Elvis - The King

This is a great movie, too bad it's not on VHS or DVD. Russell does the best impersonation of Elvis Presley I ever saw & I saw them all. :) This movie doesn't go into the last years of his life, but we don't really want to remember Elvis all bloated, we want to remember him like this movie portrayed him as.

Directed by John Carpenter and starring KURT RUSSELL, this 1979 TV Special ELVIS is a great slice of tv and cultural history. Despite its corniest and inaccurate moments, each scene is a template for years of biographical cinema to come. From a 40 year standpoint, this movie is enjoyable, cute, surrealistically funny, and a quick, comic book bootleg of the story of ELVIS. These days, some may include ELVIS in a TWIN PEAKS fest, as this viewer is somehow certain that David Lynch himself is a fan of this film.

This is a well done biography of Elvis Presley. Director John Carpenter put an enigmatic puzzle of a life together for a brilliant presentation. Kurt Russell did the best job of his career in recreating the essence of Elvis. Uncanny resemblance and mannerisms made this film so interesting to watch. Elvis fan or not, this movie is a piece of pop art. We get a glimpse of what made Elvis mean so many different things to so many different people.

Russell's father, Bing, plays Vernon Presley. Shelley Winters plays Elvis' mom. Season Hubley portrays Priscilla Presley and Pat Hingle is cast as Col. Tom Parker.

Ronnie McDowell provides the singing voice of "The King".

This movie is one of those "WOW!" movies. Not because it's the greatest movie of all time, but because it surprised me. Not only was it a T.V. movie, but it was on Elvis. I can safely say as many impersonators as there are there was only one Elvis, but I can also safely say that Kurt Russel came extremely close to being the real thing. It was one of the greatest impersonations that I have ever seen. He had me believing that it was really him. I learned a lot about Elvis' life from watching this movie. And don't led the television part of it let you stray-it's actually a really fantastic film! And Kurt Russel could've been Elvis' twin :)

Kurt Russell, whose career started when he kicked the REAL Elvis in It Happened At the World's Fair, will probably never top his performance as the King in this biopic helmed by slash and shock meister Carpenter. There are times you feel that you're watching Elvis until something snaps you back to reality...perhaps memories of a hapless Don Johnson in Elvis and the Beauty Queen? All the performances here are excellent: Season Hubley as Priscilla, Pat Hingle as the Colonel, even Shelley Winters brings the right level of nerves and hysteria to her rendering of Momma Presley.

Kurt's dad Bing is here playing Elvis' father Vernon, and there's a fine understated performance from Robert Gray as Elvis' buddy and bodyguard Red West.

A must see for rock n roll fans.