Also interesting to me is the choice to make the codependence between Elvis and the Colonel textual and explicit with the closet scene, where it seemed to be more subtextual and vague in real life. Glad to see Dixie Locke and Charlie Hodge briefly -- also wild to jump from 1958 to 1968 in three seconds (and a few minutes), but understandable due to the momentum of the story. Montage is fun!
In honor of the King, now gone 45 years as noted above. My favorite audio version of Unchained Melody, which Baz used so beautifully in the first trailers for the Elvis movie.
Was the That's The Way It Is stuff actually a faithful recreation? I must admit I've not seen the original documentary...
Yes indeed and you need to check out the fantastic Special Edition version of That's The Way It Is. Elvis was wearing that exact same suit for a few nights of the filming. The showroom, and I saw Charlie Rich's show there in 1975, was gorgeously and accurately recreated in Australia. The costume designs by Baz's wife, Academy Award winning costume and set designer, Catherine Martin, are just stupendous recreations as well.
Wonderful to hear! I definitely will have to...the 1969 residency is my favorite post-comeback period aside from the Country sessions...the merry-go-round of grift and monotony had not set in, and Elvis seemed joyfully revitalized and relevant again.
...and they call it polk salad. Very cool inclusion. Beautiful matador suits (which I assume are absolutely authentic reproductions of ones from Elvis' collection)!
Also nice that they don't shy away from Elvis' obsession with guns, pill problems, etc. I didn't know he and Priscilla divorced in 1973, though.
I like the the music or overdubs, if that's what it is, from the Moody Blue/Ann Arbor version and maybe the very first lyric used for the trailers. However, I think Elvis sang it better for the Rapid City/ Single version which was of course used in the film.
I agree and how many other directors would have said we need to include Polk Salad Annie in the movie? Not many I dare say. And Baz used it very well, with the drumming by Ronnie Tutt accented heavily and Tom Parker's facial expressions of shock and disbelief.
Aw, man. We've hit the uncomfortable part of the movie now... I knew Elvis briefly fired the Colonel, but to see it presented in spectacular and macabre fashion was something else. It also strikes what a great decision it was to make this as much Tom Parker's story as Elvis'. It lends a fantasy and edge which are the hallmarks of the Luhrmann style. I'm glad Baz made Elvis say everything some fans wished he would have said, too.
Both versions of Unchained Melody are spellbinding to me. I actually prefer the more delicate high notes of the Moody Blue version at Ann Arbor, but I love the visual of seeing Elvis play the piano and the raw power of the vocal with the version used in the film. Baz really had no choice, since the Moody Blue version never could have been matched up well with the Rapid City visual version. I am really glad we have both versions to hear and see. That ending is surely one of the most powerful moments in cinematic history.
Should be noted, that never happened on stage. Elvis was notorious for a couple of drug fueled rants over the years but all of his dealings with the Colonel were in private.
I assumed as much, and I don't recall him being so demonstrably angry with the Colonel, but I kind of get a kick out of hearing him do it, because personally I wished he would have.
Elvis and Parker actually did have a very dramatic argument after one of his shows, and Elvis did indeed fire him more or less, but it did not last long due to Vernon's business ignorance and lack of a strong backbone. I actually don't think Glady's ever would have put up with Parker's B.S., if she were still alive during the 70's.
Something I really appreciate about this film as I near its climax: It has the potential to show the general public who think of Elvis as permanently stuck in 1976-7 (overweight, drugged out, 'joke') how effin' cool he was, why his explosion onto the music scene was revolutionary, and reinforce his cultural impact as an icon.
God, the last years are so...bitterly tragic. Am I gonna cry at the Elvis movie? No, I've just got something in my eye... The "Suspicious Minds" and "Can't Help Falling In Love" leitmotifs don't help.
So true and how about the scene with Elvis talking about the bird that can never land until it dies. At the same time, I was uplifted by the way it showed Elvis as a man who was inspired by other great singers and was a real human being with heartfelt laughter and moments of anger as well as tears. The movie glorified his greatness as an entertainer while at the same time humanized him for the first time.
Wonderfully put. And how resonant are In The Ghetto and Men With Broken Hearts and If I Can Dream today, unfortunately... What a film. I wish more artists could be done justice like this.
Oh yeah, if top 40 radio had any sense at all and was like it use to be in the 1970's, If I Can Dream would be a top ten hit for the very first time now. I cannot think of a better message for the times we are now living in.
So true. I imagine there are more than a couple of living legends who are on the phone with their agents after seeing this film asking them, "So how can we get Baz to make a biopic on my life?
I just watched this and enjoyed it. Recorded last month after the movie came out, which Steve shares his thoughts on, but he doesn't get into discussing Elvis till @ 29:00 in! Some good questions at the end from the audience.
