Three years after directing Austin Butler in an Oscar-nominated portrayal of Elvis Presley, Baz Luhrmann makes his documentary debut with the real deal, and it’s an even more spectacular biographical effort. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a dazzling theatrical experience not matched since Brett Morgen’s kaleidoscopic David Bowie film, Moonage Daydream. And there’s as much substance to the film as style.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is an archival documentary that uses old audio interviews with Presley for loose narration atop clips spanning the music icon’s career. However, most of the footage is concentrated on the last decade of his life, as he returned to performing live shows. The film begins with disdainful remarks from Presley about his stint in Hollywood, setting up the concerts as a happy comeback.
Immediately, we see a joyful King of Rock and Roll in the rehearsal studio. He’s goofy, having fun with his backing band, joking around. Later, he’s on stage, making more jokes, pretending to attack his singers, kissing his fans, exhibiting his playful side, and all that charm that made him a star. He clearly loves being on stage so much, and that not only becomes the point of the film, but it’s also an infectious experience.
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In the voiceover, Presley talks of the importance of doing every show as if it’s their first time, every time. He wanted each song to be performed as if it were brand new. For many audiences, it would be their first time seeing him on stage, and he wanted them all to have the same fresh encounter. This theme, revisited throughout EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, is shown by how many different concerts are cut together, evidenced in the various outfits on display, and how much they fit intertwined, even with some lively improvisational elements. The idea has an especially cool moment of contrast well into the film, when we get to see “Burning Love” practiced and then literally performed for the first time for real. That’s how all the songs are meant to be.
While not quite a concert film, as most of the songs in the documentary are only partially shown, there are a handful of truly thrilling sequences, like that “Burning Love” bit. Another favorite extended sequence shows Presley and his band playing “Polk Salad Annie” as Luhrmann intercuts studio rehearsal, stage rehearsal, and live performance. Jonathan Redmond, who earned an Oscar for his work on the biopic Elvis, deserves even more praise for what he achieves here in its synced compilation, which is paced perfectly with the energy of the tunes (some of his old songs were sped up for these shows, maintaining the intensity) and Presley’s hip-shaking movements.
There is one segment in EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert that is unfortunately so on the nose that it made me roll my eyes. If you’re familiar with Presley’s hits and the notorious control of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, you may already take a guess. That’s right, a fairly unnecessary Parker montage plays out soundtracked to “You’re the Devil in Disguise.” Luhrmann already devoted enough time to the man as a villain in Elvis, and here it only becomes relevant at the end, when we’re reminded that Presley was kept from touring outside of the U.S. by Parker. It doesn’t suit this movie.
Nearly 50 years after Presley’s death, it’s surprising that one could make a film like this and have it still feel new, but that goes along with the running theme of his performance principle. I don’t know just how much of the footage featured in the documentary has been seen or heard before (apparently, it consists of a lot of thought-lost material), but I doubt it’s ever popped with such splendor. I’ve never enjoyed Presley so much as a performer as I did while watching EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, feeling the bliss he felt come through the screen so profoundly.
Plenty of filmmakers explore the subjects of their dramatic works in documentaries, but they typically do so as producers, and the latter tends to merely feel supplemental. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is the real main attraction that Elvis now seems to complement. Luhrmann has proven he’s more than capable with documentaries, and I’m really hoping he makes more, even if they’re only a fraction as good as this one.
