Elvis (1979)

There's two words that explain why this low budget TV movie of the week was so good. Kurt Russell. Like many, I didn't think that he'd be the best choice, after all, there were many actors who looked more like The King... but I was very wrong. Yes, there may have been actors that looked more like him (like a tepid Rhys Davies), but NO ONE encapsulated the true spirit of the man better than Kurt. The rest of the cast was superb as well, like an excellent Gladys Presley, played by the legendary Shelley Winters, or Bing Russell as his father (who I just now realized was Kurt's actual dad!). Kurt's mannerisms and voice was so good, that I used HIM to emulate my entire Elvis act (Google: "Yoshi Suzuki, the Asian Elvis")! It was quite ironic that Kurt began his screen career actually sitting on Elvis' lap on "It Happened at the World's Fair," as a child. I met the two makeup artists that did Kurt's makeup for the movie, and they didn't think he was the best possible choice, either. But after they did his hair and sideburns and he donned the jumpsuit, they stood back, took their first look at their handiwork, and exclaimed: "Jesus, IT'S ELVIS!!!" Jesus, they were right.

I had wanted to see this movie for a long time, but because it was made for American television - and modern cable stations are reluctant to air old made for television movies - I had to wait until it was released on DVD. After finally seeing the movie, I have kind of mixed emotions about it. There are some genuinely good things about it. Kurt Russell gives a very good performance as Elvis - he really disappears in the role. Other performers, like Shelley Winters, give good performances as well. The music (sung by Ronnie McDowell) also captures the real Elvis' musical talents. However, I had some issues with the screenplay. Even though the movie is almost 170 minutes long, it doesn't capture a lot of important details of Elvis' life. For example, Elvis' courtship and marriage to Priscilla isn't examined in great detail, and Elvis' relationship with manager Tom Parker doesn't get a great look (and Parker disappears for good a long time before the movie ends, despite the fact he influenced Elvis' career right to the end!) I guess I should be grateful that the movie ends at Elvis' comeback concert - had the movie tried to squeeze events of Elvis from the next ten or so years, the movie would have been worse. Not a bad movie, but you can see that Elvis would have been better served by a miniseries instead of a two part movie.

Elvis Presley is an only child from a poor family in Mississippi with a dream of making it big as a singer. His career takes off after a local studio cuts his record and plays it on the radio. But as Elvis moves on to bigger records, lucrative contracts and national fame, he becomes increasingly isolated, unfulfilled and temperamental. Can he take the pressure ?Whatever you might think of his music, there is no denying that Elvis Presley's influence on rock and roll and popular culture is greater than any other artist. His image and style are almost beyond iconic, and if one man defines what it is to be an American, then it is surely him. This is a great biopic which traces his roots in Mississippi and Tennessee, his big break at Sun Records, his exceptionally close relationship with his mother, his army years, his movie stints, his increasing isolation at Graceland and his triumphant comeback to live performance in Las Vegas in 1969. The movie documents all this closely, but with a cool, detached style; we see Elvis make it big and then crack up from the point of view of others around him and we sympathise with him more as a result. Russell is stunning in this part, capturing Elvis' joy of performing, his love of his family, his rage at the extreme circumstances he's forced into and his sense of his own mortality. The supporting cast are all terrific too, particularly Winters and Hubley, and despite its length and TV origins the action never drags or feels bland. Carpenter may seem an unusual choice to direct this but I think it actually fits his auteur theme of isolation very well (who was ever more isolated than Elvis ?), he is a musician from a musical family, and he grew up in the Jim Crow South in the fifties. For such a big TV production, he reigns everything in tightly, with all the story threads running smoothly and never losing sight of the heart of the drama. Cult movie fans can also spot him in a walk-on; he's standing at the craps table in the casino when Elvis' security guy walks through it. There are a couple of obvious but unwarranted criticisms that have been made of this film. The first is that it isn't either Elvis or Russell's singing voice, it's actually country singer Ronnie McDowell. Whilst purists may disagree this does not spoil things; this is a drama about Elvis, and the music is there partly to tell his story and to underline certain defining moments. It's not a showcase of his work - for that, simply buy his records. The second is that the story stops in 1969 and doesn't deal with Presley's troubled later years, but so what ? The movie is about the man's life, not his death. It's about what he achieved and what it did to him, and it doesn't shy away from his problems or the self-destructive side of his nature. Written and produced by Anthony Larence (who co-authored three of Presley's sixties movies) and financed by the music / gameshow mogul Dick Clark, this was originally shown on the ABC network but also given a limited theatrical release in Europe and Australia. If possible, try to see the excellent Shout Factory DVD release of this TV-movie; not only is it an excellent quality image, but it's presented in the 1.78:1 aspect-ratio it was originally shot in.

Kurt did an outstanding job playing the King in this movie. I've seen a lot of Elvis movies and he probably did the best job I've ever seen playing Elvis in this movie. You can get a sneak peek at how good of a job he does playing Elvis if you watch 3000 Miles To Graceland, but if you're an Elvis fan this one is for you...