Rob Reviews "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert"

People can say what they want about Baz Luhrmann; the guy knows how to put music on screen.  From his early works like Strictly Ballroom to how he weaved the modern soundtrack into the classic dialog in Romeo + Juliet to mood establishment in Australia and a little thing called Moulin Rouge!, his love for the art form shines through time after time.  And then off of the heels of Elvis, he decides to stay in that arena with EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.

Living in an age where technology is taking old and making it new again, this film may not have been possible in the way it is done than now.  Taken from never-before-seen footage leading up to and during the King’s residency at what was then the International Hotel and Casino (now the Westgate), this is less of a look at his life and more about celebrating the music and talent that he brought to generations.  There is no real narration here; after a brief introduction of his career up to his residency in Vegas, the dialog comes from interviews he conducted intertwined with rehearsal footage and on-stage performances to tell his musical story.  This works REALLY well because given what I felt Luhrmann’s vision was for this film, any extra interview footage or voiceover would take away from the impact that it delivers.

Now back to the technology point: this footage looks AMAZING.  Realizing that this was over fifty years ago and more, the remastering of the visuals are so sharp and vivid while keeping the aesthetic of its time is nothing short of mind-blowing.  I even went back and watched a chunk of The Beatles: Get Back from Peter Jackson to compare and contrast, and the level of artistry achieved is simply unrivaled.

And that’s just the visual element.

The screening I attended was in a smaller auditorium, but the audio was absolutely immersive.  There was no voice or instrument left to the side as the remixing and remastering of ALL of this footage absolutely demands to be seen at least once in its limited IMAX run in the first week.  This was so impressive that I myself am strongly considering trying to catch this film in that specific format during that one-week run.  I cannot imagine how much more “next level” that is going to be on every level.

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert clears just over an hour and a half, and honestly I would have like to have seen more.  Being the music geek that I am and as amazing as the rehearsal footage alone is, I would like to have seen more on that front.  Hearing Elvis say the number of songs they had to pick from, show me more about how they pared that down to the list they wound up with and even some footage of those being rehearsed (there are a couple in there that simply blew me away).  I cannot recommend this film highly enough, and if you cannot catch it in the theater, do yourself a solid and watch it on the best home theater system you can get access to when it gets to that type of format or you will be doing yourself a disservice.