Elvis: That's the Way It Is
On July 31, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley staged a triumphant return to the concert stage from which he had been absent for almost a decade. His series of concerts broke all box office records and completely reenergized the career of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
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- Cast:
- Elvis Presley , James Burton , Jerry Scheff , Glen D. Hardin , Ronnie Tutt , Cary Grant , Sammy Davis Jr.
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Good concept, poorly executed.
A Masterpiece!
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Looks to me as if the documentary reflects Elvis searching for a new direction. After all, he can't keep doing his standard R&R year after year. Hound Dog and the others undoubtedly revolutionized pop culture, making Elvis probably the most important musical performer of the last 60-years. But then styles do change. Still, it is almost painful to hear him toy with his signature songs in the Las Vegas stage act. I guess I'm still expecting 1956.To me, his career was a tragic one, perhaps too much success too soon. Unfortunately, he never found real artistic traction after his army stint. Hollywood and Las Vegas simply sapped his creativity, and except for a couple of invigorating TV specials, his career entered a slow down- spiral, becoming finally a sad parody. Yet he remains one of pop music's great raw talents.The documentary itself shows Elvis at ease in the jamming sessions, where he can be himself. That segment goes on a little too long, but is more revealing than the lengthy Las Vegas segment where Elvis the talent tries uncomfortably to fit into a casino stage act. To me, the act is something of a shambles, interrupted by his least little whim. Nonetheless, he's handsome as ever, still trim and slim, and looking great. Hard to say, however, what's going on with the inner Elvis since the 100-minutes manages very little of that. And that's likely the documentary's biggest failing. Nonetheless, hardcore fans should enjoy.
Never understood his music, hated his movies and never even liked the mocking of him by the media. I went my whole life thinking this TILL one night (2003) this came on cable and I happened to watch it...Thank god I did, now I can't get enough!! I finally got it, he was perhaps the greatest entertainer of all time. (Non- band) They say before him only Jolson evoked that kind of energy during a live show. This film captures him at his best, the other live shows, (black leather, Hawaii, 50 shows 50 days) do not and can make a person cry when seeing what he did to himself and how tragic it all was. The way he always had time to shake hands and acknowledge other people is poignant, the film captures this and his kid-like affection to his buddies, and band-mates and back-up singers. I can watch it over and over and only love it more and more.
This is Elvis at his very best! Too bad they didn't include songs such as Little Sister/Get Back and Love me in the movie, since Elvis is playing electric guitar on both these songs and they are excellent performed. If you only want to have two DVD:s of Elvis at his very best then you should choose this one and the 68 comeback special. Of course there are plenty of other great shows and movies but these two are IMO hard to beat. I'm still hoping they will make a special edition of Elvis on tour, that should be another winner.RegardsLennart
Here's Elvis performing live at the International Hotel in Las Vegas over a period of six nights in 1970. He jokes and stumbles through abbreviated versions of his classics from the 50's and early 60's but gets serious and turns in great performances of songs that would be his concert staples for the rest of his career including Suspecious Minds, In The Ghetto and The wonder of You. He's backed by famed guitarist James Burton and a band that includes Chip young, Ronnie Tutt, David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan, Norbert Putnam and John Wilkerson with an orchestra led by Eddie Hinton and vocals by The Sweet Inspirations and Millie Kirkham and The Imperials Quartet. Besides the concert footage taken over six consecutive nights at the hotels are also rehearsal footage from MGM studios in Culver City, California. Celebrities in the audience that came out for the shows include Cary grant, Sammy Davis Jr. and George Hamilton. Elvis' Memphis Mafia stalwarts Joe Esposito, sonny West and Red West are here too. There's even a brief overhead shot of Col. Parker. Denis Sanders who directed this documentary had a sporadic career as a screenwriter and filmmaker of feature films, television and documentaries. He followed this the next year with his second music documentary called Soul to Soul which featured some of the great R&B acts of the time. These two films were definitely the highlight of his career. They got a big name cinematographer to do the photography in Lucien Ballard. He had been a Hollywood cinematographer since the 30's and had filmed Presley in roustabout. He was involved in a string of feature film hits in the 60's with The son's of Katie Elder, The Wild Bunch, Nevada Smith, The Getaway and True Grit. This is a must for any Elvis fan and even for non-fans it serves as a fairly good documentary of Elvis in peak physical form and having a fun and energetic time as a performer. White high collared jump suits with sequence and kung fu jump kicks are all here on a Vegas stage. He's comfortable in his element. The film originally ran at 107 minutes when it debuted in theaters in December of 1970. It's not a great concert film and not very imaginatively filmed or edited but since Elvis is such a legend it's worth a look. I would give it a 7.0 out of 10.