Landing somewhere between a concert film and a traditional biographical documentary, director Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is meant to be more of an experience about what made Presley tick and why he prioritized live performance above all other things. Just to put things in context, back when Luhrmann was making his 2022 film Elvis, he sought out unseen footage and outtakes of Presley from his two concert films Elvis: That’s the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour to use in his movie. During the search, 68 boxes of 35mm and 8mm footage were found in the Warner Bros. film archives from both of these films, plus another performance from Hawaii, circa 1957, none of which included a soundtrack.
Over the next two years, Luhrmann’s team restored the footage and synched it to existing audio sources. In addition, a 45-minute interview with Presley, telling his life story, was discovered and serves as an honest and loose narrative framework for EPiC. The finished film gives us biographical glimpses of most phases of Presley's life and career, complete with his comments about them from the interview. I especially appreciated his candid remarks about the quality of the Hollywood films he was making at the time. But the real high point of the film is the rehearsal footage, with Elvis and his extended band working out the dozens of songs they would choose from each night, which included a mix of his hits and covers of current songs that the audience would certainly know.
Although the restored concert footage is extraordinary, and the sound mix makes the IMAX version of this seem essential, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to the structure of the film, which in the end, turns out to be fine and not particularly important. The live performances jump around chronologically, sometimes blending together different performances of the same song to illustrate how Presley mixed with arrangements and energy. What results is not just a greatest hits collection of songs, but the best versions of those songs that could be dug up. And when looking at the material taken from his Vegas shows, it’s impossible not to have fun playing “Spot the Celebrities” when the camera pans across the audience.
In many ways, EPiC is unlike any other documentary or concert film about Presley, perhaps capturing the chaos and full-throttle energy not just of his show, but also of his life, which seemed to be moving with no signs of slowing down. The film isn’t interested in exploring his substance abuse or the way his manager, Col. Tom Parker, ran him ragged with a relentless schedule. And it barely touches upon his crumbling marriage. No, this film wants us to focus on the best parts of Elvis, the parts that show us that even when he was joking around on stage, he had the voice of an angel and professionalism that could rarely be matched. He always seems to pull things back in and finish each song like a superhero (complete with capes and poses). I could quibble about certain details of EPiC, but honestly, when it works it works spectacularly, and you want to jump up and applaud right along with the crowd on screen.
Beginning today, the film has a one-week IMAX engagement, followed by a wider theatrical opening on February 27.
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