Elvis Presley was attempting to recapture his musical primacy after a decade of self-imposed exile from concert stages when this concert documentary from 1970 was filmed. The film depicts Elvis Presley in the midst of a transformation that would ultimately determine his fate. The King had started his comeback two years earlier with the comparatively restrained attack of his legendary network television appearance, the '68 Comeback Special. He had been sidelined by his big-screen career, which was overtaken by rock's mid-1960s transformations. Now the Memphis legend was on the verge of repositioning his performing profile by pursuing the top rungs of headliner status in Las Vegas, a career choice that looks even more transitory in hindsight than it already did at the time. [Case in point] Elvis Presley. Elvis: That's the Way It Is tracks the show's development from rehearsal to stage, with the performance footage that provides the film with its eventual conclusion being shot over the course of six nights. Additional evidence that Presley's band was just outstanding may be seen in the enhanced rehearsal film that is included in this special version.
Read full
Elvis Presley was attempting to recapture his musical primacy after a decade of self-imposed exile from concert stages when this concert documentary from 1970 was filmed. The film depicts Elvis Presley in the midst of a transformation that would ultimately determine his fate. The King had started his comeback two years earlier with the comparatively restrained attack of his legendary network television appearance, the '68 Comeback Special. He had been sidelined by his big-screen career, which was overtaken by rock's mid-1960s transformations. Now the Memphis legend was on the verge of repositioning his performing profile by pursuing the top rungs of headliner status in Las Vegas, a career choice that looks even more transitory in hindsight than it already did at the time. [Case in point] Elvis Presley. Elvis: That's the Way It Is tracks the show's development from rehearsal to stage, with the performance footage that provides the film with its eventual conclusion being shot over the course of six nights. Additional evidence that Presley's band was just outstanding may be seen in the enhanced rehearsal film that is included in this special version.
Discussion