Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann got his hands on a bunch of films of Elvis performing in concert. Most of the footage seems to have been shot during one of his last efforts, his appearances in Las Vegas. It's always impressive when they find this old color footage and digitally restore the picture and sound. The footage of Elvis performing from this period is quite remarkable.
In this film Elvis is about 8 years from the beginning of the end when his health issues and his drug intake catches up with him. The footage in this film shows that Elvis was still an engaging performer. He interacts with his band during rehearsals and the fans in the audience still respond to his stage presence. All well and good.
However I have to say he does not look to be in all that great of shape. Elvis is starting to be a bloated mess. He seems to favor wearing gaudy form fitting jump suits and it doesn't make him look exactly like a "Skinny Minny." He's constantly wearing sun glasses and his haircut and sideburns gave him a weird pageboy look. Some critics at the time called Elvis's appearances in Vegas as "the ultimate lounge act." This was not a compliment.
If you want to see Elvis Presley in his sort of performing prime during the twilight of his career you can give this film a look. This footage is almost his last hurrah before he goes over the precipice and comes crashing down.
The running time is 96 minutes.
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