I went to a sold-out screening at TIFF. The fact that this screening, along with others, sold out is a testament to the continued popularity of Elvis Presley, who passed away 48 years ago, a tremendous loss for the music industry.
The film is less a concert and more a semi-documentary, with Presley providing his own narration throughout.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Stars: Elvis Presley
The concert footage is fantastic, especially in the large-screen format shown at the local IMAX theater. The colors were vibrant, the resolution sharp, and the audio excellent; a 10/10 for the image and audio restoration. The footage included in the film is edited from 1970's "Elvis: That's the Way It Is" and 1972's "Elvis on Tour." Both are excellent concert films if you haven't seen them.
The main problem, for me, with EPiC is that there isn't enough concert footage in this film, and the songs weren't played in their entirety, as they're interspersed with Presley's narration and other clips during the performance. The title is somewhat misleading, since there isn't a complete concert in the film. Although there is quite a bit of never-before-seen concert footage in this film, some images have been shared in some format, but not with this quality.
One advantage is that the found footage is extremely impressive, in addition to the immersive sound. It's quite an achievement in restoring material that was perhaps in poor condition, stored in salt mines. If 59 hours of film were found, I hope there's a plan to restore and release these clips, with or without audio. This would be invaluable to any Presley fan.
As a Presley fan, it was phenomenal to see him on the big screen. However, I was hoping to see an alternate version of "Elvis That's the Way It Is" and "Elvis On Tour," but it felt like an almost incomplete film and could have been so much more. An Elvis concert in this format is a must-see!
Seeing it on the big screen made me wish that the earlier concert documentaries would be re-released in a large venue, like IMAX.
In short, it's definitely worth seeing, but you should have realistic expectations.
Comments
Post a Comment