Elvis, il re del rock

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.

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.

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 :)

This landmark made for television biography came at a time when the death of the beloved entertainer and pop culture icon was still fresh in peoples' minds. It's written & produced by Anthony Lawrence, who'd written or co-written such Presley film vehicles as "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" and "Easy Come, Easy Go", executive produced by Dick Clark, and directed by John Carpenter, who'd recently established himself as a hot property with his hit horror film "Halloween". It's all done with the utmost respect for Elvis, and touches upon various key moments in his life, starting with his childhood when he found his own way to deal with the death of his twin brother. We learn what makes Elvis tick, and what motivates him. He wanted nothing more than to entertain people, and hopefully provide a better quality of life for the parents, Gladys and Vernon (played by Shelley Winters and Bing Russell, star Kurt Russell's own dad) who were always loving and supportive. Framed by the depiction of Elvis's big comeback performance at the International Hotel, it shows him meeting all of the important players in his life - Sam Phillips (Charles Cyphers), Colonel Tom Parker (Pat Hingle), and Priscilla Beaulieu (Season Hubley, to whom Russell was subsequently and briefly married). Russell is just tremendous as Elvis, completely immersing himself in the role and managing to make us forget that we're watching a performance. Of course, it's worth noting that Russell, as a child, had acted with The King in "It Happened at the World's Fair" and would return to the role - sort of - in 2001's "3000 Miles to Graceland". One of the highest rated television movies in history, it earned three Emmy nominations, including best television movie and best actor for Russell. This is a true warts and all affair, showing the darker aspects to Elvis's personality, and as such is riveting. It's a long but engrossing story, and was also historic for first teaming Carpenter and Russell; they would work four more times together over the years, on "Escape from New York", "The Thing", "Big Trouble in Little China", and "Escape from L.A." It also firmly established Russell as a mature actor of note after his time spent as a youthful star of formulaic Disney comedies. Everything is buoyed by genuine poignancy and, of course, a generous serving of classic Elvis songs. Well worth watching overall. Eight out of 10.

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".