This Is Elvis

"This is Elvis" is an interesting and fantastic documentary to watch even if you are not an Elvis fan.

As an Elvis fan, I am very critical when it comes to inaccuracies about his life. I found this documentary to be very accurate and honest with the way it told the story of Elvis' life. The blend of actual Elvis footage along with very believable reenactments makes the documentary flow with continuity and excitement.

In addition, the song selections that accompanied the various video sequences were always right on the money. It was like watching Elvis' life story being told through entertaining and poignant music videos.

One thing I respected about the documentary, although difficult to watch, was the way the creators did not try to candy-coat the details of the sad way Elvis' life began to spiral down a self-destructive path during the 70's until his untimely death at the age of 42.

All in all, "This is Elvis" is a very entertaining, empathetic, and honest look at the life of Elvis Presley; the American Icon who rightfully earned the title as the King of Rock 'n Roll.

Malcolm Leo and Andrew Solt: enough said. These guys do deep research and do everything first class. This will be one of the best documentaries of an entertainer ever put on film. Elvis Presley meant so many different things to so many different people. He effected society, hair and clothing styles like no one before him. He changed the music world with the power of an Atomic Bomb. He has sold over one billion records and was the first visual founding father of the phenomenon that became rock 'n' roll. His influence will live for decades to come. This is a personal look as well as a tribute to the world's most loved entertainer.

I have the expanded 144 minute version of THIS IS ELVIS and watch it at least once a year. The soundtrack is like a history and not a greatest hits project. Even the non Elvis fan will be impressed with this entertaining look at musical history.

Released in 1981, "This is Elvis" is a documentary covering the rise and fall of Presley made only 3 years after his death and released in 1981. Extensive archival footage is mixed with recreations using actors standing in for Elvis, as well as some recreations shot to look like archival footage.

While some people complain about the recreations and say they "don't work," I didn't have a problem with them, at least not the ones where actors play Elvis as a youth. After all, without these sequences we wouldn't get to picture Elvis playing in front of a high school class or playing with black friends on the industrial side of Memphis, etc.

The original theatrical version runs 101 minutes while the later TV version added 43 minutes. The former is less "family friendly," depicting the way it really was without censure. For instance, Elvis is shown saying a couple off-color things about his sexual escapades with women on the road. A short time later the narration depicts him lamenting his divorce from Priscilla in 1973, four years before his death in 1977. The made-up monologue makes it sound like Elvis wasn't sure what caused them to grow apart and eventually split. Gee, he might want to quit having adulterous liaisons on the road. That might help. Anyway, the 144-minute TV version cuts these types of things and homogenizes the film for family viewing. It even omits the blubbering "Lonesome Tonight" song from his final concert, which is a must-see. The shorter version is just more gritty and authentic, the way a rock n' roll documentary should be.

One great scene is the interview with Elvis' former body guards who wrote a book dissin' him. They were like family for years and understandably felt betrayed. One testifies in the interview that he confronted Presley about his ongoing drug dependency and Elvis finally admitted that he "needed them." A minute later you see the ex-body guard wiping the tears from his eyes.

As he aged Elvis was on a spiritual quest and was quoted saying to his hairdresser: "I mean there has to be a purpose ... there's got to be a reason ... why I was chosen to be Elvis Presley. ... I swear to God, no one knows how lonely I get. And how empty I really feel." He thus was preoccupied by such matters for much of the rest of his life, taking trunk-loads of books with him on the road.

In his last performance in the documentary it shows Elvis playing for the first time after gaining weight and, for some reason, I was expecting a really fat Elvis, but that wasn't the case at all. Yes his face is bloated and sweaty, but he's clearly only about 25 pounds overweight. Maybe he was heavier before the show and got in shape a bit before the event, I don't know, but he was by no means grotesquely overweight, not at all. Last night I went to a concert and saw some middle-aged men; now they were grossly overweight.

Despite Elvis' bad movies, drug addiction and adulteries, he was an amiable, fascinating and talented individual and "This is Elvis" fully demonstrates why he was and is "The King of Rock & Roll."

GRADE: A-

"This is Elvis" is one of the oddest "documentaries" I've ever seen. Using extensive archival footage, mixed with recreations shot to look like archival footage, the film looks at the rise of fall of Elvis.

The problem is that the recreation footage comes off as bad TV movie of the week, standing in stark contrast to the original, compelling material presented in the piece.

The success of "This is Elvis" was the impetus behind the current style of historical documentaries that attempt to recreate drama where no original footage exists to illustrate it. In that sense, "This is Elvis" looks a bit embarrassing at times, since it doesn't have the slickness of more contemporary "docu-drama-documentaries" in the genre.

What I'm waiting for is an Elvis documentary done with the taste and skillfullness of the "Beatles: Anthology" mini-series aired on ABC.

This is an excellent biography about the life of Elvis Presley on the heels of his death. Ral Donner, an Elvis clone, does his voice. It is as if Elvis speaks to us from beyond the grave. A young actor plays Elvis in scenes from his early life. Leo and Solt managed to tap Elvis' private film archives. Young Priscilla is shown at Elvis' birthday party in Germany. Of course, there is the condescending Ed Sullivan assuring us that Elvis is "a fine boy, thoroughly alright." Roger Ebert's review implied that Elvis was an alcoholic. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He did not drink. There is a marked contrast between Elvis in his 20s and Elvis in his 40s, but I sense in some a grim exultation regarding the fall of Elvis Presley. The soundtrack contains Always On My Mind. Elvis' version is far superior to Willie Nelson's.