bruce smirnoff Never understood his music, hated his movies and never even liked the mocking of him by the media. I went my whole life thinking this TILL one night (2003) this came on cable and I happened to watch it...Thank god I did, now I can't get enough!! I finally got it, he was perhaps the greatest entertainer of all time. (Non- band) They say before him only Jolson evoked that kind of energy during a live show. This film captures him at his best, the other live shows, (black leather, Hawaii, 50 shows 50 days) do not and can make a person cry when seeing what he did to himself and how tragic it all was. The way he always had time to shake hands and acknowledge other people is poignant, the film captures this and his kid-like affection to his buddies, and band-mates and back-up singers. I can watch it over and over and only love it more and more.

ccthemovieman-1 I've seen this concert in two DVD "forms:" the theatrical release and the 2001 two-disc special edition which also includes about an hour of Elvis in rehearsal with his band. You can see he liked to clown around a lot but he also was serious about a doing a song the exact way he wanted and was definitely in command of that. Hey, all great artists are perfectionists, from dancer Fred Astaire to football quarterback Peyton Manning.Anyway, it's all good stuff and for those who are interested, here is the song list:"That's All Right, Little Sister/Get Back, My baby Left Me, Crying Time, Love Me, Twenty Days and Twenty Nights, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cattle Call, Chime Bells, Santa Claus Is Back In Town, Mary in the Morning;Mystery Train/Tiger Man, That's All Right, I Got a Woman, Hound Dog, Heartbreak Hotel, Love Me Tender, I can't Stop Loving You, Just Pretend, The Yonder of You, In the Ghetto, Patch It Up;You've Lost That Loving Feeling, Polk Salad Annie, One Night, Don't Be Cruel,Blue Suede Shoes, All Shook Up, You Don't Have to Say You Love, Suspicious Minds, Can't Help Falling in Love

Scarecrow-88 Turner Classics was celebrating what would've been Elvis' 75th birthday with a night of movies dedicated to his memory. I felt very fortunate to experience MGM's "Evlis:The Way It Is", a documentary detailing the back stage preparation, rehearsals, and eventual concert in Las Vegas. We have an opportunity to see who Elvis was during this moment in his career and life. While in complete control(..and the environment with all his musicians and singers is so warm and inviting), Elvis was engaging, commanding, playful, off-the-cuff(unpredictable), willing to experiment, and such a hard-worker. The inside look was quite exciting to me, an Elvis fan, and to see it restored, with added footage, containing the lengthly concert accompanying the off-stage activities was an absolute pleasure. His incredible charisma is so vivid, and having been born around the time of his death, it was nice to see him in such an athletic shape, and comfortable joy before all the bad stuff would eventually overwhelm him. When he enters the studio and mentions his gang of musicians as "his backbone", you can see why they loved and admired him so. Elvis cut up during the rehearsals and studio preparation, as well as times on stage while performing. It was amusing seeing the ladies, young and old, swept away, and just swooning as Elvis approached them for his customary smooch..and there were plenty ready for a kiss and hug. Oh, and to see him during rehearsals go from such a lively joker into a professional when it mattered most, was also quite enlightening, and we can see how the performer in him takes over. I consider Elvis the very definition of a performance artist. It's funny, as I was watching the concert, you could see older gentlemen scattered throughout at their tables almost lulled into a stooper while the women surrounding them were enthusiastic and absorbing every moment he's on stage..my kind of guy, The King will always be alive as long as his memory remains on celluloid. Maybe, those who aren't Elvis fans might find this a bit too lovingly a portrait, but for us who are, it's a fitting tribute to him at the peak of his power. Seeing back stage footage of Elvis greeting Cary Grant and Sammi Davis, Jr, was fabulous. His ability to perform at such a high level as he sweats profusely and loses wind, only to explode when need be is quite a testament to his stamina at this particular time(..which was before he'd balloon in weight and appear worse for wear later in years to come).

Peter Hayes Elvis rehearses/jokes with his pickup band and then hits the low rise super club stage in Las Vegas. This review refers to the re-cut version (a big improvement), although I have seen both.Since America revoked its monarchist past and went republican they have had only one "King." Rightly put there by popular demand rather than by being born in the right bed. Maybe the only democratically elected king of all time! It would be foolish to try and summate the man, but chew on this - he made more people dip in to their pocket and pay for his recordings/products/museum and home than any other artist in the history the world. No critic, however skilled, can take that away from him.(That is not to agree with some of them that his films were bad and at times so camp that only a dyed-in-the-wool fan could sit through them.)In reply to other reviews - Elvis's weight yo-yoed throughout his life. Between movies/tours he blow up and he went on crash diets aided by more of those strange pills. Here - in 1970 - he looks slim enough and young enough to be of sexual interest to any woman of any age (although the surgeons knife had already helped), although good natured and warm he never looks "straight" for a second.The early rehearsals are worthwhile in that he knows what he wants, although his guitar doesn't seen to switched on (although it is plugged in). He is backed by talented musicians, but they are still - when all is said and done - only session men. Capable of playing anything, but probably couldn't come up with a song of their own. The musical 9 to 5'er. Not that anybody could take the limelight away from the king.(The backing singers are too many in number and could almost take the gig over if Elvis passed out on stage.) The audience is older too - some middle-aged - with lots of collars and ties. In the main, the usual Vegas mug punter minus their cup of dimes. The place didn't really have the resident population it has now. The theatre is large and the seats well padded - but would you really want to eat a full meal before Elvis? I couldn't or wouldn't. He even play two shows a night - two shows! Amazing really.The tunes are well known and all inclusive - from his early hits (cut short) to the hit pop songs of the day. Even Bridge Over Troubled Water. They play - on film - better than you might think because Elvis made every tune his own: although he was a strange singer, ad-libbing and often stopping to kiss the girls and take gifts. A moment to remember all your life for those on the receiving end - tedious to us watching. Never mind the diseases you can pick up from sticking your tongue (and he is clearly is!) down the throat of a complete stranger. Even in 1970!You can't live your life like Elvis did and live long. Food, drugs and hangers-on were soon to get the better of the guy and he lay in his grave at the age of 42. A stupid age to leave, but the product of stupid living. "No one said 'no" to Elvis", said wife Priscilla once. I couldn't say "no" to walking down a time tunnel and seeing all this in the flesh myself - even if it did cost an arm and a leg.