Never Seen Vegas Elvis Footage Unearthed for New Doc
Baz Luhrmann's latest Elvis Presley documentary uses about 60 hours of previously unreleased video that was shot at the International/Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas between 1969 and 1976.
Elvis fans praised Luhrmann's new effort, "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert," when it debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday night. They claimed to have seen 96 minutes of unreleased performances and backstage rehearsals.
Although rumors of "lost footage" have been around for decades, the true extent and caliber of what is available were only disclosed when the director started conducting research for his 2022 "Elvis" movie.
The following are some of the moments in the new documentary:
- The first known live performance of “Burning Love,” filmed in 1972
- A rare rehearsal of the Beatles’ “Something,” with Elvis joking, “These are suggestive lyrics, man”
- A few bars of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released”
- Elvis tap-dancing for Sammy Davis Jr., who watched from the audience
- 45 minutes of Elvis speaking to his band, some of which Lurhmann uses as his new film’s narration
Only a small portion of this material made it to the final cuts before the raw footage was buried, despite the fact that a large portion was shot for "That's the Way It Is" (1970) and "Elvis on Tour" (1972).
Untrustworthy Mines
The word "buried" is typically used metaphorically, but in this instance, it is used literally. A number of film studios, including Warner Bros., save their most valuable footage at Underground Vaults & Storage. This facility, located 650 feet below Hutchinson, Kansas, was carved out of ancient rock salt deposits and provides nearly ideal archival conditions (68°F and 40–50% humidity all year round) for celluloid storage.
The original negatives of "Star Wars" and "Gone with the Wind" are among the other videos kept there.
To restore the Elvis video, Luhrmann sought Peter Jackson's assistance. In addition to directing, producing, and restoring the Beatles' "Get Back," which debuted on Disney+ in 2021, Jackson is the director of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Jackson's selection is entirely appropriate because, similar to "Get Back," "Epic" aims to recreate not only lost video but also the image of what is often regarded as the most dismal and unworthy period in its subject's career.
Although the new Elvis documentary does not yet have a distributor or a release date, there is no possibility that it will be sent back.
