Follows Elvis Presley, featuring never-before-seen footage and recordings.

When Baz Luhrmann directed his biopic of Elvis Presley (‘Elvis’) a few years ago, his original intention was to weave in previously unseen footage of him that he’d discovered during the production process. The sheer wealth of footage discovered prompted a rethink and ‘Elvis’ proceeded without footage of the man himself, therefore leading to this follow on documentary that builds out the story of Elvis through his own words and his own live concert performances. The footage is primarily taken from his Vegas residencies around 5 years before his death, possibly the last period in time where he was capable of delivering something like the real Elvis experience.

The best thing you can say about ‘EPiC’ (an acronym for Elvis Presley in Concert that has a nice double meaning) is that it conveys the raw power of his live performances, his connection with his audiences, and reinforces what a formidable performer he was at his peak. Luhrmann blends in live concert footage with rehearsals (where we see Elvis in a more playful mode), as well as clips from his films and TV appearances from the past, with narration from interviews with Elvis playing over the top.

Those familiar with Luhrmann’s work (and I suspect that is anyone reading this review by now) will know his fast paced editing style and that is evident here, where it is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that it keeps the energy up as we cut between live performance, rehearsal, clips and interviews, with barely a minute to stop for a breath, and a curse in that it takes us away from performances at moments when it would have benefited from staying in the moment. That’s particularly true towards the end when a powerful performance of ‘Suspicious Minds’ is built up as if it is the crescendo of the movie, only for Luhrmann to take us away for another 10 minutes or so of Elvis musing on his career which doesn’t fit at this point in the film.

If you are a fan of Elvis or his music, this documentary is a treasure trove of footage of the man when he was still capable of delivering great live performances, and even if you’re not, there are moments to appreciate. I certainly came away from it wanting to see more of the concert footage, more so than the other elements of the film.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Baz Luhrmann

Starring: Elvis Presley

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt35003538/