Elvis Presley show

It was a heart - pounding, pulse racing, mind blowing, fast moving, breathtaking, exhilarating, overwhelming, thrilling and exciting, sensational and tremendous, wonderful and superb show with all the TCB band playing terrific along to the one and only great Elvis Presley. Elvis' 3rd Las Vegas season since he made his live concert comeback in 1969 a year after his TV comeback.

Candid footage of Elvis behind the scenes gets you closer to this really down to earth wonderful human being and this is the real Elvis looking his best. 7 years before he died and extremely thin and fit and powerful. Dominating the film this is a great show for all people and it is certainly something to watch if you want to learn something about The one true King - Elvis Presley.

Strictly speaking this is of course not a movie, but a documentary and a live recording of Elvis Presley in Vegas.

No, I never was an Elvis fan. In the seventies Elvis was almost history and I went for Uriah Heep and other loud loud bands. I did not buy Elvis records and I hardly watched his movies, saw his concerts etc.

Then this movie appears on the main screens. My curiosity wins...I am older now, my musical taste is much broader. So, I wanted to see it. I wanted to see the movie, to see what kind of guy Elvis was, or at least catch a glimpse of who he was. And I was pleasantly surprised.

Then came the recording of his live concerts in Vegas in 1970. I sat, watched, listened, enjoyed....and almost became an Elvis fan myself...wooohhhh.......

8/10

Filmgoers were treated to two rockumentaries in 1970. The first, "Let It Be," shows the greatest rock n' roll band ever, The Beatles, struggling unsuccessfully to get out of its first and only decade of existence. The second, "That's The Way It Is," shows the greatest rock n' roll singer ever, Elvis Presley, entering his third decade of stardom lean, mean, and taking no prisoners.

The form of both is almost identical. You see rehearsal footage in a studio, some backstage chatter, and then a live performance before an enthused crowd. But while "Let It Be" is more interesting as a historical document than entertainment, "That's The Way It Is" is a powerful, galvanizing performance piece that stands up as well now as it did in 1970.

Even better than in 1970, many would say, because the version we have now is heavily re-edited, using unused footage from the original filming, mostly focused on Elvis, and discarding other bits showing interviews with fans. (You can see the seams, though, as many of the patched-in bits have a washed-out color scheme immediately apparent when contrasted with the vibrant Lucien Ballard photography of the original film.)

I'm not sure I like the idea of tampering with the record, but it's hard to bicker with results. The new "Way It Is" has a power and freshness that makes you feel the vitality of Elvis, who by 1970 was at least a half-step behind the fashion of the times but a better performer than ever. Since the film features Elvis in a series of Vegas shows (six filmed over three days in August, 1970, just seven years before his death) it's not unnatural to expect a bloated rhinestone-encrusted drug addict with velcro sideburns performing hokey schmaltz, as the myth perpetuated by his detractors would have it. But 1970 was a very good year for the King. He was not only in fine physical shape, he had matured into a vocalist who had married his awesome power with subtlety and finesse, and found his voice in a series of country-tinged rock songs that complemented him nicely even if they never achieved the pop status of his earlier hits. Songs like "Patch It Up," "Just Pretend," "Twenty Days And Twenty Nights" and "Tiger Man" (seen in a killer title sequence juxtaposed with Elvis's standard show-opener "Mystery Train") are thrilling, classic-sounding numbers not burdened today by overplay on oldies radio stations. Even his outfits were in surprisingly good taste for the period, at times even casual and comfortable-looking.

In rehearsal and on stage, Elvis works in his biggest hits of yore, which he seems almost embarrassed by and trots out almost perfunctorily, then throws in newer songs recorded by other artists, like the Bee Gees' "Words" and The Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," that he invests with real conviction and passion. He was a real artist, always moving forward, finding brilliance in the work of others, and believing in the power of song.

There are many highlights in this film. Elvis throws himself into each number he performs on stage like its his last moment on earth, even his older hits once he warms up to them. His "Love Me Tender" sends him into the audience for a lengthy series of kisses with delighted female audience members, and what blows you away is not so much the serial smooching but the way Elvis makes an effort to offer serious eye contact to everyone who approaches him, and thanks them sincerely when he returns to the safety of the stage. "Sorry I couldn't make it up there," he yells to the people in the balcony, and I think he meant it.

I especially appreciated the chance to see Elvis's interaction with his bandmates, a killer ensemble led by guitarist extraordinaire James Burton and drummer Ronnie Tutt, who was probably the only guy in 1970 who could have given Keith Moon a run for his money in a "Wipeout" faceoff. "The backbone of my whole show," he calls his musicians in a typical moment of humility. Elvis is also accompanied by the playful and vibrant Sweet Inspirations and the Imperials, male back-up singers who resemble Elvis impersonators before their time.

Elvis comes across as genuinely decent and sweet, but doesn't let you into his world too much. That's just as well when you get a load of his unctuous retinue, the Memphis Mafia, a squalid band of freeloaders and enablers who sped the King to his sordid doom. They giggle and interfere a bit, enough to remind you of the dark side of Elvis's celebrity, but in the end what you have is a prime slice of music greatness, the greatest vocalist of his day finding new power in his reinvention as rock's elder statesman and most accomplished showman, plowing through songs like "Polk Salad Annie" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" like he was plugged into God's private frequency.

I'd never say the Beatles were a shabby second to Elvis, but it's hard not to see them falling short in the rockumentary department. Elvis even delivers a better version of "Get Back" (though he seems to think the title is "Take It Back.") This is a film you will want to see at least once, just to get a sense of who Elvis was just before the money-changers moved into the temple and the man was hijacked by the legend.

The original theatrical version was drastically re-edited in 2001 to make Elvis' stage performance the core of the show, thus removing all interview footage of the crowd before the concert, etc. Also given its due importance is the various rehearsal sessions which show Elvis goofing off on occasion but clearly knowing what he wants and in complete control of the proceedings. Indeed, Elvis is in great shape – both vocally and physically – and in great spirits, too and the fact that he had been missing live performances during a self-imposed hiatus (a direct result of his lengthy Hollywood sojourn) is palpable. Rather ironically perhaps, among the crowd of admirers one can glimpse such Hollywood celebrities as the already retired Cary Gramt, Sammy Davis. Jr., George Hamilton and ex-Elvis co-star Juliet Prowse!

Presley clearly wanted this film to be done right because he engaged the services of a respectable director (Denis Sanders) and a great director of photography (Lucien Ballard). Personally, I found "Suspicious Minds" to be the standout performance in the concert but all the songs he performed were good ones – including some pretty obscure current titles like "Patch It Up" – and it was refreshing to see the old "rock'n'roll" era standards being "thrown away" in a tongue-in-cheek manner by The King one right after another. His handling of the occasional cover – "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and "Words" – was also quite impeccable.

After a three-week long Elvis marathon, this is undoubtedly the best way to remember him because, watching him here, one really appreciates why the man was so loved when he was alive and why he is still so revered, missed and imitated 30 years after his death...

I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate this film because of the way it showcases the King of Rock and Roll on stage in Vegas during what was very easily one of the best years of his career. It's in this film that we get to see him at his raw and energetic best. The footage from the backstage rehearsals only add to its tremendous entertainment value. If you're a fan of Elvis Presley and haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. You won't be disappointed in the very least.