"Elvis" (2022) - Baz Luhrmann Film Reviews/Discussion!

That works.

 

Play it James

 

This is a cool cover.

 

I did

 

Love those two ladies expressions in the background! You can just about hear them.

My nephew who is a young dad to a four year old girl, was really touched by the way Elvis' relationship with his daughter was depicted in the film. Elvis may not have been ideal 'family man' material, but he adored his daughter. No question.

 

There's about 30 comments on that Blu-Ray.com site link of the 4K release. One negative comment isn't a consensus. I won't be getting this because I don't have a 4K player and my 1080p Sony BD player is going to make the audio be difficult for me to constantly adjust the volume due to the overly quiet vocals and overly loud music that I'm assuming I'll have to fight with.

 

Some of them are hilarious. For example:

Originally Posted by Jay H.
I wonder if Chuck D will see this movie.

 

I have been reading conflicting information regarding exactly when the Elvis movie will stream on HBO Max, but this article seems to have some good source material for the updated strategy by Warner Bros. and Baz Luhrmann. Here are two paragraphs that explain a bit of the financial benefits of PVOD (Premium Video On Demand) over regular streaming on HBO Max.

PVOD provides a immediate financial return, with the studio retaining 80 percent of the revenue after a small carrier-cost deduction: Each rental transaction brings a quick $14. Multiply that by 1 million views and WBD takes in $14 million. Because the rental costs about the equivalent of two theater tickets, the industry has landed on a conventional wisdom: PVOD has a smaller impact on theaters smaller impact than streaming, where a viewer can watch a film for nothing more than the monthly subscription fee.

Universal films, which usually are available in theaters and on PVOD after three weekends (five, for its biggest hits), reflect this theory: There’s limited theatrical erosion. This also allows the studio to have its non-theatrical cake and eat it during the sustained theatrical run, too. “Elvis” could gross perhaps another $30 million in domestic play, with WBD getting about half that revenue.

‘Elvis’ Will Enter the Building Next Tuesday Via PVOD, Not HBO Max

 

Finally saw this today at an afternoon/early bird matinee screening. It was only the second movie I've seen since the start of the pandemic, with Top Gun: Maverick being the only other movie I've seen since then. The screening I was at was in one of the smaller theatres at my local Cinemark complex, but it was pretty full of people, with the majority of the people being elderly retirees. I think I saw a few younger adults, maybe there with their parents/grandparents.

Anyway, I enjoyed it very much and thought Austin Butler did an outstanding job of portraying Elvis. He had his movements, mannerisms, etc. down to a tee.

Despite the few liberties that Baz took in the telling of Elvis's story, I thought it was well done. My major complaint (other than the few liberties taken by Baz,) was totally skipping over the Hawaii satellite concert broadcast. Last half of the movie, they drilled the narrative of Elvis wanting to perform and tour the World (liberties taken in the framing, timewise) and the "Colonel" not wanting Elvis to tour outside the U.S. So, surely, I thought they would tie-in the Hawaii broadcast into that narrative (In actuality, the 1973 Hawaii broadcast happened prior to Elvis's latter desire to tour the World, which didn't come known until 1974.) Other than the oversight of not mentioning the Hawaii broadcast in the film, most of the other major events in Elvis's career were touched upon, despite some being not in the actual time frames they happened. Oh, and I think the false narrative about "Go to Jail or Enlist in the Army" was a little bit overboard. I realize Baz did that for the drama and sensationalism, but that's not how and why it really happened regarding Elvis's enlistment (He was drafted.) Though, Colonel Parker thought it would be good for Elvis' image. One thing I did notice (probably due to scenes being shot out of order) was that in the movie after Elvis joined the Army, they show him getting his Army haircut. Then his mom dies and he goes back home for the funeral. When he's back home for the funeral, he has his pre-Army hair with the full pompadour. Possible oversight on the film makers???

I also liked the inclusion of how Elvis got some of his musical influences from the black singers and performers (R&B and gospel) with Arthur Crudup, Big Mama Thorton, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, Little Richard, etc. But, in the movie I remember someone saying "Here is Fats Domino" (or something similar) and they show a skinny black guy supposed to be Fats Domino. I don't ever remember Fats Domino being skinny. He was always at least husky, even in the 1950s and 1960s when he was younger. So, they got casting wrong on that one. LOL

 

Neo, not sure if you took a bathroom break, but I definitely recall Hawaii being mentioned, in a Parker narration/brag.

 

That is quite possible. I did take a bathroom break, but I took mine in the first half of the film, around the time he joined the Army.

 

Hmm. I hope some of our "seen it multiple times" pals here can weigh in if I made it up or you missed it---my recollection is it was definitely in the last 15 or so min, in proper chronology time roughly.

My recall is it was one of those interesting graphic effects with satellites and globe, emulating the record cover, while Parker bragged about it.

 

Yes indeed, your memory is correct. I have seen the Elvis movie four times (my fifth time will be a private showing tomorrow in my little town) and they do show a quick clip of the Aloha concert telecast with Parker bragging about the billion plus worldwide satellite audience.

 

I must've blinked when that happened. I don't remember it being mentioned. Must've been a quick clip too.

 

Public Enemy is great. But since the 80’s-90’s, nearly every time a conversation leads to Elvis, a new friend/acquaintance tells me they’ve never listened to his music because he was a racist.

He absolutely wasn’t. Chuck D does his research when writing lyrics. Sadly, he didn’t dig deeper on “Fight the Power,” which prevented millions from even dipping a toe into the world of Elvis.

 

It was a very quick clip. I am wondering if they have a clip of Austin in the Aloha Eagle jumpsuit singing any songs from the special in the extra 4hr version of the movie.

 

Chuck D can kiss my a$$.

That's good info.

I want as many people to see this in an actual cinema as possible, just like Baz. But...I also want this thing to squeeze every possible penny from the consumer base. The financial success of this film is not only a testament to the man I admire so deeply, but it is also motivation for those with the golden keys to put out some product for the die hard fans that have been waiting for decades for the video vaults to be unleashed.

Maybe an FTD Video enterprise.?

 

It absolutely was mentioned

 

This movie has done very well at the box office. Sony should take note- there’s still a lot if interest in Elvis across all generations!

 

All you have to do is get Elvis in front of people's eyeballs. He does the rest. His talent and charisma are an unstoppable force.

 

Hmm.

HBO Max is expected to layoff around 70% of their development staff

An insider says it “sounds like they’re not doing HBO Max scripted shows anymore with HBO taking over"

(via @TheWrap) https://t.co/rZWG6dCrW5

 

Will that mean the upcoming Game Of Thrones: House Of The Dragon move over to HBO eventually?

 

Seems inevitable.

 

Nah, they''ll probably rerun the original '82 Beastmaster in constant rotation. Ah, the early days of cable TV.

 

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