The biggest rock and roll star ever is hitting the silver screens again. Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of Elvis Presley’s life is on cinema release throughout the UK. Austin Butler plays the king to critical acclaim, and the film is a success at the box office. In fact, it has beaten Top Gun Maverick to the top slot.
Variety reports that the two films were going toe for toe for the top place over the film’s debut weekend.
First, Elvis was number one, the following day, it was Top Gun Maverick. By Sunday, the two films tied. Each earned an estimated $30.5 million over the three days in question. For the Elvis film that was its first weekend, Top Gun Maverick was into its fifth.
It seems unlikely that any cinemagoer would be totally unaware of Elvis’s story before seeing the film. The man was a total legend. While that is a phrase that can be overused, that is not the case for Presley. He genuinely turned the music industry on its head and defied established genres. His dance moves shocked conventional middle America. He was deemed to be too sexy and could only be filmed from the waist up. His fans adored him, and the church thought he was from the devil. His records were banned. It was also shocking that a white man was singing what was deemed to be African American music.
His infamy lived on after his untimely death in 1977. He became the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, including that he was actually still alive. This rumour was probably fuelled by the number of performers who made their livings as Elvis impersonators. He made his debut performance in Las Vegas, and the city has never forgotten that. It is now possible to be married by a Roadside Elvis in Sin City, visit Westgate Las Vegas, the hotel where he lived, and even pass by New Frontier Hotel and Casino, where Elvis debuted. Fairly linked to casinos and Las Vegas, the King of Rock also has a slot game in his tribute: Elvis the King Lives, which can be considered the best online slots to the fans.
How much of the story does Luhrmann manage to pack into the two-hour thirty-nine minutes? How much is accurate, and how much of it can be ascribed to artistic licence? Luhrmann is known for his flamboyant films. His directing style is characterized by wide-range shots and bold use of colour and lighting. Consequently, we never expect gritty realism when we sit down to enjoy one of his films.
The film is seen through the lens of the relationship between Presley and his manager Captain Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. Parker famously stepped in as a father figure to Elvis when his own father failed to take on that role.
Presley’s mother is depicted as a strong woman who never stops worrying about her son. The relationship between Parker and Presley was officially professional, but the film focuses on the personal. They are bonded by both the American dream and their demons who attack them. Ultimately, this is a story of falling out as well as working together. Luhrmann’s film pays little attention to any other business hustlers, be that movie moguls, record label bosses or publishers hungry for their cut of fame and fortune.
There is no doubt that Elvis was more than a little influenced by the Black American music that he heard in his neighbourhood in Tupelo, Mississippi. The film has a couple of scenes that make excellent viewing but are probably not historically accurate.
One scene shows Presley being baptized in a local black church tent revival. As his family were worshippers at The Assemblies of God Pentecostal church, this is almost undoubtedly artistic license on the director’s behalf.
Another scene has Elvis visiting a club where he hears the music of Little Richard, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Mama Thornton, all at the same gig. While this makes for a great movie scene, it is more likely that he heard R n B on the radio and possibly in the local church. Whatever, when the scene where he ditches Parker’s safe Christmas hit for his own raunchier number is more likely than not drawn from reality.
This is a submitted article.
