There’s something quietly poetic about Baz Luhrmann returning to Elvis Presley after the maximalist fever dream of his 2022 biopic. If that film was a glitter cannon aimed at the myth, EPiC: Elvis in Concert feels like Luhrmann lowering the lights and letting the man step forward on his own terms.
Built from rediscovered concert footage – reels that had been sitting, almost absurdly, in deep storage for decades – the documentary is less a traditional retrospective and more an immersion. Luhrmann stitches together performances from Elvis’s 1970s Las Vegas residency with rehearsal snippets and candid audio, allowing Presley to narrate parts of his own journey. The result isn’t a cradle-to-grave biopic. It doesn’t try to be. Instead, it captures a specific era when Elvis, no longer the rebellious upstart of the ’50s nor the trapped Hollywood puppet of the ’60s, seemed determined to reclaim himself on stage.
A brisk opening recap reminds viewers how seismic Elvis’s early impact was – how a dirt-poor kid from Tupelo rattled white America by mainstreaming rock ’n’ roll, how the Army draft interrupted his ascent, and how Colonel Tom Parker reshaped him into a clean-cut movie star churning out lightweight musicals. By the end of that whirlwind summary, you understand why Las Vegas mattered. It wasn’t just a residency. It was a reckoning.
Once the concerts begin, the film finds its rhythm – and what a rhythm it is. Backed by a razor-sharp band, soul vocalists and a gospel quartet, Elvis performs with an intensity that feels both disciplined and spontaneous. He feeds off the audience; they feed off him. Women tremble. Men beam. Every handshake and scarf toss becomes an act of communion. A backstage moment with a terminally ill fan in Albuquerque speaks volumes about the generosity he extended offstage. The film doesn’t sugarcoat the pressures of fame, but it shows a man who clearly relished the connection his fame afforded him.
What’s most striking is how alive the footage feels. Restored to immaculate clarity, the concerts look astonishingly vibrant – so crisp and luminous you momentarily forget they were shot half a century ago. There’s none of the distracting grain or murkiness that often distances archival material from modern audiences. Instead, the performances feel immediate. Urgent. Present.
Musically, the range is thrilling. The raw, prowling energy of “Mystery Train” and “Hound Dog” sits comfortably beside the swaggering drama of “Suspicious Minds” and “Burning Love.” Then there are the moments of surprising theatricality – his operatic take on “Bridge Over Troubled Water” feels almost defiant in its grandeur. And yes, the sight of Elvis attempting a tap routine for a delighted Sammy Davis Jr. is pure showbiz joy.
Importantly, Luhrmann avoids turning the King into a saint. He doesn’t sand away the contradictions. Instead, he humanizes him – revealing the work ethic behind the charisma, the exhaustion behind the spectacle, and the boyish delight that never quite left him. Unlike the director’s hyper-edited biopic, the pacing here breathes. It moves swiftly, but with purpose, giving songs and silences space to land.
What lingers after the credits isn’t just the music – though you’ll likely find yourself playing Elvis on repeat – but the sense of proximity. This doesn’t feel like a distant historical document. It feels like being in the room, watching an artist at the height of his powers, wrestling with the weight of his own legend and somehow still enjoying every second of it.
EPiC: Elvis in Concert isn’t simply a concert film. It’s a reminder of why Elvis mattered – and why, decades on, he still does.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is screening in Australian theatres from February 19th, 2026.
