Alex Reviews "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert"

“There’s been a lot written and a lot said, but never from my side of the story.” This quote tells you everything you need to know about what EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is going to show over its ninety-minute runtime. Raw footage and audio from the entertainer who became a phenomenon the world over.

Baz Luhrmann continues his love letter to the king of rock and roll after the success of 2022’s Elvis by giving us the man himself in archival footage taken from various points in Presley’s life focusing on the lead up to his historic run in Las Vegas. As the title suggests, yes, we get the show at the International (now the Westgate).

Luhrmann’s team has created magic upscaling ever piece to this documentary that never was and now has been brought to theaters. The footage has been brought so current that an uninformed viewer might think they are watching a current occurrence with 1969 wardrobe and aesthetics. Every moment is a crystalline time capsule.

However, nothing can prepare you for the soundscape. Despite being in a press screening, I found myself looking around to see who was singing along only to find that the audio field is so dialed in that it felt like being in the venue. Despite my best efforts, the experience overwhelmed me into softly singing along and weeping through the entire film. More on that later.

The crafting of this experience is shocking and tells an amazing story highlighting the amazing work covered previously. Much like that opening line implies,  there is a lot of rumors that have been passed through the ages. Many good and many bad, but I can tell you there are a few I genuinely believed to be fact that are completely destroyed by the man himself within these reels that have been brought to the light.

It is sometimes difficult to cover a documentary as it is real and not a script to follow, but an adaptation of what is on hand. This is my favorite documentary I have ever seen, but I am biased. My Nana was a phenomenal musician and loved Elvis. She loved Sammy Davis, Jr. above all and minimized her Elvis talk as it sometimes made my grandfather (Minister Dunleavy) uncomfortable even though he liked the music. It was like our secret that everyone knew to the point that she would sing “We’re caught in a trap” from “Suspicious Minds” while tickling my sister and I as children. EPiC gave me another night with Nana on what would have been her 95^th birthday. This is why I wept with joy through the film and beyond.

Many people have bonding memories with family where Elvis is the soundtrack. Even if EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert weren’t phenomenal, everyone should see it in the largest premium format available. Forget the wide release of February 27^th. Get to an IMAX starting on the 20^th. I know I will be and many times over.