Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

classicsoncall Almost forty years after his death in 1977, Elvis Presley fans still lament the passing of a remarkable music icon. This documentary captures many of the significant moments of the ill fated singer's life and does a respectable job even in the limited TV version shown on cable stations where I happened to catch it. Particularly interesting are the clips from the Fifties which record Presley's emergence on the entertainment scene. His first TV appearance in 1956 offers a respectable version of "Shake, Rattle and Roll", and it was a real trip down memory lane seeing Milton Berle get torn apart by frenzied teenage girls mistaking him for the King. Sure it was a hound dog moment, but Elvis wasn't at all uncomfortable about poking fun at himself. What was a real eye opener was seeing Presley's performance from the waist down a handful of times before he appeared for the first time on the Ed Sullivan Show. The documentary follows Elvis from his early days performing through his movie career, military service and eventual return to the concert stage, and features a sufficient sampling of Presley's well known hits. Winding things down, the picture offers a clip of Elvis singing 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' only six weeks before his death, by which point his excessive drug use had taken it's toll and it's readily apparent. His rendition of 'My Way' is particularly poignant as the performer sings "And now, the end is near..." as the film transitions tastefully to the funeral cortège mourned by the entire world at the time. Made in 1981, the documentary may have an outdated feel to modern day viewers, but if you're a fan of Elvis Presley, the picture goes a long way to capture the essence of the King of Rock and Roll.

edbelcher-2 "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.

robin-290 A reasonably accurate and sympathetic portrayal, sadly undermined by a few glaring clangers..At one point, the film attempts to use the Aloha From Hawaii concert to emphasise the widening gulf between the triumph of Elvis' professional life and his increasingly sad and lonely existence off stage. A camera in the limo supposedly shows Elvis and a members of the inner Memphis Mafia departing the Honolulu International Centre following the show, as the narrating actor (as Elvis) laments, "If only I could have seen what was happening to me..".. Unfortunately, a clumsily overdubbed comment ("Man can Hawaii get sticky") didn't hide the fact that Elvis had already commented that it was a "hot time in Florida", another occupant pointed out the Gator Bowl in the distance, bright sunshine was evident (Aloha was filmed after midnight) and Joe Esposito (long serving Road manager) said with a sense of relief "The last matinée of the tour". This footage had been taken from a Florida concert filmed for "Elvis On Tour" a year previously, which also explains the fact that Presley was actually wearing a different stage costume in the Limo to the famous "American Eagle" suit worn for the Aloha show, and that the boys were discussing Florida landmarks and previous tour experiences at the Gator Bowl as they left the stadium.Later, during a press conference in which ex bodyguards Sonny West and Dave Hebler attempt to justify writing the tell-all, "Elvis What Happened?" there is an enormous double take by a reporter, supposedly, over Presley's use of Demerol. "You actually saw him take (The name of the drug is edited) .?" "Yes".. Sonny goes on to explain that his cousin (and co author) Red West had threatened to "break up" the supplier but had relented when Elvis assured him, "I need it, man"..Demerol, a prescription painkiller, had already been alluded to as one of Presley's drugs of choice earlier in the interview. No one would have been surprised to hear that Sonny had witnessed Elvis taking Demerol, which was being prescribed (rightly or wrongly) by his doctor. The real question actually referred to cocaine, which explains the press reaction when Sonny said, "yes" as this allegation (true or false) was far more explosive.Despite some ill-used dramatic licence, "This Is Elvis" is an interesting introduction to the Presley phenomenon, but a long way from the definitive account.

The_Sensitive_One THIS IS ELVIS follows in the footsteps of other outstanding documentaries like THE RUTLES. Until now I always looked upon Elvis Presely as the single most gifted thespian of the 1960s (see GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!) but then I find out that he's also a musician! I was under the impression that whenever he "sang" in a film, it was dubbed in somewhere else by a professional. My God, no wonder why so many jokes have been lost on me in my lifetime. I had a late girlfriend who made me pompadour my hair with Dippity-Doo like The King so that these punks at White Castle would beat me up; she thought it was pretty funny. But, obviously, "The King" refers to his real talent, that being the head honcho of theater. Elvis, I still love you, man!