TL;DR – A kaleidoscopic blend of restored archival footage and electrifying performance that cuts through the spectacle to reveal the man behind the myth.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert Review Introduction –

There are many reasons to watch a film, and sometimes that reason can just be the story of how it came together. A bunch of mostly unseen documentary footage, hidden in a salt mine, was found while Baz Luhrmann was researching for his Elvis movie. Missing audio and needed extensive archival work to bring back to life. Well, that is a narrative that begs you to take a look, which is why we are diving into EPiC or EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert or Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, depending on how you want to slice it.  

So, to set the scene, Elvis has been touring all over America, spent time in the armed forces after being drafted, and then spent years in Hollywood bringing so many films to life. However, at the end of that period, it was time to change things up and go back to what he loves doing, performing for people, and the best place to do it was Las Vegas, Nevada.

Structure

The documentary is structured into two clear sections: the prologue, which gives us a whirlwind exploration of Elvis’ life up until the moment he decides to take on this residency in Las Vegas. This is an almost roller coaster of information, testimonials, and a riot of music, interviews, and snippets about his life. From the early days of offending the nation because his hips had movement and inciting rebellious youths, to his apparent more conservative military days. Even newcomers to Elvis will walk away with a clear sense of who he was; provided they can keep up with the documentary’s rapid-fire pace.

The second and third acts work on different variations of the same themes. While the second act has more of the rehearsal, and the third has more of the performances, they both follow a similar pattern. We get a topic dear to Elvis brought up through either his voice-over, someone asking him a question, or through dialogue with his band. When we get to see him practice the songs and worship ideas, then we get to see the full performances with some relevant footage paired with it to give you context. A good example of this would be performing (You’re the) Devil in Disguise after a discussion on “Colonel” Tom Parker. It is not a subtitle film at times.   

Production

Honestly, I was a little worried about how good the quality of the documentary would be, given the apparent state of a lot of the archived materials they were working with. However, I shouldn’t have been concerned. The level of detail the original documentary crew were able to capture is brought to life here. The colours are vibrant, the images are crisp, and the music is impeccable. I know that some of the audio is sourced from other locations, and there was a lot of work needed to be undertaken to bring the footage back to life. But whatever they did, they did it with a level of detail and artistry that is clear to see.  

The Man

What this structure allows is to go behind the scenes and see a version of Elvis’ workflow and relentless energy. This cacophony of images, music, and narration could have been so overwhelming that it isolates the viewer. However, for me, I instead found it revealing. It is as if all the bombast was able to contextualise the man in a way I have not seen before. You start to peer behind the persona into the man beneath. Now, clearly, he is still performing for the documentary crew; it is not like you could hide a camera set up in the 1970s. However, some of his guard is let down, and you see into what is a profoundly talented yet complicated man. The relentless energy becomes an anchor, holding him back, but he can’t stop for a moment. Facades start to crumble while the big band blasts away.     

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend EPiC? Look, if you like Elvis, then you should absolutely see this film on the largest screen you can, or maybe more importantly, where you get the best musical sound, because you will want this music to roar into your soul.  

Have you watched EPiC? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked EPiC, we would recommend The Sparks Brothers to you because it was also a unique exploration of the canon of music through a kaleidoscope of images, videos, and music.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of EPiC
Directed by – Baz Luhrmann
Music by – Elvis Presley
Edited by – Jonathan Redmond
Production/Distribution Companies – Sony Music Vision, Bazmark Films, Authentic Studios, Neon & Universal Pictures.
Featuring – Elvis Presley
Rating – Australia: PG; United Kingdom: 12a; United States: PG-13