Elvis 4K 2022 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

The story of the life and creative journey of rock 'n' roll king Elvis Presley through the prism of his complicated relationship with his odious manager, Colonel Tom Parker. They worked together for more than 20 years: from the beginning of Elvis' career to his unprecedented fame.

Review 4K Movie

Having fallen in love once and for all with the adaptation of The Great Gatsby (and through it with the work of Francis Scott Fitzgerald), I had no doubt that Baz Luhrmann's new film would not disappoint me and, in fact, would hit me right in the heart. And it did.

The Australian director is criticized for his style, which seems to be overdone with colors, light, color, sounds, graphic elements (signs, inscriptions), and chaotic changes in sets and costumes. In the first seconds (as in the beginning of this film) an unprepared viewer can get dizzy. But you have to let yourself be swept up in this carnival, give yourself over to it and let yourself be carried away by the whirlwind of emotion, music, words, and dance. And this style - all so unhinged, jerky, even twitchy, convulsively hysterical, colorful - perfectly fits the destiny of the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley.

To tell the story of Elvis, Luhrmann chose an interesting lens, found a new perspective. He (and the viewer with him) looks at Presley through the eyes of the artist's impresario - the enigmatic Tom Parker, who in his youth illegally came to the USA from the Netherlands, who all his life hid his origins, a talented manager, but a man of obviously shaky moral principles, greedy, dodgy, a gambler and a swindler. And this is the man with whom the fate of a young Elvis Presley has brought together, and this is the man Luhrmann gives his word to, in a way, an opportunity for a confession. And this confession does not make the confessor look good. He appears as a greedy fame, success and money-grabber who exploited talent for his own ends, driving Presley to exhaustion and stealing from him, getting his protégé hooked on drugs. An extremely repulsive image is created, but we should not forget that the director thickens the colors somewhere, mythologizes the figure of Tom Parker.

For more than two and a half hours Baz Luhrmann takes the audience on a tour of important life milestones of a generation idol: from his barefoot childhood in Memphis, his fascination with black music and meeting with Colonel Parker to the rise, unprecedented fame, shooting in Hollywood, protest performances, decline, crisis in his career and a triumphant return. The motif of Elvis borrowing music from black performers runs through the entire narrative - he earns hundreds of times more from it than they could have done at the time in that country, he makes their voice heard, he opens their music to the widest possible audience.

Luhrmann's Elvis is a greasy-haired boy in motley suits with music in his soul and dynamite in his feet, looking for his place in eternity. And so he remains to the very end, even after experiencing cosmic success, the hysterical adoration of fans, getting rich, becoming a music and movie star.

A word or two about the actors. Austin Butler is a hundred percent hit in the Presley image, very similar both by appearance and plastique. Clearly his main role so far. But, ladies and gentlemen, what the hell is Tom Hanks doing in the frame once again? Great actor, outstanding role. The others are all in their places, just less bright.

Another important thing to note is that Luhrmann has once again seamlessly woven modern music into the music of the era he is reconstructing. His Elvis Presley hits were complemented by the work of contemporary musicians - Eminem, the continuing hype Italian rockers M?neskin, rapper Doja Cat, country singer Casey Musgraves, Shonki Doucoure, Swae Lee & Diplo, soul singer Jazmin Sullivan, Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, hip-hop singer Denzel Curry and many others. And even the lead singer, actor and singer Austin Butler. And that mix added yet another color to the overall mottled canvas.

The result was a carnival-movie, a fireworks-movie, a concert-movie. A spectacle that should not be missed. Baz Luhrmann had already once managed to get me hooked on a classic of American literature. Now he seems to have done everything he could to get me to finally touch the work of the king of Elvis Presley.