Elvis Aaron Presley, sold millions of albums worldwide until he met his demise on August 16, 1977 at 42.Elvis Aaron Presley, sold millions of albums worldwide until he met his demise on August 16, 1977 at 42.Elvis Aaron Presley, sold millions of albums worldwide until he met his demise on August 16, 1977 at 42.
Photos
Steve Allen
- Self
- (archive footage)
The Beatles
- Themselves
- (archive footage)
Hy Gardner
- Self
- (archive footage)
Tom Parker
- Self
- (archive footage)
Elvis Presley
- Self
- (archive footage)
Gladys Presley
- Self
- (archive footage)
Priscilla Presley
- Self
- (archive footage)
Vernon Presley
- Self
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Featured review
Biography's Elvis episode is strong in some areas, weak in others
This episode of A&E's Biography series, "Elvis Aaron Presley" (1993), offers a concise overview of Elvis Presley's life and career, from his childhood in Tupelo, Mississippi in the 1930s and '40s to his teenage years in Memphis, TN, adult career in Hollywood and, ultimately, his untimely death in 1977 at Graceland, his mansion in Memphis. The hour-long episode is strong on newsreel footage, including many press conferences Elvis gave over the decades, but weak on film clips and music. The only clips from Elvis' Hollywood movies that are used are all from trailers, which vary in quality from poor to adequate, with some trailers suffering from seriously faded color. (Later DVD box set releases have excellent quality trailers, indicating that the producers of this Biography segment used whatever they could get cheaply or for free. License fees do not have to be paid to the studios for clips from trailers.) Also, there isn't a single audio snippet of Elvis singing in the whole piece. The only song clips we get are pieces of country and gospel music early on that are used to give viewers a sense of the kinds of music Elvis listened to in his youth. Film clips of Elvis performing onstage are all taken from silent newsreel and fan-filmed footage. One backstage clip even includes shots of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly from a show where they all performed with Elvis, presumably before any of them were famous. The last performance clip seen was taken by a fan at Elvis' very last concert, performed in Rochester, NY on June 26, 1977, less than two months before Elvis died.
In terms of interview subjects, there is really only one celebrity filmed for this piece and that's Sam Phillips, the founder and manager of Sun Records, the Memphis-based label which released Presley's earliest recordings. The interviewee seen the most is Joe Esposito, who is identified as Elvis' army buddy and road manager. He was with Elvis during some of his most difficult periods and has a lot to say about Elvis' health and state of mind during those times, asking "How do you protect a 42-year-old man from himself?" Another interviewee of note is J.D. Sumner, a gospel singer who knew Elvis as an adolescent and often performed with him years later. He was the one asked by Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, to supervise the funeral arrangements for Elvis. On the departure of Elvis' wife, Priscilla, from Graceland, Sumner asserts that it was the lack of privacy in the house that drove her away, insisting to Elvis that "you should have had the bodyguards on the OUTSIDE of the house." Among the others interviewed are: Elaine Dundy, author of "Elvis and Gladys"; Bill E. Burk, publisher of "Elvis World"; Lance LeGault, Elvis' stunt double; and Joan Deary, a former executive with RCA Records, Elvis' label for most of his career. Dundy theorizes rather unconvincingly at one point that Elvis modeled his show biz look after that of comic book character Captain Marvel Jr., whose exploits Elvis followed as a child. There is an interview with William Booth, proprietor of the hardware store in Tupelo, MS, where Elvis' mother took him to buy his first guitar at the age of eleven. It's not clear if Booth was a witness to the encounter himself or if he's repeating a story told to him by an older family member.
Newsreel footage provides clips of many of Elvis' earliest public appearances, including a shot of him performing in Las Vegas with Liberace in 1956 and a clip of him on "The Steve Allen Show." We see scenes of him being inducted into the army and, later, arriving in Hawaii for a post-army concert which raised money for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. We also see footage of him at a charity event with Barbara Stanwyck (his co-star in ROUSTABOUT) and Frank Sinatra. The press conferences are interesting for the condescending and sometimes stupid questions frequently asked of him by middle-aged reporters and his deft manner of responding to them in ways that remind us of the humble soul Elvis remained over the years. When asked about how close his private self is to his public image, he responds, "The image is one thing, the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to the image." It's not the most comprehensive documentary about Elvis, but there is some good footage and we do hear from people who knew him before he got famous and saw him on intimate terms afterwards. As for the paucity of film and music clips, you can always seek out his movies and albums for yourself. Last I checked they were all readily available. I am posting this on January 8, 2015, which would have been Presley's 80th birthday.
In terms of interview subjects, there is really only one celebrity filmed for this piece and that's Sam Phillips, the founder and manager of Sun Records, the Memphis-based label which released Presley's earliest recordings. The interviewee seen the most is Joe Esposito, who is identified as Elvis' army buddy and road manager. He was with Elvis during some of his most difficult periods and has a lot to say about Elvis' health and state of mind during those times, asking "How do you protect a 42-year-old man from himself?" Another interviewee of note is J.D. Sumner, a gospel singer who knew Elvis as an adolescent and often performed with him years later. He was the one asked by Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, to supervise the funeral arrangements for Elvis. On the departure of Elvis' wife, Priscilla, from Graceland, Sumner asserts that it was the lack of privacy in the house that drove her away, insisting to Elvis that "you should have had the bodyguards on the OUTSIDE of the house." Among the others interviewed are: Elaine Dundy, author of "Elvis and Gladys"; Bill E. Burk, publisher of "Elvis World"; Lance LeGault, Elvis' stunt double; and Joan Deary, a former executive with RCA Records, Elvis' label for most of his career. Dundy theorizes rather unconvincingly at one point that Elvis modeled his show biz look after that of comic book character Captain Marvel Jr., whose exploits Elvis followed as a child. There is an interview with William Booth, proprietor of the hardware store in Tupelo, MS, where Elvis' mother took him to buy his first guitar at the age of eleven. It's not clear if Booth was a witness to the encounter himself or if he's repeating a story told to him by an older family member.
Newsreel footage provides clips of many of Elvis' earliest public appearances, including a shot of him performing in Las Vegas with Liberace in 1956 and a clip of him on "The Steve Allen Show." We see scenes of him being inducted into the army and, later, arriving in Hawaii for a post-army concert which raised money for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. We also see footage of him at a charity event with Barbara Stanwyck (his co-star in ROUSTABOUT) and Frank Sinatra. The press conferences are interesting for the condescending and sometimes stupid questions frequently asked of him by middle-aged reporters and his deft manner of responding to them in ways that remind us of the humble soul Elvis remained over the years. When asked about how close his private self is to his public image, he responds, "The image is one thing, the human being is another. It's very hard to live up to the image." It's not the most comprehensive documentary about Elvis, but there is some good footage and we do hear from people who knew him before he got famous and saw him on intimate terms afterwards. As for the paucity of film and music clips, you can always seek out his movies and albums for yourself. Last I checked they were all readily available. I am posting this on January 8, 2015, which would have been Presley's 80th birthday.
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- BrianDanaCamp
- Jan 8, 2015
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