Presley Family Has Concerns Over New Movie

Above, the Graceland Pool and the Meditation Garden in the background. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since Elvis Presley's death in August 1977, I have seen only one docudrama on the King of Rock 'N Roll. That was the one starring Kurt Russell and Season Hubley. It was an okay movie, but I have no interest in seeing the new one that's about to be released. I really don't see Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker, Presleys manager.

I was wondering if the Presley Family had any input into it. Apparently very little. In fact, they have concerns about it.

According to the Express (U.K.):

ELVIS PRESLEY's relatives, who were so close to The King that they'd spend hours talking to him on his bed upstairs at Graceland, have shared their concern over the upcoming Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, claiming they weren't consulted and that The Colonel's voice is wrong. Meanwhile, Priscilla Presley has admitted she is "very nervous" about how the film could turn out, despite having met with the director.

Around a month ago, Warner Bros released the first trailer for the upcoming Elvis movie. Baz Luhrmann’s biopic will chart the life and career of The King through the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. The creative team behind the film have consulted Graceland and others like the star’s ex-wife Priscilla Presley about the project, although some family members aren’t sure what they’re going to make of the movie’s accuracy, having seen the first footage.

Elvis Presley's cousin and last surviving original Memphis Mafia member Billy Smith knew The King before he was famous and was one of the last people to see the star alive.

On his YouTube channel Elvis Fans Matter, he said: “I just won’t go to the movies to see something like that now. When it comes on TV, I’ll probably wind up watching it sooner or later. It’ll be interesting to me to see how Tom Hanks plays The Colonel. Outside of that, I don’t know. I’ll probably get around to watching it, but I don’t know when or where or if I’m going to be here to watch it, but we’ll see. And with that, I don’t care nothing else about this subject.”

When he and his wife Jo, who used to spend hours talking to Elvis in his Graceland bedroom, were asked if they were consulted for the movie, they said no and added: “It’s from another point of view.”

If there's any documentary on Elvis Presley worth watching, it would be Elvis Presley:The Searcher.

To read more, go here. 

It's All About The Music

My DVD Limited Collector's Edition of Elvis Presley: The Searcher arrived in yesterday's mail and I watched it last night after returning home from the Gallup UFO Film Festival. It was due to arrive tomorrow, so it arrived two days early. I bought it through Amazon.

It was as enjoyable as when I first saw it last April when I checked into the Gallup Red Roof Inn (since I don't have HBO here).

The Limited Collector's Edition includes a 20-page book of rare photos and an extra consisting of a "conversation" with Priscilla Presley, Thom Zimny, Jerry Schilling and Scott Goldman. One interesting tidbit from the conversation was that because members of Elvis's entourage (the "Memphis Mafia") are dying off, especially the passing of Joe Esposito, it spurred Priscilla Presley and Jerry Schilling to get the documentary started.

There's a few things I missed during my April viewing, including the audio of Gladys Presley (Elvis's mother) singing "Home Sweet Home". The audio is in the special edition CD, but I didn't remember hearing it in the video. But there it was.

If one happens to be an Elvis fan, a fan of rock 'n roll or just a music fan in general, there's much in this documentary that will please and enlighten. The whole documentary is outstanding, particularly the first part involving Sam Phillips, Sun Studio and Beale Street in Memphis.

The running time is about 205 minutes.

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher" DVD Pre-Orders

The DVD of HBO's Elvis Presley: The Searcher is now available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

It is scheduled to be released on October 16.

I elected instead to get the Collector's Edition.

About the Elvis Presley: The Searcher:

He was a boy from Tupelo who grew up to become the biggest star in music. Along the way, he absorbed a staggering range of influences, creating a revolutionary sound in his lifelong search for self-expression. Following his creative journey from childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions, Elvis Presley: The Searcher includes never-before-seen photos and footage from private collections worldwide, stunning atmospheric shots taken inside Graceland, Elvis’ iconic home, and more than 20 new interviews with Priscilla Presley and the many artists, session players, producers, engineers and directors who knew him or who were profoundly influenced by him.

The limited Collector's Edition will also feature commemorative packaging and a 20-page digibook featuring rare photos from the Graceland archives.

I saw Elvis Presley: The Searcher last April and found it to be the best documentary on The King to date.

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher" Coming To DVD

Above, the deluxe soundtrack CD set. 

It has been announced that the Elvis Presley documentary, Elvis Presley: The Searcher, is coming to DVD on October 16.

According to Media Play News:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release the three-hour HBO documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher on DVD Oct. 16. 

The film collects material from the archives of Graceland to present an inside look at a rarely seen side of the King of rock ‘n’ roll, taking the audience on a comprehensive creative journey from his childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions. 

Containing never-before-seen footage and music recordings, the film features commentary and interviews from some of the biggest names in music, including Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, music producer Jon Landau and Elvis’ guitarist, Scotty Moore, among others.

To read more, go here. 

Elvis Descended Into Darkness and Searched For Forgiveness

Above, the Jungle Room at Graceland. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An interesting look at Elvis Presley has been posted at the Dallas News website.

It is by Robert F. Darden and it takes a looks at the descent of Elvis Presley "into darkness" and his search for forgiveness.

It starts with:

With all of the politicians, movie stars and athletes asking for forgiveness, I've been thinking about Elvis Presley. 

Elvis is suddenly everywhere these days. The acclaimed two-part HBO documentary, Elvis Presley: The Searcher, drew extraordinary viewership as it tried to shift the focus back on the music and away from the lurid tales of an obese, drug-addled, Howard Hughes-like figure, lost in the Jungle Room at Graceland. 

And 2018 is replete with Elvis-related anniversaries. Two of the most significant events in the King's life have important milestones this year: Elvis' beloved mother Gladys died in 1958 and the broadcast of the TV special Elvis (better known as the '68 Comeback Special and album) dates from the end of 1968. 

Peter Guralnick's award-winning two-volume biography of Elvis, Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley document like nothing before or since the meteoric rise and crushing fall of an American icon. Together, the books present a compelling, can't-look-away journey down the river as a musical Marlowe slowly transforms into a reclusive Kurtz. 

As both Guralnick and the producers of The Searcher repeatedly note, that descent into the heart of darkness is not a straight line. Elvis made great music both at the beginning and near the end of his career. His religious faith, which had sustained him early, never really left him. And for all of the lurid tales of the Memphis Mafia and Borgian excess, he died as he had lived much of his life — essentially alone.

To read more, go here. 

"The 50th Anniversary of the Elvis Comeback Special" Coming In 2019

This year, HBO premiered Elvis Presley: The Seacher. Next year, NBC will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Elvis's "comeback" special.

The original special, titled simply Singer Presents...Elvis, was originally aired on December 3, 1968.

Billboard reported:

NBC will be paying tribute to the King of Rock and Roll next year, particularly focusing on the network's incredibly successful 1968 special that marked Elvis Presley's return to live television. 

The 50th Anniversary of the Elvis Comeback Special is set to feature today's biggest music artists recreating the spectacle and the staging of the original show. Additionally, the two-hour broadcast will include rare footage of the superstar and interviews from those who were involved in the event 50 years ago.

To read more, go here.

"Elvis Presley: The Seacher" Soundtrack CD Reviewed

There are two soundtrack collections of CDs of "Elvis Presley: The Searcher". They were used in the documentary now being shown on HBO.

I had already posted about the three-CD deluxe edition. Entertainment Focus has posted a review of the 18-track CD. I have both sets. I am keeping the deluxe edition in the house and the 18-track CD in The Beast (for those of you who don't regularly follow this blog, that's my Winnebago).

The review begins with:

Elvis Presley is an artist whose work and influence on music has been celebrated countless times over the years. He’s the true embodiment of a legend and his music will continue to be talked about, possibly for the rest of time. Award-winning film-maker Thom Zimney has taken a new look at Presley’s growth as an artist in his three-hour two-part film Elvis Presley: The Searcher. The film aired on HBO in the US last month and a soundtrack for it has been released across a variety of formats. This review looks at the 18-track CD version of the soundtrack. 

Elvis Presley: The Searcher – The Original Soundtrack takes 18 essential tracks used in the film and they are a mix of live performances, hits and rare alternative versions of some of Presley’s best songs. The set opens with a live performance of Trouble/Guitar Man showcasing the blusier side of Presley’s repertoire. It really is a fantastic start to the soundtrack and Presley is in fine vocal form.

To read the full review, go here.

A Review Worthy of Its Subject

Above, Elvis Presley in the U.S. Army.

One of the best reviews I've seen so far on the HBO documentary, "Elvis Presley: The Searcher" has been posted at The Times-Gazette by Gary Abernathy.

His review is titled, "Finally, a documentary worthy of its subject".

It begins with:

“Elvis Presley: The Searcher,” showing now on HBO, is a new two-part, three-hour documentary directed by Thom Zimny that stands apart because it focuses on what made Elvis popular to begin with – his talent, his performance style and his music. 

It foregoes the more outlandish aspects of Elvis’ life that typically provide fodder for Elvis biopics – peanut butter and banana sandwiches, the 1970 spur-of-the-moment visit to President Nixon, shooting out television sets – in favor of the influences and career decisions that made Elvis explode onto the scene in the 1950s, and the lasting talent that embedded him forever into the cultural landscape. 

Countless biographical movies and documentaries have been made about Elvis. The best of the bunch to date was the first one, the 1979 made-for-TV movie “Elvis,” starring Kurt Russell, produced by Dick Clark and directed by John Carpenter. It has finally been eclipsed. 

Society is so far removed from the 1950s that it is almost impossible to understand now the shock value of Elvis’ arrival into living rooms across America on TV shows hosted by Milton Berle, Steve Allen and, most famously, Ed Sullivan. The clips have been repeated so often that they lose their impact. “Elvis Presley: The Searcher” comes as close as possible to reminding us what a tsunami Elvis created.

One can consider this review also worthy of its subject.

To read more, go here. 

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher" Deluxe Edition

The deluxe edition of the original soundtrack of Elvis Presley: The Searcher has arrived in today's mail.

Besides what's on the label, the set also includes a 39-page booklet.

Below, is a listing of the music selections:

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher" In Gallup

Above, a screenshot of Elvis Presley: The Searcher while Emmylou Harris was commenting. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last evening, I headed off to Gallup to the Red Roof Inn where I reserved a room to catch Elvis Presley: The Searcher on HBO. Since I don't have cable or satellite, this was my best option if I wanted to see the program.

I got there around 4:00 and almost drove past it as their giant sign was thrashed by a recent windstorm. Fortunately, I saw a smaller sign on the building.

Above, where I had dinner. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After checking in, I headed off down the street (historic Route 66) to Virgie's Mexican Food. I ordered a combination plate of two beef enchiladas and crunchy taco. To water it all down, I also ordered a Corona beer. It was a good thing I did as the enchiladas were hot (not as hot as those at Genaro's). After a couple of bites, perspiration started running down my forehead. Funny thing, it stopped after a while, but started up again as I was walking to the cashier to pay my tab.

Above, the dinner plate. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I headed back to the Red Roof Inn, but on the way, I picked up some snacks to munch on while watching.

It is a good thing that I did head back when I did. HBO was showing The Searcher at 6:00. This was a relief as I originally expected it to be shown at 8:00.

(I stayed overnight at the Red Roof Inn and left early this morning. When I turned the corner onto my street, three deer were foraging in a resident's yard. This was the first time seeing deer in my neighborhood.)

Above, the documentary had many rare photos of Elvis early in his career. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On Elvis Presley: The Searcher, it was a 3-hour documentary in to parts and Priscilla Presley and Jerry Schilling served as executive producers. Part 1 was about the start of Presley's career up to his induction into the Army. Part 2 dealt with Presley's career and life after he was discharged from the Army to his death.

Of the two parts, Part 1 was more fascinating as it showed the influences of Presley's musical style and what he did to learn from other artists, primarily black singers. The influences included rhythm & blues, country and gospel. I liked how the documentary did not stop to show the "talking heads" of people commenting, instead, it just kept Elvis on screen and the people commenting would just have their names flashed. Those included the late Tom Petty, Bruce Springstein and Emmylou Harris along with Priscilla Presley and Jerry Schilling. There's a lot on Sam Phillips of Sun Studio.

Part 2 was interesting as rare videos of Elvis in concert were shown. The documentary paints manager Col. Tom Parker as "the villain" for many of his management decisions.

The documentary was "about the music" instead of Elvis's personal life. I agree with a review at RogerEbert.com in which it is stated that ""Elvis Presley: The Searcher" feels like a long overdue act of artistic redress."

My grades: Part 1: A +; Part 2: A.

See a review by SFGate by going here.

See a review by Den of Geek by going here.

Travel At 60: Hawaii, Elvis Style

Above, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. Elvis gave a fundraising benefit concert in Pearl
Harbor’s Bloch Arena on March 25, 1961 for the USS Arizona Memorial. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With the documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher due to premiere tomorrow night on HBO, Elvis awareness is running a bit high these days.

As such, Travel At 60 has an article on vacationing in "Hawaii, Elvis Style".

It starts out with:

On November 9, 1957 Elvis Presley arrived in Hawaii for the first of what would turn out to be many occasions. 

The previous day he’d telegrammed the local Honolulu Star newspaper, saying: “I know that I will enjoy your islands, I like to surf and swim. Have read about Hawaiian hospitality and am eagerly looking forward to same.” 

He was clearly very happy with what he found, as he returned to Hawaii again and again – for movies (Blue Hawaii in 1961, Girls Girls Girls in 1962 and Paradise, Hawaiian Style in 1965), for concerts (including the first-ever concert to a worldwide audience) and for personal holidays. 

During those trips Elvis visited a number of locations that are today considered iconic Hawaiian landmarks – so follow in his footsteps and let the King be your guide on a tour of one of Hawaii’s most beautiful islands. Aloha from Oahu!

Above, the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Rainbow Tower. Elvis Presley
once booked the entire top floor of the Tower. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher" Reviewed

Above, Elvis signing autographs in a photo displayed at Sun Studio. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In two more nights, Elvis Presley: The Searcher will hit the airwaves on HBO. I plan on catching it at a hotel in Gallup, since I don't have HBO at home.

One of the more interesting reviews of the documentary is from Music Critic Dan DeLuca from Phillynews.com.

He wrote, in part:

When the Pretenders played the Tower Theater last month, Chrissie Hynde took time out to praise the epochal life force and ultra-talented vocalist who set off a post-World War II youthquake in popular culture. 

“How did they know he was Elvis Presley?” she asked about the parents of the infant who came into the world in 1935 in Tupelo, Miss. “How did they know what to name him? ‘Look Vernon, it’s Elvis Presley!’ ” 

Hynde’s conjecture about a conversation Gladys Presley and her husband could have had was startling, in part because the pioneering female rocker spoke of Elvis in such awestruck terms. She was speaking of the subject of Elvis Presley: The Searcher, the two-part HBO documentary directed by Thom Zimny that premieres  at 8 p.m. Saturday. 

She was talking about the mythic Elvis, Elvis as a “human Adonis,” as Bruce Springsteen refers to him in his Broadway show, the seemingly supernatural presence destined to become the King of Rock and Roll who ignited a musical revolution and freed 1950s America from sexual repression. 

Forty-plus years after his death in 1977, Presley is not typically spoken about in such reverential terms. More frequently, he’s caricatured either as a bloated carcass in a white jump suit, showing off karate moves and muttering, “Thank you, thank you very much,” or as a hip-swiveling sensation from a bygone black-and-white TV era. 

Or worse: A blatant cultural appropriator who reaped the rewards of white privilege to become unimaginably rich and famous while worthy African American artists who preceded him never received their just rewards or credit due.  

As Chuck D. and Flavor Flav of Public Enemy unfairly but unforgettably put it, striking back against an exclusionary culture on their righteous 1990 “Fight the Power”: “Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant s— to me / Straight-up racist that sucker was simple and plain, m— him and John Wayne!”

Above, Elvis with Junior Parker (left) and Bobby Blue Bland in a display at Sun Studio. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One can hardly call someone a "racist" when that person attended black nightclubs on Beale Street in Memphis and shopped in black clothing stores.

Elvis Presley: The Searcher should be a very interesting three hours.

To read more, go here.

Graceland's Archival Vault To Be Opened In HBO Documentary

Above, Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Archival footage and other gems will be revealed to the public for the first time when "Elvis: The Searcher" is premiered on HBO Saturday, April 14.

According to an article in U.S. News & World Report:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A new television documentary about Elvis Presley takes advantage of the vast collection of footage, pictures, documents and music from his estate to give a behind-the-scenes look at the king of rock 'n' roll. 

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher," a two-part, three-hour documentary, will premiere April 14 on HBO. Director Thom Zimny, who worked on several Bruce Springsteen documentaries, had full access to Graceland's vault and made ample use of it to unearth little-seen footage. 

"That was one of the exciting parts because every day I was discovering new gems of Elvis Presley's archives," Zimny said. 

"He came up with pieces of footage that Priscilla and I had never seen before, and we grew up with Elvis," said Jerry Schilling, one of Elvis' longtime friends and an executive producer on the documentary along with Priscilla Presley, his ex-wife. 

Along with his family and friends, Zimny interviewed studio musicians, producers, engineers and directors, as well as artists like Springsteen, Tom Petty and Emmylou Harris. Zimny uses only voiceovers for the narration instead of seeing the interviewees' faces to keep the focus on the music and footage of Elvis over his career.

Since I don't have HBO, I'll be staying at a hotel in Gallup to watch the documentary.

To read more, go here. 

"Elvis Presley: The Searcher" Reviewed

Above, jumpsuits on display at Graceland in 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There have been a number of books and documentaries on Elvis Presley over the years. We're about to see another one.

It will premiere on HBO on April 14 and it is called Elvis Presley: The Searcher. It will be in two parts totaling three and a half hours in length.

The Hollywood Reporter has posted a review of the documentary.

It begins with:

Can it really be true that an Elvis Presley documentary as probing and thoughtful as Thom Zimny's Elvis Presley: The Searcher does not already exist? After decades of home video performance-film releases and docs of varying quality, this two-part, three and a half-hour film feels like a landmark, something that should be welcomed as warmly as the two Elvis books published in the 1990s by Peter Guralnick, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love. Chipping away calcified layers of myth and caricature to address the psychology behind Presley's career, its seriousness and sensitivity is no surprise to those who've followed the series of documentaries Zimny has been making about Bruce Springsteen. Sure to fare well when it bows April 14 on HBO, it made for a spellbinding big-screen experience at the music-rooted SXSW Film Festival.

To read more, go here. 

Priscilla Presley Recalls Elvis's Final Days

Above, the Jungle Room, where Elvis Presley's final recording sessions took place. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During a tour promoting the HBO documentary, "Elvis Presley: The Searcher", his ex-wife Priscilla Presley opened up about The King's final years.

According to an article in Rare Country:

Elvis Presley may have passed away more than 40 years ago, but the life that he lived continues to fascinate people across the globe. 

As fans know, during his final years, Elvis was deeply addicted to prescription drugs. His ex-wife, Priscilla Presley, is now opening up about the unfortunate addiction that sadly led to the late musical icon’s tragic death in 1977. 

According to Fox News, Priscilla, who helped produce a documentary that honors the King called “Elvis Presley: The Searcher,” spoke about her ex-husband’s issue with substance abuse during the movie’s debut at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, on March 14. 

“It was difficult for all of us. We certainly didn’t see it coming,” she explained of Elvis’ unfortunate passing at the age of 42. “But we certainly saw the journey he was taking.”

The documentary premieres on HBO on April 14. It chronicles Presley's early childhood through to his final recording session that was held in the Jungle Room at Graceland.

To read more, go here.