Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: A hybrid of documentary and concert film, “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” now playing in IMAX, offers a front row seat to the King of Rock ‘n Roll’s seven-year Las Vegas residency at the International Hotel.

CAST: Elvis Presley. Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

REVIEW:  An up-close-and-personal look at one of the most documented people in pop culture, “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” strips away the kitsch commonly associated with Presley’s Vegas years, to reveal the raw power that made him a superstar.

“EPiC” began when director Baz Luhrmann was working on 2022s “Elvis.” In his search for never-before-seen footage from “Elvis: That’s the Way It Is” and “Elvis on Tour” for inclusion in the biopic. The search yielded a treasure trove of sixty-eight boxes of 35mm and 8mm footage and outtakes stored in a Warner Bros. film archives in a salt mine in Kansas. Over the next two years the silent footage was paired with sound from the Las Vegas years which makes up the bulk of “EPiC.”

It is a technical feat for sure, but more than that, it’s a potent revisiting of a rock pioneer during an underrated phase of his career. The mere mention of Vegas Elvis conjures up visions of ornate jumpsuits, complete with capes and impossibly wide bell-bottoms, karate kicks, the large TCB ring designed to be visible from the back row and sideburns that bordered on parody with the consistency of shag carpet.

All that, and more, are on display in “EPiC” but more than a celebration of showiness of the latter part of Presley’s career, it’s a re-examination. His years as a sensation may have been behind him, but, despite years of substandard films and little to no Billboard chart action after 1965, save for 1969’s “In the Ghetto,” his mere presence was enough to whip an audience into a frenzy.

“EPiC” shows why.

Luhrmann has assembled a dream concert, cobbling together on-stage and behind-the-scenes footage that reveal the talent and star power that Elvis wielded so effortlessly.

Rehearsal footage reveals an engaged performer working with the band to hone their repertoire of hundreds of songs down to twenty. He’s loose, having fun, but with exacting ideas of what he wants to hear. It’s a portrait of a singer in complete artistic control of his craft, and it is exhilarating to watch.

The real payoff, however, is the concert footage. Luhrmann pieces together a montage of restored images, often combining two or more performances of the same song, to show Elvis at the peak of his powers.

He’s no longer changing the world, but with every movement, every note, he’s changing the atmosphere in the International Hotel’s ballroom. It’s electrifying footage that shows an in-command Elvis hold an audience in the palm of his hand. Sure, he takes liberties with the lyrics—”Do you gaze at your bald head,” he sings in “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” “and wish you had hair?”—and has an unnerving habit of inserting the microphone into his mouth, but even the silly stuff doesn’t dim his unvarnished charisma and the emotional impact of his versatile baritone voice.

Intertwine that with a recently uncovered 45-minute audio recording of Elvis telling his life story, and other archival footage, and “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” emerges as a re-evaluation of one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. That it has a good beat and you can dance to it is an added bonus. Elvis is back in the building.