“For those of you who are wondering who this fella here is, I am the legendary Colonel Tom Parker. I am the man who gave the world Elvis Presley. Without me, there would be no Elvis Presley. And yet, there are some who’d make me out to be the villain of this here story. No, no, I didn’t kill him. I made Elvis Presley. Nothing all those muckrakers said in their books was true. Me and Elvis, we was partners. It was Elvis the Showman and the Colonel the Snowman. I always knew I was destined for greatness. As an orphan, I ran away to the carnival, where I learned the art of the “snow job,” of emptying a rube’s wallet while leaving them with nothing but a smile on their face. But a carnival act that would get you the most money, the most snow, had great costumes and a unique trick, that gave the audience feelings they weren’t sure they should enjoy. But they do. And I knew if I could find such an act, I could create the greatest … show … on … Earth.”
Rock bio-pictures have been pretty hot as of late. It really started with the exceptionally done Bohemian Rapsody that chronicled the rise of the band Queen, and more its flamboyant front man, Freddie Mercury. In its wake have come lesser films that have still performed well at the box office, like Elton John’s Rocketman, which turned out to be more fantasy than bio-film. With a subject like Elvis, it’s really hard to go wrong. He’s one of the most successful brands in rock history, and make no mistake. He was a brand. He was also more than just a flash of style. Elvis Presley is often referred to as The King Of Rock And Roll, at least to his fans. There’s no denying the impact that he had on the music scene. He was the first rock and roll star, to be sure. Colonel Tom Parker, his long-time manager and partner, created many of the marketing traditions that are commonplace in the industry today. He knew the value of his star, not only as a performer, but as a brand. For the first time, a musician’s image and name started to appear on everything from bath towels to women’s underwear. Fans are often split on their feelings for the self-styled Colonel, but Elvis would not have become the name brand he still is today without him. That doesn’t take away the selfish way that Parker turned Elvis into his private meal ticket, paying attention to his own needs more than those of his star. But no one marketed a brand like Parker did in the days before Elvis. One of those brand expansions tapped into Elvis’s own boyhood fantasy. Elvis had worked as an usher at a local movie theater as a teen. He’s often related that he would linger in the auditoriums, watching those movies and fantasizing that he was James Dean or Marlon Brando, two of his idols. With the help if Colonel Parker, Elvis would get to see that dream become a reality. The King was to expand his realm to include the movie business and Hollywood. No experience? No problem. After all, if Elvis could go from failing music in high school to becoming the highest paid musician on the planet, he could certainly tackle the world of acting. And he did just that. And that’s really the first “issue” with the film. It might be called ELVIS all in caps, but this is really Colonel Tom Parker’s story, and in case you have any confusion on that score, it will become clear soon enough. You see, the entire film is narrated by Parker and told from his unique point of view.
The film actually starts in the 1990’s when Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks) is on his deathbed. He becomes somewhat self-reflecting in his final moments and feels as if he has to set the story straight about his relationship with the cultural phenomenon known as Elvis Presley, played by Austin Butler.. I’ll admit that I didn’t like it at first. It’s not that the performance was bad, but it seemed awkward until I realized this was also intentional, but this time a smart move. Butler began to inhabit the part as his character developed his own confidence. By the time he’s older and also in prosthetics, they aren’t a distraction. He’s haunted by the accusations that he stole from Elvis and many accusations that he literally killed him by his actions. So Parker takes us back to those days of yore to tell us his version of events.
We are treated to quick snippets of Parker’s early years when he literally ran away to the carnival where he became a student of the art of showmanship. He eventually drifted into a hybrid of the carny show and country music, touring with a mediocre country star named Hank Snow (Wenham). He’s always looking for a new act, and he finds it when one of the crew brings in a record by a new guy named Elvis Presley. Parker sees his appeal as a white singer who does music very much in the style of the traditional black musicians of the time. In the racist South of the 1950’s, he can deliver what the kids want without the problems of having a black singer. He still gets into trouble with the good ol’ boys when Elvis accidentally discovers that his stage-right nervous twitch starts driving the girls crazy. Before too long Elvis The Pelvis is a hit with the kids,but not so much the establishment, who threaten to close him down and incarcerate him if Parker doesn’t get him under control. Of course, no one likes the “new” Elvis, and the antics put Elvis in the Army for two years.
But Parker doesn’t give up. When Elvis returns, he lines up Hollywood movies to reinvent his meal ticket. Elvis is back, and when rules loosen up, he’s back on top. But Parker won’t let him travel the world where he’s being offered millions to perform. If you know the story, you already know why he doesn’t let Elvis tour. I won’t spoil it if you don’t. But to keep his star in the United States, he lines him up at a new hotel in Vegas where Elvis turns out to be a bigger star than ever. This is the Elvis people like me remember with the studded jump suits that continue to be the image of Elvis today, helped along, of course, by the thousands of Elvis imitators who make a living from that image 50 years after the man’s death. Parker keeps his star where he wants him, but the strain on Elvis’s life and relationships take a hard toll that Parker selfishly accepts for his own benefit. We all know how it ends. No spoilers here. Elvis dies at just 42 years old, and now only the legend and hundreds of releases remain … and now Baz Luhrmann’s film.
In the hands of director Baz Luhrmann you have to expect a flash of style to compete with the substance of the film. I would have thought his subject alone could provide all the flash and style any film could want. Unfortunately, that’s just not true here. So ELVIS becomes a very mixed presentation. A pretty good film that could have been a great film. A classic. But Luhrmann just can’t help himself. The film inserts comic book styles to much of the film in a misguided attempt to honor Elvis’s love of comics growing up. He inserts rap music that just doesn’t fit the style of the story that he’s telling. Yes, Elvis was heavily influenced by black music, and he hung with and respected so many of these artists in his life. But that landscape is rich with these incredible talents like B.B. King (Harrison, Jr.), Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup (Clark, Jr.) and the amazing Sister Rosetta Tharpe who influenced music so completely and is played here by Yola. Luhrmann offers us some wonderful glimpses into those places and moments, and he should have understood that these were powerful enough moments that didn’t need to be modernized in any way. He ends up giving up the purity of these artists that they were there to provide.
I’m going to commit a little heresy here now. Let me start by saying that I love Tom Hanks. I mean, who doesn’t, right? He’s one of the best actors alive, but he’s terribly miscast as Colonel Tom Parker to the point of distraction. It doesn’t help that the prosthetics are not as well done as they could have been. I suspect that was also intentional, but a huge mistake. Then there is Hanks’ accent, which is horrible and at times a farce. Again I suspect this was all intentional, but it keeps us from the compelling story he should have been trying to tell. The same isn’t true for the casting of Austin Butler as Elvis. At first I wasn’t very happy about the decision. Butler was too awkward and uneven in the role. But it soon dawned upon me that this was also an intentional choice, except this one was rather brilliant. As Butler grew into the role, Elvis was becoming more comfortable with who he was. By the time the film really gets into those musical performances, Butler was inhabiting the role so naturally that actor and character were no longer separate entities. The casting of the likes of B.B. King and Sister Tharpe were also excellent.
The story itself by necessity is quite uneven. There’s a lot of material here to be mined and only so much for a film. The story has been told countless times, and I suspect will be as long as stories are still told. It appears one must pick a time or event and focus the energy there. I think that’s why my favorite continues to be Elvis And Nixon. It’s a perfect snapshot of one event. Luhrmann understandably focuses on the music, and that’s not a bad instinct. You will get to see a lot of those iconic stage moments, and they did a pretty solid job of making them appear authentic and in some cases seamlessly interchangeable with the actual events. Elvis fans will get plenty of what they came for, to be sure. But if you were looking for that little something more, you’re going to be disappointed, more so because of just how close it all comes to being something so much greater.
Video
ELVIS is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. The ultra-high-definition image presentation is arrived at with an HEVC codec at an average of 70 mbps. The film was shot is native 4K. I’m a bit on the fence on the addition of “fake” film grain. I appreciate that Luhrmann was trying to recreate the actual feel of these moments, particularly from the 1970’s, and to his credit it’s a pretty amazing job. But why not just shoot on film? Yeah, I know film stock changes and it won’t look the same, but if you’re going to digitally manipulate the image anyway …? With that said, the image is pretty rock solid. Colors do a wonderful job of reflecting the eras which they represent. There’s nice texture here that really comes out in the costumes, not just on stage but in the world itself. The Beale Street sets are amazing, and the detail here makes me feel like I stepped back in time to a place I wish I could have visited. The detail works against the makeup work on Hanks, to be sure. Black levels are a little better than average (see fake grain), and the shadow detail again represents an authenticity to the time.
Audio
The Dolby Atmos unpacks to a very dynamic 7.1 audio presentation. The dialog is served perfectly, and that’s really where the story is told, but let’s be honest, the Atmos is here for the music. Fortunately they did not try to age the sound. You’re getting something audiences in those days could only dream about. The music is CD quality, and the surrounds give you all the benefits they never had. Elvis himself would be impressed at where sound has gone. The subs aren’t going to shake anything, and that’s not the purpose here. They will add tremendous depth to it all, giving you an audio presentation worthy of showing off your gear.
Special Features
The extras are found on the Blu-ray copy of the film with the exception of the musical option that allows you to go directly to the over 40 minutes of musical performances.
Bigger Than Life – The Story Of Elvis: (22:23) Cast and crew talk about the force of nature that was Elvis Presley. The focus here for the behind-the-scenes moments are on the key characters and how they fit into the narrative.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Royalty – The Music And Artists Behind Elvis: (7:33) Let’s be honest. This is where the magic is. We get a well-deserved closer look at the actors who played the classic musicians on Beale Street.
Fit For A King – The Style Of Elvis: (8:02) Mostly costumes.
Viva Australia – Recreating The Iconic Locations For Elvis: (7:26) This behind-the-scenes feature looks at some of the film’s wonderfully recreated places like that International Hotel big Vegas stage and Graceland.
Trouble Lyric Video Live: (2:26) A music video of the performance of Trouble with the lyrics on the screen.
Musical Moments: You can go directly to the many performances on the film.
Final Thoughts:
I must confess that I’ve never really been an Elvis fan. I don’t dislike his material and have heard plenty of it throughout my life. I had an uncle who was crazy over The King; of course, he was actually crazy. I respect the man’s accomplishments, and as a musician myself, I acknowledge the influence he has had on the history of the industry. I even have more than a little respect for his movie career. Elvis did have acting talent. It wasn’t always, or even very often, put to the best use. Still, he was pretty good in many of these films. He created an entire genre of movies. He would have been better served if he hadn’t been exploited for the music all of the time. He shows in several films an ability to play a serious and emotional role. Unfortunately, there were trademarks to preserve at the cost of a movie’s quality. That’s where Parker’s incessant hand once again took away the opportunity for Elvis to shine in his own way. Beyond the need to force songs into the story, there was that never-changing greaser hairstyle that was too much a part of his image to change no matter what part or time he was playing in. So you take a little something from the era of Elvis and put up with some 2022 wizardry. “Is it my fault the world changed?”
