Doesn?t The King deserve a good movie about his life ?

[Donut]

I?m wondering long time ago why nobody has bothered making a good movie about Elvis :cursing: , more after watching "Ray" and "Walk the Line"...
I know they made "Elvis-The movie" but i think it was a bad quality movie and i can?t understand why all that films and series seem to focus on how the others in Elvis life suffered living with him and completely avoid to tell what he did for them or for others he didn?t even know. Do they think we get all that stuff because we want to know or understand what are their reasons to act the way they do now in all concerning Elvis ? (n) I couldn?t care less, i just want to see a film that will make Elvis justice and show him to the world like he deserves, the better entertainer the world will ever know and the reasons why the whole world felt in love with him. What do you all think ?:hmm:

[Dovey]

I think you are absolutely right!!!

He was the greatest singer the world had ever known.... and they never made a good movie about his life.... How sad is that?????

Elvis did so many good things in his life and yet they can not make a great movie about a great man.... Nobody has ever even came close to the magnitude of his singing yet people do not give him his due respect. :hmm: :hmm:

Maybe it is because of some of the people who have been running Graceland for years?? :doh: :hmm: Only a guess.... but being a Elvis Fan... I am also a Johnny Cash Fan and they did not show much of negative side of him. Johnny was good but Elvis was by far the best. Dovey

[Donut]

Maybe it is because of some of the people who have been running Graceland for years??
I agree with you 100% Dovey, it seems they are more interested in keeping clean their own image than showing Elvis? good actions, big contribution to music and love for people. How sad is that .... hopefully time will place those people where they really deserve.

[franny]

I?m wondering long time ago why nobody has bothered making a good movie about Elvis :cursing: , more after watching "Ray" and "Walk the Line"...
I know they made "Elvis-The movie" but i think it was a bad quality movie and i can?t understand why all that films and series seem to focus on how the others in Elvis life suffered living with him and completely avoid to tell what he did for them or for others he didn?t even know. Do they think we get all that stuff because we want to know or understand what are their reasons to act the way they do now in all concerning Elvis ? (n) I couldn?t care less, i just want to see a film that will make Elvis justice and show him to the world like he deserves, the better entertainer the world will ever know and the reasons why the whole world felt in love with him. What do you all think ?:hmm:

I've always wondered that myself...Why is it so difficult to make a good, high-budget movie about Elvis when others are getting that...Is it so impossible?
Elvis does deserve that honour and not that tv "movie" that was on last year, that was more a joke and an insult to Elvis...It was ridiculous!

franny

[Cryogenic]

I feel that those aforementioned films are distinguished more by their acting than their construction.

A film about Elvis -- a real motion picture -- would be a massive undertaking and a towering achievement.

I don't think it will ever happen.

Yes: Elvis "deserves" one, if deserves is the right word. These things are all relative. On the one hand, if prominent, but smaller figures, like Johnny Cash and Ray Charles have had films made about them, the question immediately springs to mind: why not Elvis? On the other hand, however, it's precisely because those other people are smaller figures that they have had films made about them -- to put the word out. Elvis is already much bigger than they will ever be. He just doesn't need that kind of exposure. And, out of the two sets (Elvis and the rest), I'd rather "the rest" have their shot -- because Elvis is huge in his own right and endures regardless.

There is also the much bigger issue of trying to encapsulate one man's life -- particularly a contradictory person's like Elvis -- in a two or three hour canvas of light and sound. How do you tell a good story and tell it well? How do you distill the essence of it? How do you preserve the essential truth? How do you retain verisimilitude, and not just verisimilitude, but actual truth? How do you make an artistic picture with its own layers, themes and rhythms? The greatest biopics, perhaps the only great ones, are "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Amadeus" -- and both those pictures succeed by using their subjects as starting points and weaving greater ideas from them (in other words, those two films are not really about what they're about; they're about how they're about them).

The essential problem is this: Elvis' REAL LIFE STORY is endlessly more fascinating than any film about him ever could be.

[robman]

it's incredible that he was the most famous celebrity in the world's
history but they haven't made a good movie about him!
anyway there's this movie called "bubba ho-tep" which is about old elvis
fighting a mummy. the movie is actually very good and very funny!

[Unchained Melody]

I agree, it is about time they made an Elvis movie that was actually pretty truthfull and good also. To me, out of all of the movies that have been made about Elvis' life so far my favorite is Elvis Starring Kurt Russel.

[Menwithbrokenhearts]

I feel that those aforementioned films are distinguished more by their acting than their construction.

A film about Elvis -- a real motion picture -- would be a massive undertaking and a towering achievement.

I don't think it will ever happen.

Yes: Elvis "deserves" one, if deserves is the right word. These things are all relative. On the one hand, if prominent, but smaller figures, like Johnny Cash and Ray Charles have had films made about them, the question immediately springs to mind: why not Elvis? On the other hand, however, it's precisely because those other people are smaller figures that they have had films made about them -- to put the word out. Elvis is already much bigger than they will ever be. He just doesn't need that kind of exposure. And, out of the two sets (Elvis and the rest), I'd rather "the rest" have their shot -- because Elvis is huge in his own right and endures regardless.

There is also the much bigger issue of trying to encapsulate one man's life -- particularly a contradictory person's like Elvis -- in a two or three hour canvas of light and sound. How do you tell a good story and tell it well? How do you distill the essence of it? How do you preserve the essential truth? How do you retain verisimilitude, and not just verisimilitude, but actual truth? How do you make an artistic picture with its own layers, themes and rhythms? The greatest biopics, perhaps the only great ones, are "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Amadeus" -- and both those pictures succeed by using their subjects as starting points and weaving greater ideas from them (in other words, those two films are not really about what they're about; they're about how they're about them).

The essential problem is this: Elvis' REAL LIFE STORY is endlessly more fascinating than any film about him ever could be.

Beautifully said, Cryognic! I believe you hit the proverbial "nail on the head".

Elvis' life is so layered and multi-faceted, I don't know how anyone could ever get close to telling it the " right " way in that format. The only production, in my opinion, that came close was the documentary " The definitive Elvis" and that is what, 13 hours long? This may be the only way anyone will ever be able to tell the story without it coming across as fractured, shallow and contrived.

Thanks again, Cryogenic, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your response. :notworthy

[Albert]

Didn't they have a Johny Cash soundalike for the "Walk The Line Movie"? If so, I prefer not to have a Elvis movie, when they don't have the rights to use the original music.

And I'm so sick and tired of all those standard, one-dimensional, gimmick versions of Elvis that I've seen over the years in movies and series. The dumb, weird looking, doggy-eyes, hardly-understandable-when-talking.... we've seen so many sad versions..... I have no faith in Hollywood that they can do a really good movie... there's too much to loose.

[jak]

Dont hold your breath waiting for a big budget movie about Elvis.His life story is so well known that people behind these kind of projects probably wouldnt think it would be financially rewarding.An undertaking like that would have to appeal to the general public not just fans.Every time somebody plays him they pretty much come off as a clown and that causes the film to lose credibility.Ive never seen anybody do Elvis justice by playing him.He was just to unique.The Cash film came out at the right time and had A list actors and resulted in a homerun.Look at the way Elvis was portrayed in that film.A french fry eating pill popper who got Cash hooked on pills which was all crap.I wish our guy would get his due but im doubtfull.
Jak

[ForeverTheKing]

My personal opinion is that he surely deserves a very good movie about his life... 'cause he has been the most popular singer and he's considered this way also nowdays.
A good movie could be interesting for us (the fans) but also for people who don't know a lot about him.

But the biggest problem is to create a GOOD and RELIABLE film...would it be possible?Would it be easy to do?Or would it be another partial version as they did before with those tv series?

To be honest I have some conflicting feelings about it; from one side I'd like to see something about his life but, on the other side I already know it would be really hard for me to see someone else being "ELVIS" 'cause nobody could be next to the original. Would we really be satisfied?:hmm:

Another important point...if Cilla or EPE had involved someway with it, I already know they would try everything to protect their image and to falsify reality.There were so many different people around Elvis during his life and it's hard to know who could give help (in a absolutely disinterested way) to do a movie about his life...sincerly I don't trust anybody!

[MauriceColgan]

A movie featuring Elvis singing a good selection of his classic songs would be fine.

Hearing Elvis at his best is crucial.

A well thought out movie (or ten) with an excellent soundtrack featuring just Elvis's voice would keep Elvis relevent by it's very nature.

The more movies using Elvis's voice the merrier, they will introduce Elvis to the discerning listeners in the cinemas.

I've not seen a good movie about Elvis yet....but that hasn't prevented me from living in hope:)

All the complexities are of no importance we just want youngsters to HEAR Elvis they can read all the books covering every aspect of his life in due time, as we do now.

[Donut]

I understand your point of being scared about who would be able to play Elvis part and what "truth" would they tell, but in my opinion they should make a movie focussing on what he achieved and why he is history, not how a man can have it all and end up drugged and fat and die in the "throne" like they like to show him to new generations. That?s what i used to think about him before being a fan because that?s the conclusion you come to after being bombarded with all that tacky and dreadful promotion ( in my opinion ). So i?d rather see someone playing Elvis part and show people the historic entertainer. If they can make a good movie about Jesus Christ they can sure make a good movie about Elvis, that?s what good directors and actors are for. Oh... there goes Donut the dreamer :whistling

[Dovey]

I understand your point of being scared about who would be able to play Elvis part and what "truth" would they tell, but in my opinion they should make a movie focussing on what he achieved and why he is history, not how a man can have it all and end up drugged and fat and die in the "throne" like they like to show him to new generations. That?s what i used to think about him before being a fan because that?s the conclusion you come to after being bombarded with all that tacky and dreadful promotion ( in my opinion ). So i?d rather see someone playing Elvis part and show people the historic entertainer. If they can make a good movie about Jesus Christ they can sure make a good movie about Elvis, that?s what good directors and actors are for. Oh... there goes Donut the dreamer :whistling

I agree with you 100% Donut, you are not a dreamer .... you are a realist... and it is to dam bad that people do not wake up and smell the roses!!! Who else do you know of has left the world as much as the King did!!! Who else is loved all over the world?:hmm: :hmm:

"There was only one perfect man in the world and guess what.. we killed him." .:'( . Even Elvis is quoted as saying that... if you have the Louisana Hayride CD's .. Elvis told an interviewer that when asked about the people that did not like him...He did more good for the world than bad...I guess people remember what they want to remember. I just hope that someday someone has the brains to put a presentable movie about Elvis together... yes, I do belive that it can be done tastefully. ( It is also the people who live in glass houses that throw the stones..) Dovey ;)

[graceland123]

good thred donut
everything has to be cleared by the b******* EPE and that means priscilla so in order to make her look good she will have to putt the knife in somewhere
two many people are trying to save there own *** and make them selves look good
look how she made him look in that dreadful dreadful movie elvis & me
elvis was not the devil as she made him look

[Terry the Ted]

Elvis does deserve that honour and not that tv "movie" that was on last year, that was more a joke and an insult to Elvis...It was ridiculous!

franny

**** right! That movie was terrible!!

Some may disagree, but I think it was worse than 'Elvis And The Colonel' movie.
Why can't we have a big budget movie with a big star playing the king?

:notworthy 'Walk The Line' and 'Ray' :notworthy are perfect examples of what CAN be done, so why
hasen't it? :angry:

No one comes to mind at the moment for who could take the part, but i'm sure there is someone... :hmm: ... any suggestions?

[Albert]

One Elvis movie that I enjoyed was "Elvis meets Nixon". It was fun and one of the very few movies where I didn't felt akward watching someone pretending to be Elvis.

[franny]

Didn't they have a Johny Cash soundalike for the "Walk The Line Movie"? If so, I prefer not to have a Elvis movie, when they don't have the rights to use the original music.

And I'm so sick and tired of all those standard, one-dimensional, gimmick versions of Elvis that I've seen over the years in movies and series. The dumb, weird looking, doggy-eyes, hardly-understandable-when-talking.... we've seen so many sad versions..... I have no faith in Hollywood that they can do a really good movie... there's too much to loose.


lol...Don't hold back Albert, say what you're really thinking...:lmfao:
I agree with what you're saying...and if the idea is to make more of what we've seen already then they shouldn't even bother...

franny

[graceland123]

One Elvis movie that I enjoyed was "Elvis meets Nixon". It was fun and one of the very few movies where I didn't felt akward watching someone pretending to be Elvis.i thought that was absoluteely terrible it really seemed to make fun of elvis

[Terry the Ted]

i thought that was absoluteely terrible it really seemed to make fun of elvis

I don't think 'Elvis meets Nixon' was meant to make fun of him, it was just supposed to be a comical take on an event in Elvis' life. I thought it was actually pretty good, because it obviously wasn't meant to be a serious biopic, more a light hearted rockumentary. Try to watch it again with that in mind :hmm:

[franny]

I haven't seen the movie 'Elvis meets Nixon'....When did this come out?
Who played Elvis?

franny

[Albert]

I haven't seen the movie 'Elvis meets Nixon'....When did this come out?
Who played Elvis?

franny

It's this (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122474/)movie

http://www.awesome80s.com/super70s/News/1970/December/images/ElvisMeetsNixonVHS(120).jpgReview: "This is a hilarious account of the time that Elvis left Graceland on his own and flew to Washington DC to ask Richard Nixon to appoint him as an official U.S. Drug Enforcement Marshall. It's based on actual facts, although the producers take some liberty with the dialog. This movie is sooooo funny. The guy who plays Elvis is great, and so is the guy who plays Nixon. Both characterizations are somewhat characaturized, but that's what makes it so so funny.

Somehow, the movie seems to achieve irreverence and reverence for the two icons at the same time, which is quite an achievement. You know that a lot of the dialog is fictionalized, but you really want to believe that it happened that way. I highly recommend this movie. You should definitely search for it and watch it. I'll give the movie a 4. Definitely above average and genuinely funny."

Great website about this movie and Elvis' visit: super70s.com (http://www.super70s.com/super70s/News/1970/December/21-Elvis_Meets_Nixon.asp)

[franny]

Thanks so much, Albert...I didn't even know about this movie...I will have to check it out...and thank you for the link...;)

franny

[Terry the Ted]

At the moment, 'Elvis meets Nixon' is going for ?5.99 on www.play.com (y)

[franny]

At the moment, 'Elvis meets Nixon' is going for ?5.99 on www.play.com (y)


Thanks, Terry the Ted....I appreciate it! :)

franny

[rick]

Elvis Meets Nixon is quite a fun film, and not totally mocking of Elvis.
However, the posters here are right - we desperately need a quality bio-pic of Elvis, of the stature of Walk the Line (even though Elvis wasn't treated too well i nthat)
rick

[franny]

I haven't seen Walk The Line yet, but I did hear that Elvis was not portrayed very well in that movie...I wonder why it's so important to have Elvis not look good.. Doesn't anyone like Lisa Marie have a say when it comes to how her father is portrayed?

franny

[EnigmaticSun]

i thought that was absoluteely terrible it really seemed to make fun of elvis

Yes, I happen to feel the same way. I saw this movie once and as far as I can tell it wasn't convincing and just plain unrealistic. During his life and ever since he has never been a 'has been'. His legacy will never die. Death, where is thy sting?

There are a lot of movies with an Elvis-theme, but I enjoy watching few or maybe even none. I'd prefer a documentary with footage from his own life and career, though there is often the problem that interviewers or those who are commentating are often present in order to serve self-interest (there ?re exceptions to the rule). Anyway you look at it, it's difficult to find an actor who can portray Elvis very well. They said that he was running around in circles, had gone crazy and was no good but in reality he was a misunderstood genius.

I remember watching an interview about James Dean and some interviewer came up with the same negative suggestions over and over again (mainly about 'being primitive' and 'homosexual'). They shouldn't come up with an interview or commentary about Elvis focusing on sexual behaviour & preference and possible fist-fights during his lifetime - there is so much creative, musical & spiritual material to discuss.

'Rebel Without A Cause: you're tearing me apart!'

[Raised on Rock]

I really dont like Elvis meets Nixon, please dont take it bad on me Albert, but I think it does not make justice to Elvis at all, the so called based on facts but with free dialoge is bullshit, they put opinions on Elvis mouth that they were not his for sure, making of him a totally diferent man, portraied him as a totally has been, an asshole with no reason or artistic sense that treated his die hard fans like *****s, fake conman smiles to them, for a while I tought it was the White House revange to Elvis after he went overthere showing more power over america than President Nixon.

On the other hand, yeah it would be great to get an Elvis movie with the quality of the Ray Charles one, and with original material, but sadly that seems not to happen. Yet, what is really not that dificult is to make a full lenght documentary about Elvis in the same way they did The Beatles Anotoghy, with lots of footage, both released and unreleased, home movies, original music, with no gossip bullshit, but just focused on the music making details, the life facts, with interviews with musicians and trustable friends under the guidance of someone like Peter Guralnik. THere are many people apart from the owned by the Elvis Presley Enterprises that I would love to hear on that long Documentary. More in deep and detailed stuff with the musicians about the tours and recording sessions.

At least they should release "This is Elvis" on DVD with some extras. Elvis Presley from Classic albums is a good one, and of course Elvis 56, now, we want ELvis 54-77 in that detail haha...

[nabelt24]

I have very little faith in anyone EVER producing a high-quality, high-budget film about Elvis. Though it would be incredible, It'll probably never happen.

[franny]

Sad, but true...I think if they were going to do a great movie on Elvis' life, it would have been done already...Lets' hope that changes...

franny

[JDD]

Its just not going to be easy to accept someone as Elvis without thinking "Thats not Elvis" .

[THENATUREBOY]

Its just not going to be easy to accept someone as Elvis without thinking "Thats not Elvis" .

I couldn't have said it better myself. There lies the biggest problem about making a good movie about Elvis in my opinion.

[TCE]

Elvis surely should deserve a good Movie about his life, so people come to understand him better and get respect for him. I thought that "Elvis the movie" with Kurt Russel wasn't really bad. They just should've give the movie more depth. I mean, give more attention to why Elvis got into the drugs circulation and tell the people more about Elvis his health probs. I know that a lot of people even don't know how ill Elvis was at the end. Now the movie showed Elvis as a "mentaly" ill person with a double personality. A funny movie I once saw was "Heartbreak hotel". Where some boys want to surprise their mother (who is a totally devoted Elvis-fan") by kidnapping Elvis. It was afunny movie that showed Elvis as a wonderful person that just lost his track and found it back when he got to live a normal life. The guys don't think much of Elvis in the beginning, but Elvis wins their respect in a special way.

Christel (TCE)

[Terry the Ted]

A funny movie I once saw was "Heartbreak hotel". Where some boys want to surprise their mother (who is a totally devoted Elvis-fan") by kidnapping Elvis. It was afunny movie that showed Elvis as a wonderful person that just lost his track and found it back when he got to live a normal life.

Christel (TCE)

I second that! it was a great fun film, we should have more like that... showing a good side of Elvis without taking the p*** out of him (y)

[franny]

Its just not going to be easy to accept someone as Elvis without thinking "Thats not Elvis" .

This is so true! As much as I'd like to see a great movie on Elvis' life, there's nobody that comes to mind who could play Elvis...

franny