhrmann made a (pretty great) biopic about him in 2022–and yet the energy of the film makes Presley’s music, life, and story feel as fresh as ever. EPiC is the Stop Making Sense of Elvis movies.
Buhrmann brings his signature freewheeling bombast to the documentary and dials it up to 11. He unabashedly blows the speakers here and that’s what the King deserves. Moreover, Luhrmann’s hyperactive style suits an archival documentary extremely well. An astonishingly nimble editing job by Jonathan Redmond distills dozens of hours of footage into a brisk snapshot of the King’s majesty.
The film energetically cuts between Elvis’s top tracks and screaming fans, taking audiences into the recording studio as well with a dynamic and propulsively assembled archival tapestry. The coup that Luhrmann and company achieve here is especially notable given that the rare footage they found apparently lacked synchronous audio tracks, so they overlay the visuals with some even rarer confessional tapes that Presley recorded while reflecting upon his music in the recording studio. It’s an artistic and technical achievement on every level, but also an extraordinary addition to what seems like an overstuffed rockumentary canon.
Luhrmann’s choice to weave Presley’s voice in an out of EPiC makes the film a rare case in which others aren’t speaking for the rocker. The film affords a rare first-person window into the King’s vulnerability. These reflections enhance the concert experience, too. They double as the rocker’s monologues between tracks, ensuring that EPiC gives the closest thing to a real Presley concert as one can get without a time machine or invasive AI. As he opens up about his songs, images from the Presley family archive, his Hollywood movies, and early gigs and TV appearances join the kaleidoscope montage. The film deftly combines biography with performance by putting the music and archive in conversation. And the songs have never sounded better than they do here as Elvis opens up their meaning.
The music proves consistently joyous too. Thanks to the restoration, Presley’s sweat has never glistened so sharply. The 35mm images truly pop. Luhrmann assembles a killer tracklist with this footage and does an admirable job of curating a set list from so many hits. The songs generally play in full, too, which allows everyone in the theatre to develop an emotional connection to each number and let the energy of the performances overtake them.
Highlights in the film include a soulful rendition of “In the Ghetto,” while a rapturously energizing performance of “Burning Love” brings the doc to its climax. The latter song proves especially interactive, as witnessed by the moviegoers at the film’s world premiere screening at TIFF, who stood up to dance and never sat down. Normally, a cranky critic might roll his eyes over such a public display of enjoyment, but EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert invites even the most cynical of moviegoers to clap along. Just when music docs feel “out” for this critic, EPiC pulls him back in.
