"There is a moment in EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert when a teenager in the front row clamps her lips onto Elvis like a limpet, before she is swiftly dislodged by her mother. Elvis, unruffled, moves on to the next one. At another point, a bra is flung in his direction; he instinctively turns it into a bonnet. Just as The Beatles incited mass hysteria, so too did the King - despite never performing outside of North America."
"Returning to the subject four years after his feverish, Oscar-nominated biopic was released in a blizzard of sequins and rhinestone-encrusted bombast, the Australian director fashions a film that is exhilarating, immersive and so immediate that the 5,000 miles (and 50 years) between the singer's Las Vegas stage and a cinema seat in Britain cease to exist. That Luhrmann trades in razzle-dazzle certainly helps: he capitalises on his subject's fondness for garish sunglasses, giant sideburns."
"While making Elvis, Luhrmann heard rumours of footage shot for two 1970s concert films that had never been released. With some considerable effort, researchers managed to track down 59 hours of preserved film negative - all 69 boxes of it - sitting untouched for decades in Warner Bros vaults beneath the salt mines of Kansas. Peter Jackson's restoration team - who had brought The Beatles back to life in his epic three-part documentary Get Back - worked similar magic here."
A restored concert presentation captures Elvis Presley at peak stage magnetism, with fans' frenzied reactions and theatrical moments. Baz Luhrmann embraces lavish spectacle, echoing the singer's fondness for garish sunglasses, giant sideburns and gem-filigreed jumpsuits. Researchers located 59 hours of preserved 1970s concert negatives hidden in Warner Bros vaults beneath Kansas salt mines. Peter Jackson's restoration team revitalised the material, producing extraordinary visuals where colours explode and every sequin, bead of sweat and streak of mascara gleams. The result is an immersive, immediate concert experience that bridges decades and continents through vivid cinematic restoration.
Read at The Independent
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