Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC”: Unearthing the Real Elvis Beyond the Trope
For years, the legendary Elvis Presley had, in the eyes of director Baz Luhrmann, become a caricature. “Like, there was a focus on Elvis the Halloween costume,” Luhrmann, the acclaimed Australian filmmaker, explained. “There were jokes about Elvis. It was as if a whole lot of rust had got around the person, the actual icon.” While Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic, Elvis, starring Austin Butler, aimed to reintroduce the King to a new generation, his latest project, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, seeks to shatter that lingering stereotype entirely.
Luhrmann’s deep dive into the King’s world began during an 18-month stint working from an office within Graceland itself. It was there he stumbled upon a treasure trove of never-before-seen Super 8 home videos and an astonishing 59 hours of previously forgotten footage from Elvis’s 1970s Las Vegas performances. Initially, Luhrmann considered weaving some of this unearthed material into his biopic. However, he soon realised the footage deserved its own spotlight, a dedicated cinematic moment to let Elvis speak for himself.
The true “aha!” moment, Luhrmann recalls, came when he discovered audio of Elvis speaking with a disarming candour about his life, a rarity for the famously private performer. “We found this audio of Elvis just talking very unguardedly about his life, which he never did,” Luhrmann shared. “We thought, ‘You know what? This is an opportunity.’”
EPiC: A Concert Film Where Elvis Tells His Story
This realisation birthed EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a compelling 96-minute film that masterfully blends documentary and live concert experience. Above all, it offers Elvis the unprecedented chance to tell his own story, in his own words. As Elvis himself astutely observes in the film, which premiered on February 19th: “The image is one thing and a human being is another. It’s very hard to live up to an image, I tell you.”
EPiC has been a profound labour of love for Luhrmann. Alongside his long-time collaborator Jonathan Redmond, and with a little assistance from Sir Peter Jackson, he dedicated over two years to the painstaking digital restoration of the archival material. Speaking from a hotel room in Tokyo, Luhrmann admitted the project was so freshly completed that he hadn’t yet had the chance to screen it for the Presley family, with whom he forged a close bond during the making of Elvis.
“I’m organising a screening with Riley [Keough, Elvis’ eldest grandchild] and the twins [younger granddaughters Finley and Harper Lockwood],” he shared. “I’m reaching out to Priscilla as well, because she’s in it. And I hope she loves it.”
The Vegas Crossroads: Elvis’s Road to Redemption
The period captured in EPiC represents a pivotal moment in Elvis Presley’s career. After his 1958 army draft, his meteoric rise was placed on hold. Upon his return to the United States in 1960, his controversial manager, Colonel Tom Parker, steered him towards a string of increasingly B-grade films, each accompanied by a soundtrack album.
Elvis harboured ambitions of a dramatic acting career, inspired by idols like James Dean and Marlon Brando. However, he found himself consistently overlooked for serious roles. While he was undoubtedly a lucrative asset for the studios, who profited handsomely under Parker’s management, they were reluctant to deviate from their successful romantic-musical formula.
“Hollywood’s image of me was wrong and I knew it,” Elvis laments in EPiC. “And I couldn’t do anything about it. I’d read the first four or five pages [of a script] and I knew that it was just a different name, a few different songs… I had thought they would give me some kind of a chance to show some acting ability, but it did not change. I was so concerned, it worried me sick (and) I became very discouraged.”
Luhrmann attributes much of this frustration to Colonel Parker’s rigid approach. Despite lucrative offers, including a potential lead role opposite Barbra Streisand in the 1976 version of A Star Is Born, Parker steadfastly refused to negotiate his demand for a $1 million per film fee. “Elvis ‘was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood by far, but by doing slop,’” Luhrmann stated. “The Colonel couldn’t see letting Elvis do something outside of the money-making machine that had been set up. And it’s heart-wrenching. Because if you look at King Creole in 1958, he’s great in that film. And he wanted to be really good at acting.”
The ’68 Comeback Special: A Defiant Reassertion of Star Power
As Elvis churned out films he increasingly detested, his innovative musical output also waned. The emergence of dynamic new acts like The Beatles began to capture the attention of his former teenage fanbase. However, a crucial turning point arrived with the opportunity for a televised special on NBC in 1968.
This was the moment Elvis, for the first time, defied his ever-present manager. Rejecting the Colonel’s preference for hackneyed movie tunes and Christmas songs, Elvis unleashed a blistering performance of his greatest hits. Clad in tight black leather, his signature lip curl and hip swivels were back in full force, reminding the world exactly why he had become a global phenomenon. He engaged in witty banter with his bandmates and captivated the audience.
At 33 years old and in his physical prime, Elvis reminded a staggering 42% of American households who tuned in for the hour-long spectacular, Singer Presents… Elvis (now famously known as the ’68 Comeback Special), of his immense star power. This revitalisation was not a fleeting moment; he was ready to reclaim his dominance.
Vegas Beckons: The King Reclaims His Throne
The revitalised Elvis went on to record new material, including the chart-topping hits “In The Ghetto” and “Suspicious Minds.” His return to the charts marked a significant comeback. Soon after, Las Vegas came calling.
In 1969, a four-week engagement at The International Hotel saw him perform 57 shows, wowing audiences and significantly boosting his album sales. The following year, he returned for another demanding schedule. It is this electrifying period that EPiC masterfully showcases. The restored footage is so remarkably vivid that viewers will feel as though they are part of the roaring crowd.
“This concert was about Elvis taking control again of who he was,” Luhrmann explained. “Being on stage was something that nobody else could get in the way of. No script, no director. Just him. He is utterly in control.”
Elvis’s Las Vegas Residency: A Spectacle of Unrivalled Magnitude
The initial Las Vegas residency at The International Hotel had already set records, and the subsequent engagement surpassed them. Elvis’s concerts generated more advance reservations than any other artist in history.
The show was a dynamic mix of his classic hits and newer material. Rehearsal footage reveals Elvis singing “Suspicious Minds” while reading lyrics from a piece of paper, demonstrating the freshness of the material. He also incorporated covers of songs by artists like Simon & Garfunkel and The Beatles. His performances were interspersed with jokes, personal anecdotes, and lively audience interaction. It was a physically demanding performance, characterised by energetic dancing and leaps.
“I may lose four or five pounds a show, easily,” Elvis candidly reveals in EPiC. He performed night after night, often delivering up to three shows daily, with each performance unique. Elvis believed his audience deserved a spectacular experience, and it was his mission to ensure everyone left having had the best night of their lives.
“If I stood up in front of an audience and did nothing but sing,” he explained, “they wouldn’t come and see me next time they came back.”
With a repertoire exceeding 150 songs, Elvis possessed the flexibility to adapt his setlist. If a particular song wasn’t connecting with the audience, he would seamlessly swap it out for something else to re-engage them. He was a natural showman, and this innate talent shone through in every performance. On stage, he appeared invincible. Yet, as Luhrmann points out, this charismatic confidence often dissipated once the spotlight faded.
“Deep down, he was still that little kid from East Tupelo,” the director reflected. “That’s important to say, because that was the poorest of the poor. His father went to jail – and it was one of the worst jails in America. You cannot overstate how shameful that was. And I think it made Elvis forever have an insecurity and a vulnerability.”
On Tour and Beyond: Social Commentary Through Song
During the filming of the footage that forms the basis of EPiC, there were no visible signs of the ill health and addiction that would tragically mark Elvis’s final years, leading to his premature death in August 1977 at the age of 42. “If there’s anything I’ve tried to do, I’ve tried to live a clean, straight life,” he tells a reporter in one scene.
Far from engaging in the typical post-show revelry, Elvis and his band would often unwind by playing gospel songs together until dawn. He consciously steered clear of political commentary, defining himself as “just an entertainer.” However, his music often carried profound social commentary.
Songs That Stirred the Colonel: Elvis’s Artistic Integrity
In the game-changing ’68 Comeback Special, Elvis concluded the show with the deeply poignant track “If I Can Dream.” This song was penned in the aftermath of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. In the opening verse, he croons: “If I can dream of a better land, where all my brothers walk hand in hand/Tell me why, oh why, oh why can’t my dream come true? Oh why?”
Luhrmann recalls discovering furious telexes from Colonel Parker upon learning of Elvis’s intention to perform the song, a move that signalled Elvis’s declaration that he would no longer sing anything he didn’t believe in. “He was saying, ‘If Elvis doesn’t close the show with a Christmas song, you’ll never work in this town again,’” the director recounted.
Then there was “In The Ghetto.” This haunting track offers a cyclical narrative of poverty, inequality, and urban struggle, a message that deeply resonated with Elvis’s audience. Coming so soon after the special, Colonel Parker was reportedly displeased with the song choice. However, once again, Elvis remained steadfast in his convictions.
“We are in a very politically volcanic moment right now where people are divided and taking sides, and something’s getting lost in the smoke and mirrors of politics,” Luhrmann observed. “That was also very alive in 1969. Elvis is not a particularly talkative person. But he can really touch and communicate on a profound level through song. I think he always tried to express himself in the one way that he knew he wouldn’t fumble, that he wouldn’t be misunderstood.”
Beyond the Icon: The Humorous and Humble Elvis
In sifting through countless hours of footage and conducting years of research, Baz Luhrmann uncovered many unacknowledged facets of the man still revered as the King. Perhaps the most striking revelation is Elvis’s exceptional sense of humour, a quality that shines through vividly in EPiC.
“It is striking how self-effacing and funny he is,” Luhrmann noted. “He’s been given the gift of beauty – he’s not just handsome, he’s beautiful. And he’s sexy, which he worked on cultivating. And then he can sing and move. But a part of him is always a bit like, ‘Why me?’ And so he makes fun of it, of himself, a lot. And I think that’s surprising. He certainly doesn’t take himself seriously.”
Discoveries like these continue to enthral Luhrmann. And they suggest that there may be more Elvis projects on the horizon, a prospect that will undoubtedly delight fans both old and new.
“I thought Elvis had left my building some time ago,” Luhrmann mused when asked if this was his final Presley project. “But I think probably Elvis will never leave the building for me. I’ve realised that somehow by osmosis I’ve become entwined in the fabric of Elvis’ legacy, life, character, all of that. I can’t devote all my life to it, but I can’t see myself ever being untangled. And I’m quite at peace and happy with that.”
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is scheduled for cinematic release on February 19th.
