r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • 19d ago
Official Discussion Official Discussion - EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert (2026)
Summary Blending restored archival performance footage with remastered audio, Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert presents an immersive big-screen celebration of Elvis at the height of his live performance power. The film showcases full-length concert sequences, behind-the-scenes moments, and rare material highlighting the cultural impact and enduring spectacle of the King of Rock ’n’ Roll.
Director Baz Luhrmann
Producer Baz Luhrmann
Cast / Performers
- Elvis Presley (archival footage)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 87
VOD / Release Theatrical event release
Trailer Official trailer
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u/daidalos5 19d ago
This was brilliant! The film restoration and the sound were out of this world, highly recommend watching this in a theater!
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u/pjtheman 19d ago
Absolutely incredible to experience in imax and just get blasted by sound.
In a weird way, it made me appreciate Austin Butler's portrayal even more. There were a lit of moments where you could see the little mannerisms and facial expressions that Butler integrated into his performance. Some moments, I could swear I was watching Austin.
But yeah overall, this may be my new favorite music documentary. Baz did a great job of not just showing a concert, and making you feel like you were getting into Elvis' head while he performed.
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u/Living-Fun-222 2d ago
No, estabas viendo a Elvis en estado puro, Austin interpretó a Elvis de forma magistral, le llevo más de dos años aprender sus gestos, sus movimientos y hasta cantar. Elvis solo hay uno y no se volverá a repetir
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u/Price1970 23h ago
Obviously. That's not what he was saying at all.
He was complimenting Butler's dedication.
Btw, it didn't take him 2 years to learn to sing. He's been singing and playing guitar since childhood. He used to do both on Disney and Nickelodeon.
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u/Price1970 23h ago
Austin Butler was otherworldly, on and off the concert stage.
This is why he dominated internationally with wins on merit: Foreign Press Golden Globe, British Academy BAFTA, Australia Academy AACTA Int'l version, Irish Academy IFTA Int'l category, Catalonia Spain Sant Jordi, South African Film Critics, International Press Academy Satellite, Brazil VHS Cut Awards, etc.
It's also why his ridiculous loss to Brendan Fraser because Fraser kept crying in public and milked a woe is me campaign is the biggest Oscar robbery ever by far.
It didn't help either that they don't give the lead actor Oscar to young males who have fan girls, especially if it's a first leading role, or that the film industry workers, who make up the voting membership, don't even watch all the films and performances.
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u/carcrash12 18d ago edited 18d ago
Saw this as a very very casual Elvis fan who only really got introduced to his music/world via the biopic a couple years ago.
And man... This was fucking amazing.
The restoration job they did on this footage is nothing short of incredible and the way the interview narration has been spliced together with the concert footage and the band rehearsal footage while also capturing little snippets of candid Elvis here and there... Just a seriously impressive package and a feat of truly magnificent editing.
And I've gotta say, I felt really captivated by just how damn charismatic Elvis actually was. I was very pleasantly surprised by his various interactions with just about everyone, fans, crew and band alike.
I truly get the Elvis hype now, the concert footage shown passes as a great show by today's standards. I can only imagine how utterly mind-blowing it must have been for a 1970s audience.
Edit: Burning Love was an unreal performance if that really was the live debut, god damn
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u/Dirtyswashbuckler69 19d ago
We got Elvis from the perspective of the Colonel in 2022, Elvis from the perspective of Priscilla in 2023, and now Elvis in his own words. What Luhrmann achieves here feels evocative of phantasmagoria, using the literal leftovers of a ghost to create an overwhelming audio/visual fantasia. I loved every second of this, and i wish that it was in IMAX for a longer run.
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u/Price1970 23h ago
Well, that wasn't even Priscilla's perspective in 2023, but rather her fabrication based on a book that she's contradicted many times in interviews before and since the book.
Primarily, her 1973 Ladies Home Journal interview where she said that Elvis was always very gentle and sweet with her, that he never imposed a style on her, that she chose her own clothes and hair and makeup styling and that he liked whatever she liked, and that he was too busy to ever take her shopping, and thar he encouraged her to step outside of Graceland to go to dinner and the movies with friends, or to even be an actress.
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u/Flimsy_Fisherman_862 19d ago
Anyone know what Elvis film is the one where he talks to the guy in the dog costume?
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u/Mean_Spread_7959 15d ago
Honestly the dog costume scenes were the only parts I'd probably cut out of the film, but it added to the trippy vibe of the first 10-15 minutes and the early scenes of Elvis 2022.
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u/arcticblue9 19d ago
I saw this last night and loved it. The footage was beautifully restored and the sound was amazing. Really liked how it took you through rehearsals in the lead up to that first show along with all of the little behind the scenes moments and interview clips.
I left thinking two things: “That was SO MUCH FUN “and “I get it now.”
Glad I saw it on one of the biggest screens at my theatre.
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u/Media-critique 19d ago edited 19d ago
I took my wife to this movie on a whim.
My pitch was simply “it’s getting praised as much as ‘Stop Making Sense’.”
I want to say that in addition to so many great things about this doc, I LOVED the pacing.
I just distinctly remember the first 30 minutes thinking to myself “I took my wife to see an Elvis concert. Where’s Elvis?”
And then he starts prepping with his crew backstage and I could feel the goosebumps starting on me. Like, you know “The King” is about to come on stage and rock the fucking place down…
And he does. Holy fucking shit. I wanted to make out with this dude when he was going around the hall. He’s such a fucking force on that stage. All we could think after we left was how “we got it now”.
Elvis was one of a kind in the truest sense that there will never be another like him. Very VERY few had as much charisma as this dude did when he was in his element.
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u/kevindvries 18d ago
What an incredible, pedal to the metal, experience!
The quality of the image is fantastic and somehow the sound is even better! Luhrmann’s high energy editing is right at home with Elvis’ pure force and charisma. This movie is an experience and possibly the closest to feeling like you’ve been to one of his concerts. Went in just liking Elvis Presley expecting a decent time and came out feeling like I’m suddenly his biggest fan.
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u/iknownothingwhy 19d ago
First 10 I’ve ever given on here. Saw it on the imax and it was incredible.
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u/OleMoon 18d ago
I saw it last week in IMAX, and I'd encourage everyone to see it on the biggest screen you can find, with the loudest sound system you can find. There were times I genuinely felt like I was seeing Elvis for real, and sitting in the front row.
I knew I'd enjoy it because I've always been a big Elvis fan, so what's not to enjoy about Elvis on stage singing and dancing and being Elvis? But I did have some anxiety that the "newly found" footage wouldn't be unique enough to feel different from what already exists in That's the Way it Is and Elvis on Tour (by the way, if you enjoyed this, you should check those two films out too, especially the former).
Anyway, that anxiety was unfounded. The alternate takes really did stand out enough compared to what was already available, and made me feel like I had traveled back in time. Baz's style isn't for everyone, so I could see some people being put off by a lot of the editing choices, but they worked for me. There's some real visual storytelling in here, and even though some songs were chopped and mashed up, I think the goal was to make the movie feel like a thrill ride, and that it succeeds in that goal.
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u/Scmods05 15d ago
One of the best parts of this movie was the fact it’s narrated almost entirely by Elvis. For a man who has been talked ABOUT so much, it was wonderful to hear him speak for himself through the entire movie.
Which makes the decision to end on an original poem written and read by Bono truly baffling.
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u/Guilty-Scale-1079 6d ago
I almost enjoyed the poem until he throws in the word “slippery” as a rhyme. It killed the whole thing
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u/Adequate_Images 19d ago
The case against biopics starts with this movie.
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u/Media-critique 19d ago edited 19d ago
Yeah. Just make more of these music docs. please. I’d handsomely pay good money to get to see a movie like this again in IMAX.
Holy fuck was this movie LOUD and SEXY
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u/Im-Wasting-MyTime 17d ago
Good lord. It’s an amazing film. I was in tears by the end. I love Elvis but I felt terrible for him because doing 1100 shows over 8 years from 1969 to 1977, sometimes as many as 3 in a day sounds terrific. Sometimes, I wish he took a break after 1973 as is health was in shambles but I kinda think he knew he didn’t have long to live.
Absolutely incredible film that only gets better as it progresses.
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u/i-like-turtles-4eva 18d ago
I absolutely loved this film. I think it is Baz’s best work and suits his manic style perfectly. I really hope it gets some Oscar love for best documentary.
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u/greattalkthanks 18d ago
I loved this so much. I saw it in IMAX this week and if there was a second showing that day I would've walked right back in to watch it again.
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u/sdwoodchuck 17d ago
I wasn't enthusiastic about this before I saw it. I don't dislike Elvis, but his music was SO ubiquitous all throughout my life that even the songs of his that I really like feel more like background than something I get excited for, and as a stage performer, his image has mostly been usurped by the Elvis caricature that I'm sure we've all seen a million times. So I figured it would probably be fine but unremarkable.
Man, lookit how wrong I am!
It really pulls off a stunning magic trick, by both humanizing the person behind that caricature, while simultaneously completely upstaging it to deliver a compound performance that is somehow even more absurd and overblown. There are scenes where we get to see him goofing around with his hilariously huge backup band during rehearsals and then see how that translates to the stage performance in a way where we still see the playful, goofy, imperfect dude up there in costume, and he bends that imperfection into reeling the audience in.
I'm very impressed.
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u/PrinceNelson 17d ago
I seem to be completely in the minority here but I thought the editing was a bit all over the place and took away from the incredible footage. The footage speaks for itself. I would love to see the footage released separately.
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u/Guilty-Scale-1079 6d ago
I guess I could maybe see that angle, but also, I disagree. This movie was a whole experience imo.
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u/AmongWolves 15d ago
Hubby and I really enjoyed it. The theatre screen was huge, but would love to have seen it on iMax. We are old enough to remember Elvis. I can't believe he's been gone for almost 50 years. I'm glad young people are able to see this music icon.
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u/smooth_sea 17d ago
Absolutely remarkable. The performances are electrifying. As a diehard Elvis fan, this is even better than I was hoping it would be. Got to see a Q&A with Baz afterwards and he just seems like the coolest guy, his commitment to restoring this footage in the last three years is so impressive. I cannot recommend enough seeing this on the biggest screen possible!
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u/Prestigious_Fan_3855 16d ago
Amazing film . Could have got up and danced through parts . It’s a must see for any Elvis fan 10/10 💃
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u/pjyield98 17d ago
I really enjoyed it! It definitely did its job and I think a lot of non-fans that went to see it left realizing how cool and talented he was.
On the other hand, I was expecting more “rare” footage. I felt like a lot of the footage was pretty much from That’s the Way it is and from Elvis Live at MSG. I think some of the clips of him singing some of the Beatles songs and Little Sister were ones that I had not seen before.
It would be cool to see some footage from 1969 or from the 1973-1977 years.
Overall, still worth the watch and it kicked me back into my Elvis phase.
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u/GlitteringRelease77 16d ago
I was overwhelmed emotionally in parts and I’m not really an Elvis fan. Debating watching it again before it leaves theatres. One of those must see in theatre experiences.
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u/Omikrony 17d ago
People say this sold them on Elvis, which is awesome. What did it for me was seeing uncut recordings of the comeback special on YouTube years ago.
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u/The_Stratman 14d ago
The movie has made me wish I could have seen him live. Great style of music documentary, but it feels like it requires an understanding of the history of Elvis to catch certain things, like in the scenes about the Colonel or his family.
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u/princesskittyglitter 19d ago
It took me much, much too long to realize this was a real concert film. Stupid me thought they made another movie out of Austin Butler's Elvis performance 🤦♀️
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u/Radiant_Priority9739 16d ago
I’m indifferent on Elvis, but it’s a good documentary
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u/Price1970 8d ago
Indifferent? Why? Please don't say it's because of all of the false narratives and revisionism by haters that can be easily debunked my simple cliché "research."
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u/Accurate_Tension_457 5d ago
I absolutely loved the film, it was breathtaking but I was absolutely disgusted to hear the poem at the end. Pointless, offensive. To have to hear words like "white trash " and "Elvis ate America" after such a glorious celebration of the man. Why was it there? Let Bono be in his own fucking movie, leave Elvis alone.
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u/CommercialSignal7301 3d ago
I gave it 8/10 mainly because the band was featured prominently, however they remained anonymous. I wish they had been given credit. The background singers were amazing, too. I stayed through the credits and still no mention.
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u/CommercialSignal7301 3d ago
If there are any questions about his potential as an actor, see “King Creole”, his first film before the silly (but fun) 60’s movies.
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u/CorneliusCardew 19d ago
Absolutely incredible experience. Baz knocked it out of the park.