TCM's Ben Mankiewicz, in his afterward, said that at the time this film was being made Elvis was in bad physical and emotional shape and beginning the long, slow slide that would result in his death five years later. I'll take Ben at his word because you get absolutely no sense, from this very dull documentary, of someone falling apart. Instead, what we are offered are a series of well performed songs interspersed with limo rides, airplane rides, and backstage gatherings in which The King behaves like a plebian with banal comment after banal comment and zero insight into any demons other than habitual stage fright. So if you're a die hard Elvis fan or a devotee of early 70s split screen you'll be as happy as a Republican at an NRA convention (appropriate imagery considering the crowds look like kinder, gentler MAGA rallies). For the rest of us, though, it's the last train to dullsville. Solid C.
PS...Wonder how the trio of black lady singers behind Elvis felt while he crooned "Dixie" to an all white Virginia crowd? A decent documentary, as opposed to this hagiographical piece of crap, would have let you see.
PS...Wonder how the trio of black lady singers behind Elvis felt while he crooned "Dixie" to an all white Virginia crowd? A decent documentary, as opposed to this hagiographical piece of crap, would have let you see.