Yesterday was the official release of the new Elvis film, I saw the trailer previously but tried not to watch too much before I saw the movie, I also kept away from reviews but had seen the Presley family praising the film and justice to Elvis after all the rumours over the years. So going to the film last night I went with a pretty much open mind.

I realise for people going to see it who are maybe not die hard fans that enjoy the music or are curious about the Elvis legend would be there so they would be viewing it under a different light , but for me it's important to have even the basic facts correct and am sorry to say it's full of errors, OK as I said not everyone is going to know everything there is to know about Elvis who sees the film but it has come across as the definitive story of the Legend that the family has given its blessing to so seeing dates and songs in the wrong timeline was a surprise. It didn't stop there, the first half was jumpy and rushed and the second half wasn't much better, I'm not going to spoil it for anyone with details but very disappointing, it was a remake of the film Elvis and the Colonel which again wasn't great.

Austin Butler I thought gave a great performance and his attention to detail in reproducing Elvis's mannerisms on stage were very good, some of the audience footage was restaged and spot on, some of it was old footage and blended well, as for Tom Hanks, not really sure what to say here, it was a pretty awful accent is about the kindest thing!!

So not a biopic but a rehash of an old movie that the Presley family approves of for cash reasons. On a possitive note the footage at the end was the best part for obvious reasons!!

If you want to see a truly superb Elvis bio then I recommend This is Elvis 1981, it is about the best film out there.

I will add one last thing, when the lights went up at the end my wife said " I can't believe you sat through that" , I can't really say much more, Mark

Mark, thanks for that, i will go and see it but i had an idea this would be the case. Im surprised the Elvis family approved it so much with these kinds of errors.perhaps they just gave it the thumbs up on its entertainment value?
Whats your opinion on john carpenters Elvis the movie?

Elvis the Movie is OK Tom, it was made only a couple of years after Elvis died, it shows his life story and to be fair it didn't really touch on the drugs side of things ending with him still being pretty much at the top of his game, it gave a perspective overall of his life story.

Personally I think the new film being given the thumbs up by the family is financial, any interest in the Presley name with merchandise will benefit them, what I've heard is its a fair representation of Elvis, I didn't think it was, Mark

Mark,

This is very helpful to hear--thank you for sharing your thoughts. It does seem like Hollywood thinks they can change historical facts just to add drama or whatever. The dangerous part is many movie-goers will take it as the true story rather than part fact and part fiction. It does seem like the actor portraying Elvis does a pretty good impersonation, at least in my opinion.

I didn't go to tear the film apart, I was really looking forward to it but as a big fan of Elvis my head is filled with thousands of facts, in the film Graceland is bought in 1956 when it was purchased by Elvis in 1957, its just one example but a basic fact, as I've said and as mentioned the majority might find it to be a great film not knowing true facts, I doubt it but as a fan I was expecting more I guess. Its a bit like the last Bond film, I thought it was terrible, the worst Daniel Craig offering yet, others loved it, I guess go and see it and make your own mind up but for me not one I'd want to see again, Mark

Mark, you said earlier that one of the best Elvis documentary films, (or THE best), is This is Elvis from 1981, i will second that, i have the DVD of this film and i really do like this one, it covers everything anyone needs to know about Elvis Presley with some brilliant and rare footage. The special edition DVD has two versions, the theatrical release and longer version which shows around 20 minutes of additional footage. Oddly enough, the extended version doesn't show the scene near the end, his last concert six weeks before his death where he stumbles over the words of the song. Its only that short piece which has been edited out of the extended release. Such a shame to see him like that but even so, he manages to laugh it off before picking the song up again. What i'd give to find a good 16mm print of this one.

It's a great film Tom, it's pretty factual and of course the footage is of Elvis himself apart from some segments that had to be reinacted, I saw This is Elvis at the cinema and it blew me away, it was the first time I'd seen him performing in 1977 and shocked me, it was also where the rumour he made his first recording for his mother's birthday, this wasn't the case but it has stuck in peoples minds.

One release I would like to see is the Elvis in Concert from 1977 in all its glory, I have it on dvd but the quality isn't great, it unfortunately won't be released as far as the family are concerned because of Elvis's poor health, they don't really like it shown anymore, I will say that if they ever did release it in top quality it would sell really well, Mark

Went with the wife yesterday to see Elvis,went with an open mind and what I thought were reasonable expectations for a Baz Luhrman film because as a youngster I was a great Elvis fan collecting records ,magazines,and seeing every film that Elvis made.
Well what can one say,Austin Butler,Olivia De Jorge I thought were very good especially Butler as Elvis.Tom Hanks make of this performance what you will but he did not do it for me.
At 2hrs 39mins ,as said the first half jumps all over the place.Quite frankly I would have left and unfortunately by the end, I know it’s not a happy story but I felt deflated and wishing I had gone to see a Minions film!!
Having said that the wife thought it was great so go see it on a big screen,because when Elvis sings he still needs to be seen on said big screen.
Sorry can’t be more positive about what I felt should have been a great film.

Very mixed reviews on the film, my sister went in the week and thought it was very good, she's not an Elvis fan but likes a few songs, I'm pretty sure that many will find it entertaining but know nothing about Elvis, it's nice to have him in the public eye again though, Mark

This is a film where each person (fans and casual viewers alike) will come away with their own takes. When making films, some things get skewed (like timelines and events) for dramatic and time purposes. Even at over 2.5 hours, it needed to be done. Biopics are never fully accurate. Producers have a say in it too unfortunately. "What's going to get us talk?"

It is what it is, good + bad, pros & cons. Introducing Elvis to a new generation is a plus.

It's not a biopic Don, it's about the relationship between Elvis and Tom Parker, personally I think Tom Parker comes off better in the story, I think my disappointment is the biopic part, or lack of it, Austin Butler is worth going for but the dramatised sequences were less Elvis, the 68 special and Vegas performances were studied and copied well,Mark

Gwyn,

Glad to hear you got out with the wife to the cinema--something that my wife and I need to do soon as well. I don't know a lot about Elvis, so I am a bit torn as I don't want to take fiction as fact by watching the new film and not knowing what is real and what is drama etc. I have also heard that it is a bit confusing in terms of story line/flow.

Any more members been to see this movie yet? Mark

Mark, it is one we were going to see but unfortunately, as yet, something has come up which has put a damper our cinema visit. No is isn't the Cine world thing.
My Brother went to see it, he said he enjoyed it very much but also said clearly some of the facts are not quite right, but as a movie, very good, and the actor playing Elvis was very good. I will get to see it even it's later on the shinny disc, or download.

My son went to see it and enjoyed it, I had quite a few questions to answer when I saw him, he doesn't know facts and figures about Elvis so I cleared up those, he didn't realise how much was dramatised so an ideal candidate for the film.

Hopefully you'll get to see it Tom, Mark

Thoroughly enjoyed ELVIS !

Great music.

What a carnival sideshow operator Colonel Tom Parker was.....

We finally got around to watching this movie last night.
I liked it as a movie but like Mark, was surprised at some of the inaccuracy's, the actor Austin Butler played Elvis really well, as already said, his mannerisms are spot on.
Tom Hanks is a very good actor but certainly not for this role, not too sure why they cast him but they did!!
The film is a bit choppy but, as a movie, i did enjoy it but also being an Elvis fan the movie to see for an accurate telling of his life has to be This is Elvis.
The way they recreated the 68 show in this new movie was brilliant especially the performance of "if i can dream". I enjoyed the movie but only as a movie, it is wrong of them to define this film as the definitive biopic movie.