las vegas

While researching his 2022 hit film Elvis, director Baz Luhrmann searched for lost footage of The King to use in the film. What he found was a treasure trove of unseen footage from Elvis Presley's early '70s residencies in Las Vegas, as well as hours of interviews in which he discussed his creative process in depth.

The 35mm and 8mm footage was discovered in the Warner Bros. archives, buried deep in a salt mine in Kansas. Underground salt mines are great for film preservation because they have stable temperatures and humidity, which allow long-term storage that prevents deterioration.

The lot footage becomes an EPiC film

Luhrmann took the footage and crafted a concert film, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, featuring the King at the peak of his post-'68 comeback era, before drugs, overeating, the burdens of superstardom, and his divorce from Lisa Marie Presley turned him into a caricature of his old self. Yes, Elvis may have entered his flashy jumpsuit era, but his moves, voice, humor, and charisma are all in full form. The film is unique in that it combines never-before-seen rehearsal footage narrated by Elvis, offering rare insights and openness that the public has never seen.

"This is the most unexpected film that ever happened to me," Luhrmann told viewers ahead of a special preview screening at the IMAX theatre in Sydney, Australia. "We thought 'let's just get out of the way … What if Elvis just told you his story?'"

Here's the trailer:

- YouTube www.youtube.com

The film showcases amazing talent as a performer, but has an intimate quality that sets it apart from a simple concert film. "What if Elvis came to you in a dreamscape, almost like a cinematic poem, and sang to you and told you his story in a way in which you haven't experienced before?" Luhrmann wrote in his director's note for the IMAX screening.

An intimate look at an incredible performer

The film incorporates July 1970 rehearsal footage of him preparing for his third appearance at the International Hotel, showing how Elvis could be both an incredible perfectionist and charming with his friends and bandmates.

The concert footage shows blistering, amped up versions of old hits such as "Hound Dog" and "That's Alright," as well as rehearsal footage of him singing Beatles songs, "Something" and "Yesterday." The film also shows his first performance of "Burning Love," a song so fresh that Elvis has to read the lyrics as he sings. The film ends with a grandiose version of the 1969 hit, "Suspicious Minds."

"The film looks and sounds incredible. Peter Jackson's team, who carefully restored Beatles footage in Get Back, worked their magic here to bring Elvis back in vivid glory," Andy Howell writes at Film Threat. "In fact, a better title would have been Elvis Lives, because this footage is so beautiful and clear, and the film is so intimate, that it seems like this was shot yesterday and we're having a conversation with him."

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert arrives in theaters for a one-week IMAX engagement starting February 20, followed by a global theatrical release on February 27.