User Reviews

Randy Quaid almost steals the show as the Colonel, his acting should be award-winning. I don't know how realistic the role was, but the real Colonel could have only hoped to be such a dynamic character.

Overall it was a pleasantly surprising TV movie, and Rhys-Meyers did a terrific job as Elvis. I wish he could have been 2 inches taller, but his voice impersonation was very believable.

Robert Patrick and Camryn Manheim both did excellent acting jobs. Except for Rose McGowan as Ann-Margret, the casting was excellent.

Very easy and fun to watch, I gave it a 9/10 because it is made for TV, and it is surprising that they put so much effort into it.

ELVIS is the DVD version of the much lauded television miniseries (it won both Golden Globe and Emmy awards for actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Camryn Manheim and Randy Quaid): the transfer of the extended three hour long series to a single DVD format is successful and demonstrates once again that made of television movies can often be superior to the Hollywood format. The film is not without its flaws: the script by Patrick Sheane Duncan is painfully pedestrian at times and the use of lip-syncing using a variety of Presley recordings isn't always convincing. But director James Steven Sadwith manages to overcome the obstacles and gives us a rather personalized view of the life of the King.

The film covers Elvis Presley's life from his near poverty beginnings in Tupelo to his worldwide fame and fortune at his 'comeback' in 1968. The development of the committed guitar-playing singer from his first record through the development of his 'style' and the ultimate glory and insecurity that paired his magic time is well told. If the story seems to be repetitive and goes on too long, then it also is giving the audience time to see the man behind the shadow of fame.

Oddly enough Jonathan Rhys Meyers (now so superb in another biographical series as Henry VIII in 'The Tudors') was imported for the leading role, and while some may question the use of outsourcing here, Rhys Meyers is so convincing in every way that the reasons for casting him are clear. Camryn Manheim offers fine work as Presley's all-important mother and Robert Patrick plays his supportive father. Randy Quaid gives a bravura performance as the oddly successful Colonel Parker. Some of the other roles - Rose McGowan's misfired portrayal of Ann-Margaret and Antonia Bernath's of Priscilla - are less successful, but their contributions are balanced by the fine work of Tom Guinee as the pivotally important Sam Phillips.

In all this is a quality piece of work about one of America's icons whose presence is still palpable thirty years after Presley's untimely death at age 42. The awards given to this film are well earned and the DVD offers a fine (if long) evening of entertainment and nostalgia. Grady Harp

The premiere of "Elvis" was just on NBC. Johnathon Rhys Meyers does deliver a very faithful performance as The King. The whole cast is very strong and supporting. This could be the best mini-series of the year. Johnathon Rhys Meyers will have to get some kind of award of his performance. I was also impressed with Randy Quaid who plays Colonel Tom Parker, the evil manager. But we will have to wait until Wednesday for the entire review. If you are a die-hard Elvis fan, or not even, you really should see this mini-series. I will write a full review after the conclusion episode.

So far: 8/10

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers did as good a job as I've ever seen portraying the King of Rock and Roll. Although Elvis cursed more than he ever has in any version of his life I've seen, and he was often abusive to those he was close to, he was an appealing character overall, especially at the beginning of his career. And he really cared about his fans.

Something I wasn't aware of: Elvis cared about the quality of his movies as much as he cared about good music, but he didn't have as much control over his acting as his singing.

I can't recall Elvis' relationship to his mother being shown in such detail. Camryn Manheim did an outstanding job, and I noticed in the documentary airing later in the week on CBS how much the real Gladys Presley resembled Manheim.

Randy Quaid also impressed as Colonel Parker. He was very convincing as an aging man, and he was shown as quite a schemer, but he was not overdone.

There were many other good acting performances. Tim Guinee as Sam Phillips should be mentioned, and Rose McGowan made a sultry Ann-Margret. And I have to mention the black woman at the Cadillac dealership. A brief performance, but very effective.

Like Parker, I'm more of a Lawrence Welk man, but Elvis is something special. And the musical performances were great.

The first part was the most enjoyable, when Elvis was just a young kid getting his career started, when the talent came through and was not overshadowed by fame.

Overall, it was a worthy effort.

It was wonderful to hear Elvis' actual voice and music coming out of the mouth of Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Frankly, I could have used even more of Presley's magnificent voice throughout.

One of the previous posters mentioned that Marty Lacker commented on this film. I was in touch with Marty during my time on the Elvis message board and always enjoyed his comments. I regret that I couldn't find his comments on the film here. I don't imagine he liked it much. There was only one Elvis, and while you may be able to approximate him, you will never find anyone who will ultimately satisfy as Elvis. Kurt Russell probably came the closest, but I haven't seen everyone.

All that being said, I enjoyed Part I of this miniseries more than Part II, and I did like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, especially in Part I. I read some of the posts which mentioned he did not have Elvis' stature. Elvis Presley was one of the most gorgeous men who ever lived. He had it ALL. And that includes height. If you're asking to see an Elvis clone portraying Elvis, if it were possible, Elvis wouldn't have been the unique individual he was. The role of Elvis in this bio did not call for an Elvis impersonator, it called for an actor, and Rhys-Meyers is definitely that.

The purpose of this film, and the purpose of the Elvis by the Presleys documentary, was to introduce Presley to a new audience. For this they chose a handsome, up-and-coming actor, in order to bring in the youth market. He's Irish. He played a man he didn't know personally and a man he didn't know very much about. He also had to play the script he was given. With those caveats, he was excellent, and, having seen Presley in some of the performances recreated in this film, he had obviously studied Elvis' movements.

Though the miniseries captured many of the details we know of Elvis' story, in the end, it didn't capture Elvis himself - and may I say AGAIN, if that were an easy or even POSSIBLE thing to do, well, Elvis wouldn't be the legend he is today. The script I do not believe demonstrated Elvis' tremendous charm and charisma, nor his sense of humor. That was a problem in the script. It's very possible that given the opportunity Rhys-Meyers would have been up to the task.

What the script did show is the conflict between Colonel Parker, well played by Randy Quaid, and Presley, giving us a hint of what was a very complicated relationship. Parker was about money; Elvis was about creativity. But it was more than that - Parker had absolutely no understanding of Elvis the artist, and in a sense, he dismissed that side of him. Parker did a great many good things for Elvis but in the end, he held him back tremendously. I knew that Elvis wanted to do the remake of A Star is Born, but I had not known (and I assume it's true) that Elvis wanted to do West Side Story. Since Tony is usually played by a very romantic type whom one cannot believe is affiliated with a gang, Presley would have been inspired casting. Not making better movies is one of the great tragedies of his career, along with never touring the world. I really have no use for Colonel Parker for a variety of reasons, which I won't go into here. And it wasn't all the Colonel - some of the problems had to do with Elvis' inability to let go.

The film ends in a strange place - the '68 Comeback Special, and it is there the failing of Rhys-Meyers' physical appearance as Elvis really shows up. Elvis was beyond gorgeous on that special, and Rhys-Meyers just did not demonstrate those shocking good looks. And why end it there? Elvis became a smash hit in Vegas, and he had several successful years on tour before his lifestyle caught up with him.

With the exception of Rhys-Meyers, Quaid, and Camryn Manheim as Gladys, there doesn't seem to have been much attention paid to the casting. Rose McGowan did not approximate the luscious Ann-Margret, and Antonia Bernath was not Priscilla.

However, I think the miniseries did its job. We got to hear that glorious voice and see something of one of the most fascinating rags to riches story ever told. If the man was missing, I can't blame anyone but the man himself. He was one of a kind.

I have seen every movie made about Elvis with the exception of a regional drive-in movie that was fictitious called "The Legend" I believe, and not since Kurt Russell's phenomenal impersonation in the 1970s TV Movie have I seen such an amazing job of acting as done by this young kid from Ireland. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was so stunningly accurate even though the combed back hair made his forehead look a little too prominent. Still, I did not work against his extremely effective portrayal of the King of Rock and Roll. Okay, I know I'm being picky here, but having been a portrait artist for 48 years, it's hard not to notice such physical details.

What made this film all the more watchable were the acting of Camryn Manheim as Mama Presley and Randy Quaid as The Colonel. In both cases, the actors added so many shades to their characters and, despite the stories we Elvis die-hard fans know inside out, the script was put together in a way that made it all unfold as though we were there. And after not quite lookalike actors like Don Johnson with a voice that sounded more like one of David Seville's Chipmunks than Elvis, and Dale Midkiff who lacked the charisma with his slight resemblance to the man in the miniseries "Elvis And Me") this time, we had a guy we could believe was the real thing. And then there was the guy from the TV show who also played Elvis Michael St. Gerard who had such an uncanny resemblance to Elvis though with nothing close to the voice (except for the time he briefly played Elvis in "Great Balls Of Fire" and for one scene tells Dennis Quaid's Jerry Lee Lewis "Take it! Take it awwlll!") he was okay in the acting department but only okay. This guy Jonathon Rhys-Meyers has some serious acting chops. I loved his work in this one and will keep an eye out for him in the future. (And isn't it ironic how both Quaids have gotten to be connected somehow to the Elvis legend?)

So to all the Elvis haters and those who tore this film down, you don't have a clue. This was a great movie and for TV was a bloody masterpiece.

I can't wait until this sucker is on DVD or video and I can buy a copy for my personal collection. Thank you CBS for this great present.

I enjoyed this two-part movie, but why oh why did they stop so abruptly at the 1968 comeback special? By doing so, they left out quite possibly the most interesting part of Elvis' life: His rise from the dead to become the world's preeminent performer once again. The years 1969-1973 were great ones for Elvis professionally and chaotic personally. If they wanted to stop short of showing his demise and death in 1977, they could have stopped at the 73' Satellite concert from Hawaii. Anyway, Meyers and Quaid were good as Elvis and the Colonel, respectively. Manheim was also convincing as Elvis' mom and Rose McGowan captured the raw sexual energy of Ann Margeret. However, the woman who played Priscilla was not very good. All in all, it is a very watchable portrayal, but it could have been better had they attempted to cover the "Vegas Years".

Riveting. Elvis is portrayed as a real human being with all the trials, tribulations, and temptations we all face. This movie shows what so many of us suspected all along: Elvis was misguided and mismanaged by the Colonel who kept Elvis from reaching his full singing and acting potential. We may never know the real genius of the King of Rock n' Roll. Sad, sad indeed! The character of Elvis comes through loud and clear. He pledged loyalty to the Colonel and maintained that loyalty at his own expense. This is the best Elvis movie since the Kurt Russell flick which was simply excellent.

Rev. James W. Clifton

Noting the rather high esteem given this production by IMDb voters, I wonder how many have ever seen the 1979 production "Elvis", starring Kurt Russell, and lovingly produced by Dick Clark. It is superior in every way to the 2005 film, but particularly in the performance of Russell, who may have done his finest work as an actor in recreating the "King". I am an Elvis fan, but not enough of a die-hard (I guess) to give a high rating to a movie, simply because of the subject matter. Perhaps the younger generation of Elvis fans have not had the opportunity to view the '79 version as it hasn't been made available on DVD. But, even if you have to lower yourself to an old VHS tape, you will find it well worth the effort !

This is one of the best Elvis biopics I have ever seen. Its gives a lot of great insight to things that Elvis was going through in his life that others may have not known about or had little knowledge on. I like how the movie starts and ends at the same time, with the middle telling the story how he got there. This film is like a movie and I think should have been released at theaters it is so good. It is better than normal made for TV movies. I've seen this movie so many times I just watch it whenever I get the chance. Anybody that has even a small interest in knowing about Elvis should buy this today, even if you're a longtime fan you'll enjoy it too. Jonathan Rhys Meyers did a better job than a lot of people give him credit for and the other characters were almost spot on. Great MOVIE! 10 out of 10!

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is a passable Elvis although I think he could have put on just a little weight which would have made him look even more like him. Elvis's face was never THAT skinny even when he was very young.

However having said that it is a good series that shows a lot of the early years when Elvis was starting out to become the major star he was. There were elements of his life that were left out but I suppose you can never cover everything.

Supporting cast are all reasonably good and the pace, direction and acting makes this a pretty good series.

I Watched Part 1 of Elvis last night, and was BLOWN away. Jonathan Rhys Meyers did an EXCELLENT job portraying The King. Everything down to his lip curl and southern drawl was displayed perfectly. Surprisingly, because JRM is Irish-born and didn't know much about Elvis in the first place.

The appearance is what got me at first. Sometimes I would look up at the TV screen and actually believe that Elvis himself was grinning back at me. They have really chosen a great actor to play him this time. Rhys Meyers' face, smile, hair, voice and demeanor all SCREAM OUT Elvis to me.

Both my mom and I were googly eyed during most of the 2 hours, and we were begging for more by the time 11 p.m. rolled around. I give this mini-series BOTH OF MY THUMBS UP and I can't wait, (and have no doubt) that Part 2 will be as intriguing as the first.

This biopic covers Elvis' life and career until his 1968 "Christmas comeback special". As such, it doesn't cover the period after, in which Elvis' his fame grew to even higher peaks and where his lifestyle completely grew out of hand.

The acting in this miniseries was quite okay. I though have to remark that the singing sessions and concerts were very badly acting from the actor that played Elvis. He was so obviously faking the singing that is was just hilarious to see. His movements were also very robotic and the way that he played the guitar in the "Christmas comeback special" was just a joke.

It is very unfortunate that this biopic covers only half of the story, It however still deaerves 7 stars.

I thought this would be a fantastic min i series, decent cast, and John Rhys Meyers kinda looks the role.

Soooo disappointed.

I mean John Rhys Meyers, i know he won an award for it and all that, but he was not very good IMHO. It got to the point where my sister and I had to stop watching. The story was fine, and the ideas worked, but the main performance was just appalling, and the lip syncing was even worse.

No the door is definitely still open for a decent Elvis movie or min series.

I have read some of the comments regarding the Elvis CBS mini series just aired and as someone who was close to Elvis for over 20 years it is disheartening to see the praise for this mini series, it's story, script and the midget who played Elvis. A midget in many aspects.

What we feared when we heard about the script has come to pass. These reviews point out to those of us who were close to him what we really were afraid of. That the general public would believe that pitiful story that was shown because the general public and many fans really don't know how it was.

Films like this do Elvis an injustice and along with the many discrepancies portrayed it once again portrayed Elvis as a wimpy, weak ass, whiny person when in fact he was a strong human being in many aspects of his life.

I was told by some Elvis fans who also disagree with you all on the brilliance of this movie about these reviews on this website and I was compelled to post here and respectfully inform you that the mini series was far from the reality of Elvis and all those years.

Thank you, Marty Lacker

Just as elections are ultimately all about the economy, casting in biopics is ultimately all about looks and physical resemblance, and, no matter how satisfactory the performance may be in various regards, it will, in the end, all hinge on that. Jonathan Rhys-Myers is, without doubt, a very handsome young man. On a scale of one to ten, he'd easily rate 9 - more than enough in any normal real-life situation (club, party, disco) to have the girls flocking around you like wasps around a honey pot (and, let's be honest, far too good-looking to play Henry VIII!).

Now here's the problem: the guy that he aims to portray, on the same 1-10 scale, was about a 14 - another league altogether, in which, basically, a 9 just doesn't cut it. Sorry, Jon, to have to be so brutally frank, but you can take comfort from the fact that what you're attempting is nigh-on impossible. Many other handsome Hollywood actors (most notably, Kurt Russell) have tried and failed even more miserably.

In fact, there is only one actor I can think of offhand who could convincingly portray Elvis Presley on screen. Sadly, however, he's been unavailable for about 33 years...

A true Elvis fan will appreciate the solid and outstanding effort by Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He was a natural choice for this project. Aside from the strong resemblance, he also found a way to speak and move like him. He doesn't over-do the accent or the moves. The supporting cast deserves a lot of credit as well, especially Camryn's portrayal of Gladys Presley. The story is very well written and flows nicely. Most fans will enjoy learning more details about the events in his life. The music is exciting too. You will hear the original master recordings as Jonathan performs and he stays true to the tone of the song. Without a doubt this mini-series will keep you captivated.

As a lifelong admirer and advocate of Elvis Presley, I wish to say that the story was quite enjoyable and would have educated younger generations of people as to what Elvis Presley achieved in his life up until the 1968 "Comeback" Special. Generally, the actors were terrific. I feel that the two most powerful performances came from Camryn Manheim, who gave an extraordinary and sympathetic portrayal of Elvis' mother, Gladys Presley..and from Randy Quaid, who was equally convincing as the greedy "Colonel". Also, Robert Patrick, was fine in his role as Elvis' daddy, Vernon Presley. Sadly, Elvis' strong-willed and much-loved Grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley, was virtually invisible in this story and, to me, the actor who took on the challenge of playing the world's greatest entertainer, failed miserably. Realising it is impossible to capture the beauty and the magic that was Elvis, I nonetheless found the portrayal to be "wooden", predictable and unconvincing...in an otherwise, good film.

I've just watched the first half of this on DVD and can't believe I've waited so long to see it! I've never been too bothered about Elvis - he died 6 years before I was born - but this fascinated me from the first 5 minutes. I'm a fan of Johnny Rhys-Meyers anyway and this is by far the best thing I've seen him in.

I bought the DVD as a Christmas present for an Elvis fan but I think I might have to get another copy for myself now, and borrow some of her other movies about/starring Elvis too.

I understand comments about the lip-syncing, but if Johnny can't pin down the accent while singing (he's a great singer in his own right) then rather that have him do an injustice. I'd like to have heard Elvis try and sing in a Cork accent ;)

I think that Johnny, plus the actress playing Mrs Presley and the actor as Colonel Parker have all done anastounding job here. The awards they won for it are well deserved. I can't wait to get home tonight and watch the second half.

I did not plan on watching this movie, but it happened to be on the television as I watched through the room. After watching for a few minutes I was hooked. When I saw the add for this movie I honestly did not think that someone from a different country could pull off a GOOD Elvis....But Johnathan Ryhs-Meyers does a great job. He has the accent, the moves and the lip syncing down. I did find the actress who plays Priscilla not to be as convincing. Priscilla is a very attractive women, and I found Antonia Bernath to be pretty but quite as striking. If the first part of this series airs again, it is certainly worth watching, if not for the good acting at least for the good music.

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is without doubt the most convincing Elvis since, well, the King himself. He looks like him, sounds like him (swell accent and Elvis's singing he lip-syncs flawlessly), and m-o-v-e-s like him! Simply fantastic work. Gorgeous raw talent at first blossoms before our eyes into the one and only Elvis. Rhys-Meyers is the first actor with the charisma to pull this off--it's a total, tour-de-force performance. Hope we see it on DVD! The brilliant script for this mini-series by Patrick Sheane Duncan and James Steven Sadwith (and directed by Sadwith) tells a spellbinding story, even the most extraordinary and outrageous aspects of the King's discovery are completely believable. John Lennon said it, "before Elvis there was nothing." This is the first time since Elvis himself we get to see what Lennon meant.

Part one of the CBS mini-series "Elvis" was better than I expected, but not as good as it could have been. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, while a good actor simply over exaggerated Elvis' southern drawl & lip curl and was too small in build & hight. It was nice having the real Elvis' singing voice, but the lip syncing was not convincing. And why did his hair always look like he just got out of the shower? Elvis' buddies use to kid him about all the time he spent sculpting his famous pompadour. Can't a Hollywood hair dresser come close the most iconic hair style in show-business?

That aside, the stand outs were Randy Quaid as Col. Tom Parker and Camryn Manheim as Gladys Presley. These two made the show worth watching. The actors playing Scotty Moore and Bill Black were as far off from the real thing as you could get.

As far as the story, it skipped too many important events in Elvis' career for only covering it up to 1958 (by the end of part 1). Besides several historical inaccuracies, it was not a bad story, and kept your interest. While not as good as the TV series of the same name in 1990 with Michael St. Gerard or the 1979 TV movie of the same name with Kurt Russell, it was miles better than most portrayals of the King's life (Elvis & The Beauty Queen, Elvis and The Col., Elvis Meets Nixon, Elvis and Me).

I do look forward to seeing the second half.

This guy is the best Elvis impersonator I have ever seen, I realize that he did not sing the songs, but he had the moves the actions, he looked like a young Elvis, I had the chance to see King Creole Sunday Morning on AMC and this boy looked just like Elvis did when that movie was made. CBS thanks for reminding us of how great a superstar Elvis Presley was , I was just a kid when he died , but I can remember watching the specials and I cried when he died. My mom got to see him at the Hayride, and tells me about her memories often. We need more movies like these, someone said it did not last long enough really fast while were watching it we could of watched all night.

Okay, I'll admit it. I never was much of an Elvis fan. The fact I was born just a year before he passed away, did not help things. See, I grew up with the phenomenon, the image of fat, bloated, hideously dressed man who sang and danced and apparently drove women crazy with lust. And with thanks to his many fans who'll sometimes do anything to maintain that image, I seriously started to doubt my own sanity when I could not find the one thing I'm always looking for when confronted with someone who's supposed to be a legend: a human being. So I had no idea why I felt I should be watching this particular bio-pic. But I'm glad I did. So what if Jonathan Rhys Meyers is not as tall as Elvis, so what if his lip-syncing is a little off every now and then? So what if his dancing is not as smooth or if his accent wavers sometimes? He brought vulnerability, sweetness, loyalty, generosity, insecurity and overall humanity to the man who was made into a King by his manager and fans. He showed me, finally, that Elvis was just an ordinary man with extraordinary musical talent, who put his faith in the wrong people. Like many had before him and like many will, even now. I was never much of an Elvis fan. Until I saw this. The King is dead, long live the King!

Elvis was a fascinating figure and remains so today. He basically invented Rock and Roll and was in my opinion the first true rock star. This movie does him a great credit. The actor who plays him looks and sounds very close to the way the real Elvis did. The use of actual songs sung by the real Elvis makes the movie all the better. This movie truly shows the pressures and troubles Elvis faced in his life. All in all it presents as a generous and good person, which he really was as sources say. Despite the drug dependency, Elvis was a great person who revolutionized music and set the stage for all performers to come. This movie is captivating and moving.