While director Baz Luhrmann was researching his 2022 biopic about Elvis Presley, titled simply Elvis, he discovered numerous rolls of film that were shot for the 1970 documentary Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, but hadn’t been seen for decades. That footage forms the basis for Luhrmann’s concert film/documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2025 and was just released nationwide.
Elvis Presley in Concert is an amazing look at one of the most transformative musicians of the 20th century. The film is narrated by Elvis himself, and it’s refreshing to hear Elvis’s own thoughts and feelings about his career. We watch Elvis and his band rehearsing for his third residency in Las Vegas during the summer of 1970, and it’s so fun to watch Elvis having so much fun. In 1970, Elvis Presley might have been at the peak of his powers. His voice was rich, warm, and inviting. He looked great, still showing the slim and trim physique fans would remember from the 1968 Comeback special. Elvis was relaxed, funny, and confident. He was also changing up his setlists more. In the summer of 1969, during his return to live performing in Las Vegas, Elvis’ setlists leaned heavily on his 1950’s hits. That’s no complaint, as his 1969 shows were amazing and energizing. But during 1970, as Elvis was growing in confidence, he was adding more musical variety to his concerts. Elvis was dressing mostly in white jumpsuits on stage, as he had discovered that white made him stand out more on the Las Vegas stage. (Side note: I want Graceland to start making versions of the beautifully colored shirts Elvis was wearing to rehearsals in 1970.) Elvis loved performing live, and you can see from Elvis Presley in Concert that he was putting everything he had into his performances. If I had a time machine to see Elvis at any point during his career, I might very well set the controls to 1970.
Elvis Presley in Concert shows us how Elvis was influenced by so many different genres of music, and how his concerts were a mixture of blues, gospel, country, pop and rock and roll. I find it really fascinating that Elvis opened most of his concerts during the 1970’s with an old blues song, “See See Rider” (sometimes spelled “C.C. Rider”) popularized by Ma Rainey in a 1924 recording. Elvis could have opened his concerts with one of his many hit singles, but instead he chose an old blues song that he had never even recorded a studio version of. A highlight of the movie is Elvis’ passionate version of the gospel song “How Great Thou Art,” which we see and hear him sing in 1972, in footage that was filmed for the concert movie Elvis on Tour. It’s a spine-tingling moment to hear him belt out “How Great Thou Art.” Elvis still looked great in 1972, and we see him in an array of colorful jumpsuits: powder blue, royal blue, and red. It’s easy to make fun of Elvis’ jumpsuits—they’ve become a staple of every Elvis impersonator, and it’s easy to see them as 1970’s excess that Liberace would surely have approved of. But being at Graceland in the summer of 2023 and seeing Elvis’ jumpsuits up close was very cool, and I’ve come to appreciate how they were all singular works of art. Those jumpsuits aren’t just what anyone would wear—they’re what a star would wear, and it’s fitting that an artist as iconic as Elvis had such a distinctive stage wardrobe.
It’s amazing to see Elvis’ effect on his fans. Elvis was surprisingly available to his fans during concerts. During his 1970 Las Vegas engagement, he would walk through the audience from one end to the other, bestowing kisses and handshakes as he went. As the 1970’s went on, it became an Elvis trademark to throw scarves to his fans during his concerts. It might sound like hyperbole to say that Elvis’ fans were having a religious experience seeing him in person, but it’s hard to think of another word or term that fits. Viewers of Elvis Presley in Concert can see for themselves the devotion that Elvis inspired in his fans. Seeing photos and videos of Elvis with his fans, and reading their stories of meeting him, I’m struck by Elvis’ kindness towards his fans, and I think that speaks highly of the man he was.
Luhrmann shows us an excerpt of Elvis at his 1972 press conference in New York City, just before he played Madison Square Garden, where he’s asked a question about Vietnam war protestors. Elvis responds, “I’d just as soon keep my own personal views about that to myself; I’m just an entertainer.” Then Luhrmann shows us Elvis in 1970 reciting a stanza from a song written by Hank Williams, “Men with Broken Hearts.” It ends with the couplet: “For the God that made you made them too/these men with broken hearts.” Elvis adds, "I'd like to sing a song along the same lines,” and then launches into a spirited rendition of Joe South’s song “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” a plea for empathy and understanding. Luhrmann was thinking the same thing I was—it doesn’t matter that Elvis didn’t say anything about Vietnam war protestors, the real message that Elvis was giving us was in his music. Songs like “If I Can Dream,” “In the Ghetto,” and “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” show Presley’s social concerns, even if he didn’t get on a soapbox and lecture his audience.
Two of the highlights of the movie are “Polk Salad Annie” and “Suspicious Minds,” which both become high energy extended workouts, and examples of Elvis’ powerful charisma and sex appeal.
Watching Elvis Presley in Concert, we see Elvis getting immersed in the music, and that’s my favorite Elvis to see. Total commitment was the trademark of all of his great performances, from “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” on his TV debut in 1956, to his beautiful and moving rendition of “Unchained Melody,” taped at his final concerts just two months before his untimely passing on August 16, 1977.
It’s a thrill to see Elvis Presley and his music back in the mainstream of pop culture, 70 years after his national breakthrough and almost 50 years after his death. If you’re an Elvis fan, go see Elvis Presley in Concert, you’ll be reminded all over again why he was so wonderful.
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