What Elvis Concert Footage?

[nabelt24]

If they opened a vault and found professional footage of 4 COMPLETE concerts, only thought to be captured on audio, which would you hope they would be? Not just snipets spliced together, but the whole shows captured on pro film, mixed with audio and distributed.

Mine are:

1969 Opening Show
1972 Madison Square Garden (ALL SHOWS)
1974 Memphis Concert (ALL SHOWS)
1976 New Years Eve in Pittsburgh

[Tony Trout]

Yeah, those shows would be great but...since we know that they weren't filmed professionally...

[nabelt24]

Yeah, those shows would be great but...since we know that they weren't filmed professionally...well...

Tony, I know they weren't filmed, but I'm asking you to use your imagination and pretend there was a chance they were filmed! Which ones would you love to see???

[Tony Trout]

Tony, I know they weren't filmed, but I'm asking you to use your imagination and pretend there was a chance they were filmed! Which ones would you love to see???


If I had to pick I'd pick all of them but the 12/31/76 Pittsburgh, PA concert....

*waits for rocks to be thrown in my general direction*

[Albert]

YouTube - Elvis Presley- Movies

[Albert]

I like this clip ;)

YouTube - Elvis Presley - In the Ghetto

[Dudcowboy_1]

Ok I gotta be honest on this....Ok elvis performed for first time in his home town in 1974....do you honestly think some professional film crew or etc. Would let it pass by? I remember one of his friends say "there was never NOT a camrea on Elvis" in the 70s either Film Crew, New Crew, etc.

Love to all,
Tim

[hounddog]

1969 opening show
1970 anything with CC rider as non opening song
MSG
and a Lake Tahoe show

[hounddog]

1969 opening show
1970 anything with CC rider as non opening song
MSG
and a Lake Tahoe show

[LtCarman]

1969 Opening show and the MSG shows.

[nabelt24]

1969 opening show
1970 anything with CC rider as non opening song
MSG
and a Lake Tahoe show


It would be cool to see a Lake Tahoe show!!!

[rocknroll]

Overton Park Shell
'61 Hawaii concert
July 1969 opening
MSG 1972

[KPM]

I go for the 1969 opening show or anything from that first month.
As far as pro filmed footage-I do think someone has a lot of pro footage for one of the MSG shows. Jonas Mekas filmed at one of these he is a professional filmaker-he was not working on official project for The Col. or any big studio but he was given permission to film by someone and he won an award for his short film "Mozart and Elvis"
Tony and Getlo- I know do not agree on this.
http://www.jonasmekas.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=2&Category_Code=JMW&Product_Count=2

Exactly how much he filmed is the question.

Also other clips have been used at ABC and NBC in their newsmagazine shows which show pro shot footage from MSG.
But I agree that- until it surfaces in its totality -who filmed it and how much is the question.

[Jumpsuit Junkie]

My selection would be:-

Any concert from August 1969 (plus some rehearsal footage would be cool)

18 Nov 1972, Elvis in Honolulu wearing the Black Conquistador, he looks so cool!

MSG is a no brainer

Perhaps a show from either 1974/75 rather than Elvis in Concert from 1977 :hmm:

[nabelt24]

My selection would be:-

Any concert from August 1969 (plus some rehearsal footage would be cool)

18 Nov 1972, Elvis in Honolulu wearing the Black Conquistador, he looks so cool!

MSG is a no brainer

Perhaps a show from either 1974/75 rather than Elvis in Concert from 1977 :hmm:


I agree! The 1972 Honolulu concert would be fantastic to see!!!

[elvispresleytheking]

There is fairly great quality of the pittsburgh show, so I wouldn't to it.
Mine would be:
69 Opening (duh)
11/11/71 Cincinnatti, OH
3/20/74 Memphis, TN
8/19/74 OS, LV, NV

[Unchained Melody]

Anything from 1969.
The houston astrodome shows from Februrary 1970, as they were the first shows Elvis had performed out on the road in 13 years or so.
Madison Square Garden, any of the four shows.
Last but not least, I would go with June 26th 1977 Indianapolis, the final farewell show.

[Getlo]

Ok I gotta be honest on this....Ok elvis performed for first time in his home town in 1974....do you honestly think some professional film crew or etc. Would let it pass by?

Elvis had performed in Memphis many times prior to 1974. And no, the 1974 shows were not filmed in any professional way.


As far as pro filmed footage-I do think someone has a lot of pro footage for one of the MSG shows. Jonas Mekas filmed at one of these he is a professional filmaker. Tony and Getlo- I know do not agree on this.

No, we do not. Mekas is basically full of crap. While his footage may have been filmed with a decent camera, his footage can not - repeat NOT! - be considered "professional" in any way.

He - along with several other collectors (like Christian) - have been saying for years that they either have in their possession or have seen more professional footage ... from many shows ... but of course as soon as they are challenged on it, they clam up. They can't even offer a still screen grab just to shut people up. Nothing. Nada. Nix. Nil.

After all these years, if more pro-shot footage existed, we'd have seen at least a couple of seconds of it by now, after so many years. But no, we have not.

Remember, "professional" strictly refers to MGM, or TV crews. Therefore, the only genuinely professionally-filmed shows were TTWII, On Tour, Aloha and In Concert.

The only remote possibility - and this is very remote, ie non existent - is footage from Phoenix in September 1970. The TTWII crews were there to film crowd shots only, some of which made it into the final film.


Also other clips have been used at ABC and NBC in their newsmagazine shows which show pro shot footage from MSG.

The NBC MSG TV footage in question is very (very) good quality, but there is no evidence at all (save for people's opinions and anecdotes) that it was done by an actual NBC TV crew. As I said, it's good quality but it is not from a TV crew, no matter what sites like www.msg.com say.

For those that have not seen it:
YouTube - NBC Footage Elvis at the Garden

From one angle, from the side and many rows back, zooming in and out constantly, no sound and somewhat out of focus. Sorry, but this is not of NBC TV quality.

KNBC did film (without sound) a precious few opening minutes of one of the shows in Vegas in August 1972.

But to the original question, my four complete video concerts would be:

Memphis, 1961
Hawaii, 1961
Vegas, July 31, 1969
MSG, 1972 (any show)

[Tony Trout]

Elvis had performed in Memphis many times prior to 1974. And no, the 1974 shows were not filmed in any professional way.

Correct. If they had been, they would've surfaced by now.





No, we do not. Mekas is basically full of crap. While his footage may have been filmed with a decent camera, his footage can not - repeat NOT! - be considered "professional" in any way.

He - along with several other collectors (like Christian) - have been saying for years that they either have in their possession or have seen more professional footage ... from many shows ... but of course as soon as they are challenged on it, they clam up. They can't even offer a still screen grab just to shut people up. Nothing. Nada. Nix. Nil.

After all these years, if more pro-shot footage existed, we'd have seen at least a couple of seconds of it by now, after so many years. But no, we have not.

Remember, "professional" strictly refers to MGM, or TV crews. Therefore, the only genuinely professionally-filmed shows were TTWII, On Tour, Aloha and In Concert.

The only remote possibility - and this is very remote, ie non existent - is footage from Phoenix in September 1970. The TTWII crews were there to film crowd shots only, some of which made it into the final film.

Exactly. If they have seen the footage or they have this footage themselves, I think it's only fair that they 'come up with the goods' and stop lying to people.

Regarding the Phoenix footage, didn't that footage include just the crowd applauding - or am I mistaken?




NBC did film (without sound) a precious few opening minutes of one of the shows in Vegas in August 1972.

I remember seeing this footage (I think) and I may even have it on a compilation DVD but I'd have to look through the nearly 165 DVDs/VCDs that I have.




But to the original question, my four complete video concerts would be:

Memphis, 1961
Hawaii, 1961
Vegas, July 31, 1969
MSG, 1972 (any show)

I agree with these choices. (y)(y)

[Getlo]

Regarding the Phoenix footage, didn't that footage include just the crowd applauding - or am I mistaken?

All reports and indicators suggest that it was only audience and miscellaneous stuff. But you never know.

Besides, had Phoenix been filmed, some of it would've ended up in the endless stream of TTWII outtakes over the years and the new Complete Works set. But there was none. Sadly.


I remember seeing this (1972) footage (I think) and I may even have it on a compilation DVD but I'd have to look through the nearly 165 DVDs/VCDs that I have.

The KNBC stuff from 1972 was on YouTube a while back, but it's not there anymore. It was part of a quite lengthy piece about Elvis conquering Vegas again.

***

And another point re concert footage that needs reiterating.

Newspaper reviews of Elvis concerts always mention film cameras being present if they indeed were.

So the reviews from the four shows in April 1972 that were filmed in their (almost) entirety for On Tour make mention of the cameras.

So do reviews from Honolulu in '73. And Omaha and Rapid City from '77.

But no other reviews whatsoever mention cameras, which - if cameras were present at other shows besides those above - seems to defy logic.

[KPM]

Elvis had performed in Memphis many times prior to 1974. And no, the 1974 shows were not filmed in any professional way.



No, we do not. Mekas is basically full of crap. While his footage may have been filmed with a decent camera, his footage can not - repeat NOT! - be considered "professional" in any way.

He - along with several other collectors (like Christian) - have been saying for years that they either have in their possession or have seen more professional footage ... from many shows ... but of course as soon as they are challenged on it, they clam up. They can't even offer a still screen grab just to shut people up. Nothing. Nada. Nix. Nil.

After all these years, if more pro-shot footage existed, we'd have seen at least a couple of seconds of it by now, after so many years. But no, we have not.

Remember, "professional" strictly refers to MGM, or TV crews. Therefore, the only genuinely professionally-filmed shows were TTWII, On Tour, Aloha and In Concert.

The only remote possibility - and this is very remote, ie non existent - is footage from Phoenix in September 1970. The TTWII crews were there to film crowd shots only, some of which made it into the final film.



The NBC MSG TV footage in question is very (very) good quality, but there is no evidence at all (save for people's opinions and anecdotes) that it was done by an actual NBC TV crew. As I said, it's good quality but it is not from a TV crew, no matter what sites like www.msg.com say.

For those that have not seen it:
YouTube - NBC Footage Elvis at the Garden (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6gGNYX3b7Q)

From one angle, from the side and many rows back, zooming in and out constantly, no sound and somewhat out of focus. Sorry, but this is not of NBC TV quality.

KNBC did film (without sound) a precious few opening minutes of one of the shows in Vegas in August 1972.

But to the original question, my four complete video concerts would be:

Memphis, 1961
Hawaii, 1961
Vegas, July 31, 1969
MSG, 1972 (any show)
Well then you and I agree-we disagree.;):)
As far as the Mekas footage I agree his weird way of editing is horrid-but that editing had to come from original footage he shot at that concert-so regardless of his editing he has good footage-he is a professional filmmaker.
You and I will always disagree on what professional footage means-I could care less if its an approved project-MGM, Aloha etc .....but I do care if it was shot with a Brownie camera or with professional equipment by someone who makes his living making films. The crispness of picture is all I am concerned with.
Is Mekas a professional filmmaker-yes.
Did he film at an Elvis concert-yes.
Was the film crisp clean and clear-yes.
Did he edit it "horribly" in his avante garde style yes I agree.
Was his filming part of a sanctioned project-NO
Does not being a sanctioned project change the fact that he, by profession, is an award winning filmmaker, who filmed at an Elvis concert and got good clear footage-NO
As far as whether the NBC footage is from a film crew-that is debateable.
But lets say for sake of argument that it is definitely not NBC-I do not really care-someone has great clear footage-too many varying clips like this have turned up on NBC and ABC since the 80s in the US-I really do not care if it was someone like Mekas who somehow got a 16mm camera in and recorded-it is great clear footage.
Estimates by many (including Tunzi whos comments I have posted before)say its about 40 minutes
Does anyone really care if its NBC, ABC, or whatever-its great footage.
I am not rooting against this footage-nomatter who filmed it or who owns it or how it you want to be classify it.

[KPM]

Let me add that if I had not personally seen the clips during the 1980s
Some of "Polk Salad Annie," "some of the opening", some of Proud Mary, some of "Youve Lost that Lovin Feeling" I would not think so much good clear footage exists somewhere. But I saw it on 20/20 -on NBC newsmagazine primetime specials, I even saw some last year on the TV Guide channel around New Years-they had a couple differing clips like the ones I mention above as lead in and lead outs for this hour long show which I stumbled into as I surfed the tv-I only saw the last 15 minutes but I had never seen these before.
Again I don't care how it was filmed-matters not at all, call it whatever you want-its clear and crisp. I don't think anyone here would turn down watching 35-or 40 minutes of great unseen clear well shot footage no matter the how and the why.

I did not mean to start a huge debate as we have gone over this before-I just wanted in my original post to say-I do not automatically think there is not some pro shot footage-because it has still not surfaced. How many things in the Elvis world were said not to exist-or were total surprises when they surfaced. For that matter how many things in the world in general said to be lost or non existence-surface after discovery out of nowhere.