Product Description
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ELVIS BY THE PRESLEYS, a new entertainment special that will
feature a collection of new, interviews with his former
wife, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, and their daughter, Lisa Marie
Presley, includes exclusive, never-before-seen television
performances, photographs from the Presley Estate archives and
Presley family home movies.
In the special, Priscilla and Lisa Marie speak with unguarded
candor about their lives with the legendary Elvis Presley and
offer an look at their family and private life. Rare
interviews with Elvis's first cousin, Patsy Presley Geranen, and
Priscilla's parents, Ann and Paul Beaulieu, are also featured.
Vintage, never-before-seen performance footage will be interwoven
with photographs from the Presley Estate archives and press
coverage of Elvis over the years. Private home movies of the
Presley family illustrate and illuminate his story with vivid
detail, honest in and great warmth. Different aspects of
Elvis's life, including his tours, his time in Hollywood and his
home life, are depicted with the in that only his family can
bring. His career ups and downs, his kindness and generosity and
his human frailties are all brought to light as well as a
reflection on his place in entertainment history and his enduring
legacy.
.com
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The King of Rock and Roll would have turned 70 in 2005, the same
year Elvis by the Presleys was released. An impressive number,
but it's a pea in the ocean compared to the a of posthumous
products bearing his name; and the really amazing part is that
some of them actually manage to shed new light on this
much-studied icon. Assuming one has the time, stamina, and
interest to wade through the enormous a of material
presented on Elvis by the Presleys, this ambitious, well-made
documentary-reminiscence certainly falls into that category.
The presence and participation of Presley's ex-wife, Priscilla,
and daughter Lisa Marie, as well as Priscilla's parents and
sister, Elvis' first cousin, and "Memphis Mafia" member Jerry
Schilling, lend an air of authenticity to the project. There
isn't a lot here about Elvis' music, although the interpolation
of many clips from his TV appearances, movies, concert
performances, and s more than adequately convey the
singer's ineffable (and apparently eternal) appeal. Elvis by the
Presleys is more specifically designed to provide an inside look
at the day-to-day life of Presley, his family, and those in his
immediate orbit, and on that level it succeeds rather well.
There is a lot of talk here--nearly four and half hours' worth
(including bonus material), spread out over two discs. Some of
the territory covered is yawn-inducingly familiar: Elvis was
well-mannered but moody, he was exceedingly generous, he loved
Christmas, he appreciated his fans, and on and on. But there are
more surprising (at least to the casual fan) revelations as well:
Presley was an accomplished horseman; he was not only a good
Christian but a voracious reader with an interest in spiritual as
well as purely religious matters (he even joined the
Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles); and he suffered
mightily from insomnia. Moreover, while this is a loving tribute,
it's not hagiography. Priscilla makes it clear that she and
everyone else around Elvis were expected to surrender their own
lives to suit his needs and whims, a demand she eventually found
unendurable. Nor do they gloss over Elvis' final years, when he
was , drug-ridden, and disillusioned. Little matter that Elvis
Presley is dead. Long live the King! --Sam Graham