Elvis, il re del rock

Elvis Presley was probably the most beloved entertainer of the twentieth century, and one of our most tragic figures. People have talked about Elvis as an ignorant hick who couldn't handle sucess. Lets face it, people who grow up barefoot poor and suddenly become the greatest entertainer in the world don't grow on trees. Someone with the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job couldn't deal with that kind of meteoric rise to fame! Elvis was a case of too much too soon. Kurt Russell had been in a film with Elvis when he was a child actor and this movie was probably the first one made of his life. It was released in February of 1979 a year and a half after Elvis's death. Its hard to believe that John Carpenter directed it, I always think of him for Halloween and Escape From New York, he did a great job I think. Kurt Russell looked enough like Elvis to pass muster with me, but he did more then that, he captured Elvis's soul and made him a flesh and blood character, not the one that you read about in The National Enquirer. I remember what I liked most about this film was its sensitive portrait of Elvis and his mother. It was said that there was never a more devoted son and Shelly Winters did a great job as Gladys and the scenes of Elvis at her deathbed and when she passed away are heartbreaking. People who knew him said that he was never the same afterwards. I have always wondered that if his mother had lived that he would have had a lot of the problems that he did that eventually led to his death at the age of 42.

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 magnificently produced biop of Elvis Presley contains an eerie, almost frightening portrayal of Presley by Kurt Russell, who literally seems to be inhabited by Elvis' spirit.

Physically, the movie is perfect in casting and location - you could see a freeze of any frame of this film and know it's about Elvis.

All that being said, die-hard Elvis fans will be left frustrated by the movies' gaping holes and unnecessary inaccuracies, the biggest of which is that the film stops in 1970 when Elvis lived until 1977. One can understand having to leave out parts and truncating others but this film went too far. There is nothing indicating Elvis' drug use, which began in the army; nothing that touches on the other women in his life while he was with Priscilla; he and Priscilla seem to be talking divorce in 1969; Elvis' Vegas opening is combined with his later touring - and the concert opens with "2001: A Space Odyssey" - no way; Elvis rants and raves about the movies he has to make, but it's 1968, he's supposed to be doing his comeback special and he's just about free of the films; and on and on. For dramatic effect, the circumstances of his mother's death were changed so that Elvis is present in the hospital room - yet the true description of Elvis learning of his mother's death in the Peter Guralnick book is much more harrowing.

Interestingly, however, the film does touch on Elvis' lethal enmeshment with his mother and the "twinless twin" syndrome, showing him often talking with Jesse. If they could draw on those elements, the producers certainly could have come up with a more accurate script.

"Elvis" is an absorbing biopic,mostly thanks to Kurt Russel's terrific portrayal and a well-chosen music sometimes anachronistic ("until it's time for you to go" which can be heard during Elvis AND Priscilla's romance was actually recorded in 1972) Shelley Winters is the prefect choice for Elvis' s mom ;Elvis is not shown as an uneducated moron ,but as a smart young man of taste -he hates the movies he makes:some may remember he was considered for the part of Tony in "west side story".His readings show a personality preoccupied with spiritual longings.

A biopic to be recommended,but nothing is told about Elvis' reaction to the changing music world of the sixties .

Elvis is often,on the other hand,haunted by gloomy thoughts about his late twin brother.

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.