After the feature film ELVIS (2022) with Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as Colonel Parker, Baz Luhrmann is now bringing a documentary about Elvis to cinemas which claims to be a concert film but isn’t. Many, many songs are played very briefly, sometimes reduced to a single verse. In the beginning, Elvis’ own voice-over claims that now the story will finally be told from his perspective, but that’s not true either, of course.

At the same time, EPIC is a sensational film. Baz Lurhmann’s film begins with a rapid montage of Elvis' early successes in the 1950s and his military service, which would presumably ruin his career. Then Elvis’ comeback, a long series of moronic films, the “68 Comeback Special“ and the live concert residency in Las Vegas, which was the most creative phase of Elvis’ career but which also, with two to three shows a day and complete exhaustion, ultimately led to his death. Luhrmann has compiled some highlights from shows and rehearsals during this time, and the recordings are truly remarkable.

Elvis is one of very few other artists who had the ability to increase the intensity of his performances to unprecedented degrees, so much so that it could take your breath away. Baz Luhrmann has assembled a whole bouquet of such moments of the highest intensity, from an early performance of "Burning Love" to the absolute maximum of exertion in the gospel hymn "How Great Thou Art." Sound and picture have been flawlessly restored. EPIC looks fantastic, the music is wonderful. The atmosphere of the musty hotel halls where the performances took place forms a brutal contrast to the quality of Elvis’ performances. An excellent film about an entertainer heading towards a wall at top speed.

Tom Dorow (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy