It's a 1970 documentary... which was redone in 2000; both are discussed below:
Today would have been the 85th birthday of Elvis Presley; recently I discovered it was last January that I last talked about one of his films. Thus, I figured it was the time-after seeing plenty of his cornball fictional movies-to view then discuss the first concert movie of The King. Only, there are two versions of the film and a few days ago I saw the original edition... then last night the Special Edition. For the rest of the review, I'll refer to the two as SE and OE.
The OE not only has rehearsal and concert footage-in that rehearsal footage, he wore some amazing multi-colored shirts-but also various soundbites from fans and those who organized Elvis' residency at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, and was a big deal as throughout the 60's Elvis did not perform on stage as instead he focused on those aforementioned cornball movies. In addition, a segment is spent on an “Elvis Appreciation Society” in Luxembourg, of all places; that was an odd curio. Colonel Tom Parker never allowed Elvis to perform internationally, for Lord knows what reasons. Actually, there are some strong rumors as to why that relate to why he always hid that he was some Dutch dude from The Netherlands, but that is neither here nor there. Point is, me calling him a huckster is putting it too kindly. Anyhow, this version can be rented online via sites like YouTube; just note that it apparently is the same as the version they have as a special feature on the 2007 DVD release, meaning it is mono and not remastered... when it came out in 1970 w/ a 4 track master. Via someone on Letterboxd, I understand it is in stereo... on Laserdisc; good luck tracking it down, let alone being able to see that.
The SE (which was created in 2000) is an improvement as you get more rehearsal footage, more concert performances, and both the backing band & background singers are identified by name. That was a nice gesture as from what is heard here and I've heard elsewhere randomly, Elvis in the 70's had a hot band behind him in live performances that could really tear it up so they deserve more recognition. The OE does have some performances that were not included in the SE for some reason... you get to hear them practice Bridge Over Troubled Water and I Just Can't Help Believing but only in the OE is it shown in concert. In any case, both cuts do humanize Elvis as you see him goofing around w/ his band, cracking jokes... but also being concerned about forgetting the lyrics to a song new to him, or even The King possessing feelings of nervousness before a performance.
In any case, since a little kid I've always enjoyed the music of Elvis; it is great as an adult to look at services like Spotify or Google Play Music and go through various obscurities in his back catalog. At least today, I'd rather not think about the bad moments in his life or his addiction issues. Instead, I'll note that this concert film demonstrated perfectly why he was a white-hot entertainer in the 1950's and even at the lowest point of his career, he had plenty of fans... what an incredible entertainer and singer who was full of charisma and swagger. No wonder is still a pop culture icon today.
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