The choices of performances Luhrmann and the team made throughout EPiC are outstanding. They don’t always go for the most perfect version of every song, but instead sometimes choose takes where Elvis screws up, or is just goofing around. We see the first live performance of “Burning Love,” where the icon is reading some of the lyrics from a piece of paper. We see him laughing and wearing ladies’ undergarments on his head, after they have been thrown on stage. Elvis lies on the stage and just chats with the audience. Sometimes he screws up and talks about it with the band or audience. He cracks jokes and does karate moves. The net result is to take Elvis off his pedestal as a cultural icon and humanize him. This only underscores the incredible charisma of the man and the bond he was able to forge with audiences.
“The choices of performances Luhrmann and the team made throughout EPiC are outstanding.”
Another effect of the film is to remind us what an astounding musician and performer Elvis was. He’s always on key, and his voice is transcendent. The singer is fully in command of an incredible band and experimenting with arrangements to really make the performance electric.
My grandmother was a big Elvis fan, so I’ve seen plenty of concert recordings. I’m a huge fan of the podcast “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs” by Andrew Hickey, whose episodes featuring Elvis Presley are phenomenal and delve deeply into his life and career. Despite plenty of exposure, I still had preconceptions about the many, like all of us — he’s such a cultural icon, it is impossible not to. The most beautiful thing about EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is that in connecting us so intimately to the man and showing him in all his complexity, Luhrmann cuts through the baggage we bring and gives us a fresh look at one of the most fascinating and accomplished musicians who has ever lived. See this in the biggest theater you can, one with great sound. Elvis Presley was larger than life, and can only be properly appreciated that way.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
"…Luhrmann cuts through the baggage we bring and gives us a fresh look at one of the most fascinating and accomplished musicians who has ever lived."
