Baz Luhrmann has found his perfect muse in Elvis: Presley's life and career have become the subject of a long tradition of mythmaking, and Luhrmann's EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert is the latest addition to this cinematic experience. The film is a collection of scraps, made fabulous by Luhrmann's bedazzled touch. It's a "cinematic experience," the continuation of a long tradition of mythmaking around Elvis Presley's life and career. The ballyhoo perfectly suits Luhrmann, a devoted maximalist who has found his muse in the long-dead "King."
EPiC is composed of leftover footage from pre-existing concert docs, restored from negatives acquired from the MGM vaults. The story Luhrmann tells about their acquisition is dramatic, involving researchers who traveled to archives "buried in underground salt mines in Kansas" to find a box of negatives. The salt mine bit is true, as is Luhrmann's privileged access to recorded interviews from the Graceland archives. However, much of what came out of Elvis' mouth took the form of sanitized soundbites, and EPiC does little to challenge the legend's main talking points.
Luhrmann paints Elvis as a ladies' man and lovable goofball who came alive on stage, where he proved himself to be a surprisingly versatile performer. His vocals are enhanced, as if to defend the singer against detractors. The editing of Luhrmann's film is sublime, with backstage moments being relatively calm and meditative, and performance sequences being manically paced. Over-the-top sets are another Luhrmann signature, and the filmmaker has found a spiritual soulmate in Elvis: The singer's own home, now preserved as a museum, is an overwhelming shrine to midcentury kitsch.
But what really ties Luhrmann and Elvis together is something deeper than aesthetic: They both believe in love. Luhrmann's earnest belief in "love conquering all" is a recurring theme in his movies, and Elvis sang some of the corniest—and the most beautiful—love songs of his era. Both of their artistic expressions are built on big feelings, expressed in dramatic, maximalist style. Elvis thought he looked great in those spangled bell-bottom jumpsuits, and with the power of his charisma behind them, he actually did. Baz Luhrmann unabashedly agrees.
