Review of Elvis (1979) by Trey L — 19 Mar 2010

How much you agree with my rating on this one will likely depend on what you want from a biopic. This film doesn't really provide too much more insight into Elvis's personality and motivations than is already more or less public knowledge (although considering it was made only two years after Elvis died, that may not have been true upon first broadcast).

Most important for me, it is a lot of fun and is anchored by two men whose voices combine to create an Elvis performance that hasn't really been equaled since (I'm not counting Bubba Ho-Tep right now because you never hear Bruce Campbell's Elvis sing). Kurt Russell, in what was probably his first major role as an adult (and was definitely his first collaboration with director John Carpenter), embodies Elvis in every scene. He gets it just right - the look, the voice, the movement. That really should be qualified as the *speaking* voice, because the musical part of the vocal performance is provided by country singer Ronnie McDowell, who sings Elvis's songs so well it is occasionally difficult to tell that they are covers.

In any case, this film is about what one would expect from a glossy television movie produced by Dick Clark so soon after Elvis's death. Drugs never come up, and some of the other demons in Elvis's life are ignored or downplayed. However, Elvis is an incredibly fun tv movie musical with some very good performances, and I am glad to finally be able to see it in its entirety - after years of being unavailable it has finally been released on DVD.