Jumpsuits worn on 'Elvis On Tour'
(Pictures shown are from various concerts throughout 1971/1972)

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	Elvis – On Tour Reviewed By Andreas Kokkinos

Golden Globe winner for Best Documentary Film of 1972 had producer/directors Pierre Adidge and Robert Abel following Elvis on his first tour of 1972, filming over 50 hours of footage both onstage and behind the scenes. The tour saw Elvis complete 19 shows in 15 different cities in 15 days “And he wasn’t even running for President” (Jackie Kahane). This was to be Elvis’ 33^rd and final film. Although it never quite reaches the heights of the monumental “That’s the Way It Is” (TTWII), it gives us a unique insight into Elvis’ frenetic life, and about as close to an autobiographical film of The King that we could ever hope to have.

The man himself does not really look like the man in TTWII. He looks like a man who was shell shocked from the breakdown of his marriage. His pale, dishevelled appearance is not unlike someone who’s had a heavy session in the bar the night before. Putting that aside Elvis on stage is electrifying. Each performance is on a level most other entertainers could only hope to reach at their peak, something Elvis wasn’t at this point of his life. For me “Proud Mary”, “Never Been to Spain”, “Bridge over Troubled Waters” and the phenomenal “American Trilogy” really standout. Even a throwaway “Love Me Tender” is better than anything from Elvis’ last season in Vegas, December ’76.

The song selection in ‘On Tour seems strange, the reason being is that the songs released on Elvis – The Lost Performances, are superior and would be better suited in the original ‘On Tour’ film, more so than some of those which made the final cut. A good example is “How Great Thou Art”; who decided it would be better that “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” proceeded “Sweet, Sweet Spirit”? Who decreed that an emotionally raw, straight version of “Are You Lonesome Tonight” would have less of an impact than “Funny, How Times Slips Away”? And why, like “Words” in TTWII do they not show a full version of “For the Good Times”? Another curiosity of mine is why doesn’t “Also, Sprach Zarathustra” sound like we know it to sound from backstage?

For the record the shows officially filmed were those in Hampton Roads

(9/4), Richmond (10/4), Charlotte (13/4), Greensboro (14/4) and San Antonio (18/4), although it is rumoured that Adidge did personally film the show in Buffalo (5/4) to get an idea on how to direct the cameramen to capture Elvis’ best moves.

The behind the scenes footage is brief but it seems to fit well within the film.
I imagine that Adidge and Abel had known about TTWII and realised that rehearsal and studio footage had been covered extensively already. Also upon viewing the footage they knew that they didn’t have the same Elvis to match the quality of TTWII. In any case this was of a tour in progress and too much time spent showing studio clips would have taken the edge off the pace of the film.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the Gospel segment, even though Elvis looked worse here than in most of the Elvis in Concert footage. It did come across to me that it was the only time Elvis seemed at ease with himself in the whole film and I could have just watched that whole session in its entirety. Surely, seeing Elvis’ performing “Nearer My God to Thee” makes better viewing than Jerry Scheff’s weather forecast.  

Anyone who has seen “This Is Elvis” and can lip read, clearly understands why they couldn’t show too much of the in car and backstage footage in its original release!

The most intriguing aspect of the film is the interviews of Vernon and Elvis himself, giving it along with randomly planted footage of Elvis in ’56/57 that biographical feel. Both related stories of the early days and how Elvis became, well Elvis. 

We know that the interview with Elvis became quite in depth and revealed more about his side of the story than in any other interview. I’m also sure I’ve seen grainy film of the actual interview itself, so, why wasn’t it used in the film and where is it now?

With the current owner of EPE (Sillerman) contemplating making an official biographical film of Elvis, why not buy and re-visit all 50 hours of unused footage, including interviews, filmed for this project. Because who else could tell the Elvis story better than Elvis?

As we already know the Estate doesn’t want the general public to know Elvis existed past January 1973, so they could add the Aloha interviews and concert clips and be done with it.

Viewing the film in 2010 reveals how dated it has become. With it being released for the first time on DVD, you would hope Turner who owns the film would update it in more ways than just digitalising it. Re-editing ‘On Tour’ now using more on stage footage with a better flow to the song line up; putting in all the bits that may have been deemed detrimental to Elvis in 1972 but tame by modern day standards, would give it the extra edge that it seems to lose in middle. It could be viewed as the first ever “reality”, “fly on the wall”, “warts and all” film of a top celebrity if it was given the right treatment.

Although, it does sound like this will not happen due to ownership issues. Even so, come its release in late 2010 I know I will buy it with a feeling of it is good, but could be so much better if someone cared enough.

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