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This Is Elvis (Two-Disc Special Edition)

starring: David Scott (II), Paul Boensch III, Johnny Harra, Lawrence Koller, Rhonda Lyn
directed by: Andrew Solt, Malcolm Leo

: This Is Elvis (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 0085391150022
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, Restored, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: August 07, 2007
Running Time: 246 minutes
Sales Rank: 12185
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: April 04, 1981



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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/07/2007 Run time: 246 minutes Rating: Pg

Amazon.com:
Originally released in 1981, Andrew Solt and Malcolm Leo's This Is Elvis was one of the first in-depth examinations of the life and work of Elvis Presley. Issued here in a two-disc set that pairs the theatrical version with a 1983 re-edit that adds some 40 minutes to the original, it combines newsreel footage, home movies, television and movie clips, and extensive re-enactments in an absorbing bio-documentary that's well worth watching--if only because interest in the singer apparently never diminishes (the 2007 DVD release date coincides with the 30th anniversary of Presley's death). The success (or failure, depending on one's point of view) of This Is Elvis rides in part on a single decision made by Solt and Leo, who co-produced, directed, and wrote the film: namely, to have the tale told by Presley himself. Not the real Presley, of course; Ral Donner, himself a rock singer of minor repute in the '50s and '60s, provides a reasonably authentic impersonation of Presley's voice (four on-screen actors portray him at various ages in the course of the film). Thus we have an 'Elvis' who returns from beyond the grave to hold forth on such matters as the death of his beloved mother, his stint in the Army, his marriage to Priscilla and the birth of Lisa Marie, the skein of awful movies that preoccupied him during the '60s (thus sidelining him from the pop music scene while the Beatles and Bob Dylan were changing the world), and his descent into the maudlin, hyper-medicated fashion disaster that was Elvis in the '70s (his assessment: basically, 'Geez, I wish I'd seen that coming'). It's nice to think that the actual Elvis could be so candid about both his successes and his missteps, but by and large this material is unconvincing, at best. Still, the real footage mostly makes up for it. Clips from his earliest TV appearances, even embarrassments like the Steve Allen show (on which the smug host had Presley wear formal attire and sing 'Hound Dog' to an actual pooch), leave little doubt as to why he was the King; Presley's electrifying presence, not to mention his voice, great backup band, and seminal rock songs, were like nothing before or since. Had Solt and Leo dispensed with all the fakery and concentrated on the genuine article, their film would have been better for it. Sure, the final scenes of the fat, drugged-out Elvis onstage in his final months are brutal (a performance of 'Loving You' featured in the longer edit is truly cringe-inducing), but they're part and parcel of the most fascinating and enduring story in American music history. --Sam Graham



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - You Can Never Have Too Many Elvis DVD's
I have watched many Elvis dvds, and even though I've seen some of the things on this dvd before, I ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - THIS IS ELVIS TWO DISC SPECIAL EDTION
I give this 5 STARS,5THUMPS UP this version is a better version better then the VHS version.I reactamend ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - One of the best Elvis biographies available on DVD
The only thing which kept me from a perfect rating is that the reenactments and actor-narration are sometimes ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - this is a good one
if you love to listen to Elvis music , you have to see this movie, is a good product , so consider it and buy ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - This Is Elvis
This is an excellent biography about the life of Elvis Presley. Ral Donner, an Elvis clone, does his voice. It ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.