Suspicious minds might think EPiC is some sort of cynical cash in on the legacy of Elvis Presley. After all, hasn’t it all been seen and done?
Apparently not. During the making of Elvis (2022), Baz Luhrmann went on a search for rumored unseen footage from the iconic 1970s concert films Elvis: That’s the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour that had reportedly been lost.
To the astonishment of all, he and his researchers uncovered 69 boxes (59 hours) of film negative that hadn’t been seen. In addition to this, some never before seen Super8 from the Graceland Archives. Whilst some of the negatives had been printed and used in previous productions, there were many ‘never before seen’, shots, sequences and performances.
One of the great finds has been unheard recordings of Elvis talking about his life and his music: from the 1970 Vegas show, on tour in 1972 and even precious moments of the 1957 “gold jacket” performance in Hawaii.
What Baz has done with this material is create a dreamscape, almost like a cinematic poem, with Elvis singing to you and telling you his story in a leap of musical imagination, a truly epic and touching tribute to one of the greatest performers of all time.
The audacious and appropriately named film, EPiC, has obviously been made with a hunk of burning love and features 45 songs, some original hits for Elvis, others covers of songs from Lennon-McCartney, Simon & Garfunkle and Tony Joe White, plus a collage of countless clips from the movies, collated into a montage that shows both his screen magnetism and his diminishing love for Hollywood and the decision to go back to the stage in 1969.
The Las Vegas residency lasted nearly eight years and it’s quite a thrill to see the pick of these performances during this time, the electric showmanship, his love of singing and his love for his audience, as well as an insight into relaxed rehearsals sessions.
EpiC is energetic, entertaining, and on the edge of reality, an experience best seen on a large screen, communally.
