I can't let my appreciation of Elvis Presley's music and career get in the way of this review. The first twenty five minutes or so of rehearsals, fooling around and Elvis falling off his chair a few times seemed a frivolous waste of time. You couldn't even call the rehearsals anything serious because what was shown didn't have Elvis deliver anything in it's entirety, except perhaps his dual rendition of 'Little Sister' riffing into a refrain of the Beatles' 'Get Back'. When the documentary finally got to the actual concert things picked up considerably, but maybe for all the wrong reasons. Looking tanned, healthy and fit, and clad in his signature white jumpsuit, Presley was energized beyond the requirements of his considerable song list, with rushed arrangements of classics like "Hound Dog' and 'Heartbreak Hotel', with his martial art persona very much in evidence and striking an almost embarrassing posture for much of the latter portion of the film. Granted, the concert footage consists of six separate performances over a three day span, so I'm thinking that actually being there one might have experienced a more natural delivery from The King; on screen it just looks like the adrenaline kicked in and Presley had to work off his considerable energy. What was definitely cool was catching some celebrity faces in Las Vegas on hand to catch the opening show, names like Joey Bishop, Cary Grant, Sammy Davis Jr., Juliet Prowse and Norm Crosby. The after show credits showed Elvis greeting some of them and for anyone in attendance I'm sure it had to feel special. But of all the Elvis Presley specials, documentaries and concert films out there, this one doesn't qualify as the definitive one.

This revamped and re-edited version is far superior to the original release, which focused too much on the fascination that the fan clubs held for him. The footage and the sound has been cleaned up. Wisely, songs in rehearsal (some of them bad covers) are not repeated in the concert part of the film, but "Mary in the Morning" should have been. Here we see just how hard Elvis prepared for the historic International Hotel concerts. It is edited down from six live performances. Elvis' multifaceted talents included music arrangement and on-stage conducting of virtually all his "numbers". (He is an accomplished pianist as well--who knew?) He decided when the horns, orchestra and choruses "kicked in" on stage. For a brief 90 minutes or so, it is as if Elvis is still alive. Thrilling for both all old and new Elvis fans. Not a comprehensive list of hits and certainly not his full repertoire, but a good representation. I wish it had included "Lord, You Gave Me a Mountain". No "Dixieland" concerto here. A great cover of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and the most sincere rendition of "In the Ghetto" I've ever seen. A slightly overlong version of "Polk Salad Annie" because it showcased the humorous side of Elvis. As usual, he "throws away" "Hound Dog", as he must have truly hated that song. A lot of smooching of stage-struck fans and enough audience shots to make it seem like a live-on-film concert from The International Hotel (now the LVH) in Las Vegas. He poured so much energy into this concert, that at the end of it, he is truly worn out. Look for several famous celebrities in the audience including Sammy Davis Jr., Cary Grant, and Charo! Even the excellent re-edited version seems too short.

That low rating is not so much a comment on the quality of the documentary, but how depressed the whole movie makes me feel after watching it. Just two years after his triumphant leather-clad Comeback, here is Elvis at the beginning of his fossilisation into the white-suited self-parody he became during the 1970s. The superior 2001 re-edit makes the horror even keener, when at first Elvis and the band are seen at length rehearsing in an charmingly informal atmosphere (musically the movie peaks with the excellent "Little Sister"/"Get Back" medley). Next come the seven (!) backing singers, the middle-aged, middle class audience and the tacky Vegas ambiance, and by the end Elvis is slamming through a set which dispatches his 1950s hits with obscene haste in order to concentrate on the schmaltzy ballads and overblown bombast. He was dead just seven years later. If only he'd done the '68 Special and then fired Colonel Tom, booted the freeloading Memphis Mafia to the kerb and hired a hotshot young manager with some good ideas. There was a big rock'n'roll revival just around the corner and Europe (especially the UK) would have been Elvis' for the taking. Imagine if he'd survived to receive the same sort of multi-generational accord Johnny Cash did during the 1990s. Ah, if only. The 30-something Elvis of 1970's "That's The Way It Is" was a little wider in the face but still lean and vital and capable of so much more. Watching this movie is like seeing Elvis shrug, smile and wave goodbye as he turns to walk down a long, dark tunnel...

Turner Classics was celebrating what would've been Elvis' 75th birthday with a night of movies dedicated to his memory. I felt very fortunate to experience MGM's "Evlis:The Way It Is", a documentary detailing the back stage preparation, rehearsals, and eventual concert in Las Vegas. We have an opportunity to see who Elvis was during this moment in his career and life. While in complete control(..and the environment with all his musicians and singers is so warm and inviting), Elvis was engaging, commanding, playful, off-the-cuff(unpredictable), willing to experiment, and such a hard-worker. The inside look was quite exciting to me, an Elvis fan, and to see it restored, with added footage, containing the lengthly concert accompanying the off-stage activities was an absolute pleasure. His incredible charisma is so vivid, and having been born around the time of his death, it was nice to see him in such an athletic shape, and comfortable joy before all the bad stuff would eventually overwhelm him. When he enters the studio and mentions his gang of musicians as "his backbone", you can see why they loved and admired him so. Elvis cut up during the rehearsals and studio preparation, as well as times on stage while performing. It was amusing seeing the ladies, young and old, swept away, and just swooning as Elvis approached them for his customary smooch..and there were plenty ready for a kiss and hug. Oh, and to see him during rehearsals go from such a lively joker into a professional when it mattered most, was also quite enlightening, and we can see how the performer in him takes over. I consider Elvis the very definition of a performance artist. It's funny, as I was watching the concert, you could see older gentlemen scattered throughout at their tables almost lulled into a stooper while the women surrounding them were enthusiastic and absorbing every moment he's on stage..my kind of guy, The King will always be alive as long as his memory remains on celluloid. Maybe, those who aren't Elvis fans might find this a bit too lovingly a portrait, but for us who are, it's a fitting tribute to him at the peak of his power. Seeing back stage footage of Elvis greeting Cary Grant and Sammi Davis, Jr, was fabulous. His ability to perform at such a high level as he sweats profusely and loses wind, only to explode when need be is quite a testament to his stamina at this particular time(..which was before he'd balloon in weight and appear worse for wear later in years to come).