The Golden Globe-winning chronicle of Presley's whirlwind 15-cities/15-nights 1972 tour. The 25+ numbers embrace the rocker Elvis, the gospel Elvis, the ballad Elvis, even the kung-fu Elvis. Between performances, montage sequences (supervised by Martin Scorsese) showcase Presley's early career and movies.
Where are the talking heads and fancy graphics? Elvis on Tour features neither of those in
abundance;
rather than fill up time with fluff, this back-to-basics Documentary is instead a masterpiece of the
medium at its finest, an honest glimpse into one of Elvis Presley's mega-tours that took the star on
a whirlwind
15-day, 15-city extravaganza of sight, sound, and screaming fans only years before his death. This
is
The King in the raw, and
while the film is constructed primarily of concert footage, it relays so much more about its subject
through the way it frames the star and captures the essence of what it must have been like to be
The
King of Rock 'N' Roll to a far greater effect than any collection of self-satisfying pontificators ever
could. Elvis on
Tour works as both an entertaining 90-some minutes with Elvis as he performs several of his
biggest hits, but it's the film's other strength -- it's fascinating journey into the world behind the
loud jumpsuits, the gaudy sunglasses, and the hyper-excited of fans -- that truly makes it not just
worth
watching, but treasuring. This is Elvis like he's never been heard -- or seen -- before.
Thank you very much.
The Golden Globe-winning Elvis on Tour thrives on the energy of The King's music but it
succeeds in its power to dig beyond the superficial by, mostly, doing little more than showing Elvis
being Elvis. Directors Robert Abel and Pierre Adidge capture his dedication to his craft, the
difficulties
he faced in fame, and, below the surface, his declining health, all through the prism of his music.
Elvis on Tour takes a visually compelling, audibly enthralling, and emotionally challenging
look
at a snapshot of The King's life at a point when he was an international icon of music, sex appeal,
and
cinema. His was what some may consider the dream life, but as with most things that seem too
good
to be true, Elvis on Tour captures the shadowy dark side of fame that would greatly
contribute to his dwindling health and inability to perform at peak levels. Still, his fame grew
beyond
the man; his name and all it stood for, it seems, became bigger than his talent. Even when he had
to defer to a cheat sheet to sing "Burning Love," it didn't matter to his throngs of fans who would
openly weep at the mere sight and sound of him. That was Elvis, a man in body but something
greater in name and stature, elevated beyond the capacity of the body, mind, and soul to
withstand the pressures of godliness.
"I've never gotten over what they call 'stage fright.'" If there's a more revealing quote that
identifies the man behind the fame, it hasn't yet been unearthed. Consider a man bigger than the
President of the United States, bigger than the greatest sports hero, bigger, perhaps to some, than
Christ Himself. Elvis Presley was adored by millions, and for many of them, seeing him was
something
akin to a spiritual experience, an awakening of the mind, body, and soul brought about by an image
that had become greater than a man and his God-given talent. It was an allure quite unlike
anything anyone had seen or experienced before. He was a man who made his
living performing on stage, surrounded by people, and rolling in money, yet he never did adjust to
being on that stage and performing in front of those people who saw something in him that,
maybe, he didn't see in himself. "The first time that I appeared on stage, it scared me to death. I
really didn't know what the yelling was all about. I didn't realize that my body was moving. It's a
natural thing to me. So to the manager backstage I said, 'What'd I do? What'd I do?' And he said,
'Whatever it is, go back and do it again.'" Elvis on Tour captures the essence of a man
determined to put on a great show in spite of his fears and uncertainty as to what, exactly, he did
that got people so excited. The film portrays him not as spoiled celebrity but as a down-to-earth
"good old boy" who loved music and, it would seem, preferred singing Gospel tunes with a close
group of friends to his stage work.
The main attraction here is Elvis and his music, but Elvis on Tour also frames The King
within a nicely-constructed technical presentation. With several montage elements handled by a
then-up-and-coming Director named Martin Scorsese and a dynamic split-screen style that
dominates the picture's visual scheme, Elvis on Tour's visuals are almost as lively as its
music, and it does a
wonderful job of capturing the mayhem surrounding The King both on- and off-stage throughout
the film. The juxtaposition that sees Elvis in action versus fans who cannot help but to become
physically overwhelmed by the emotion of the experience delivers a captivating viewpoint and
further reinforces the one-of-a-kind atmosphere that surrounded Elvis not only on this tour but no
doubt at most every show of his career. The picture also delivers a more traditional full-frame
structure during some of the more relaxed moments, but that split-screen effect does wonders for
the documentary that probably couldn't have been achieved by assembling the picture with a more
generic appearance. Elvis on Tour really is as simple as its name suggests, and it's that
simplicity that makes the
production a success. This isn't a fluffy made-for television-type Documentary; it's an honest, raw,
and
captivating glimpse into the life of a man who had become something more, an icon, a god to
some, a
way of life. It's music and heart, a fitting tribute to The King of Rock 'N' Roll.
Elvis on Tour boasts a 1080p transfer that's of a relatively high quality, though there's no
mistaking that this is a Blu-ray sourced from older and visually-rough elements. The image shows
some wear and tear but nevertheless benefits from the 1080p boost; underneath the thick veneer of
grain lies an image that fluctuates between steadily sharp and abundantly soft, though much of the
material falls into some satisfying middle ground that seems appropriate, even on Blu-ray, given the
style of the film and the era in which it was produced. Colors aren't aggressively vibrant but they're
steady and honest, particularly as seen on the flashier clothes The King sports throughout the movie.
Additionally, black levels are nicely absorbing but not detrimental to surrounding details. Fine detail is
solid, too, given the look and feel of the image in its natural state. Nothing's razor-sharp or all that
lifelike, but Warner's transfer does boast what is, overall, a very pleasant film-like texture. The best
way to describe Elvis on Tour? It's a transfer with character, and no doubt fans will adore
Warner's efforts with this classic title, source-inherent warts and all.
Elvis on Tour belts out a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that hits all the right notes but
fumbles some of the lesser elements scattered about the mix. Much of the track is quite satisfying,
with the music enjoying a rather smooth, effortless presentation that spills out from all over the
soundstage. It's a nicely immersive experience, even if it does lack the crispness and clarity found in
the better soundtracks. Dialogue is focused straight up the middle with no wiggle room out to the
sides, save for some instances where words nicely reverberate about the soundstage during some
pre-show testing sessions. Outside of the music, though, the track captures a mushy, indistinct tone;
screaming fans come across as particularly troublesome, sometimes sounding like a tape recording
played back in a tin can.
Additionally, the track sludges through some audible hissing at various points through the film. No
matter, though; Elvis on Tour delivers a quality track where it counts. There are better Elvis
recordings out there, but Warner's DTS lossless presentation is a decent enough companion to the film.
Elvis on Tour is a complete package of sight and sound, entertainment value, and historical
relevance. Not only does it make for an exceptional companion piece for serious Elvis aficionados, but
it's also a fantastic starting point for music lovers just now discovering the music and the man behind,
arguably, the entertainment industry's most important figure of all time. Warner Brothers'
handsome Digibook release is absent any on-disc extras, but the disc sports a seemingly faithful 1080p
transfer and a lossless soundtrack that does all it can with the natural elements. Recommended.
Warner Home Video has announced the Blu-ray release of Elvis on Tour, the Golden Globe-winning documentary that followed Elvis Presley on a 15-city tour of the United States in 1972, for August 3. Video has been remastered in high definition with 2.40:1 letterboxed ...
