{"id":10912,"date":"2022-07-22T09:33:28","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T08:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=10912"},"modified":"2022-07-22T09:37:11","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T08:37:11","slug":"elvis-the-movie-is-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2022\/07\/22\/elvis-the-movie-is-here\/","title":{"rendered":"ELVIS THE MOVIE IS HERE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ELVIS THE MOVIE IS HERE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

at Multicines Atlantida, Arrecife<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman Warwick tells us.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I sent my thanks to Larry Yaskiel for alerting us to the showeing Of Elvis The Movie in Arrecife,  only for his immediate response to be an loud cry of \u00b4false alarm\u00b4. The English language versions had already been screened, he said, so maybe we should hold our horses. (Larry knows how barren is our Spanish vocabulary !). Nevertheless, I e-mailed back jokingly to say that a Heartbreak Hotel is a Heartbreak Hotel in any language, so we\u00b4d give it a go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His response was, \u00a8Well, please remember that Elvis (in English) has left the building \u00b4!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I couldn\u2019t compete with that brilliant reply, so come the Thursday night, off we set for the five o\u00b4clock showing at Dee\u00b4s favourite cinema, (right)<\/em><\/strong> having checked up on what others had been saying about the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever Rotten Tomatoes reviews are thrown at a film they tend to be contained in a tine and can be quite hurtful. Nevertheless, even they were offering praise to the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flashes of colour, lightning cuts, and the camera spins and needle drops are at times overwhelming, but it\u2019s an overall enjoyable experience that washes over you in waves of excitement<\/em> said a Chicago reader of Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elvis is hyperbolic, one-dimensional and ludicrous \u2013 but as high-excess cinematic myth-making, it\u2019s a blast.<\/em> said the very credible Uncut magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Independent had wondered, \u00b4If we were to pull back the curtain on Elvis<\/a> Presley, what would we even want to see? A soul stripped of its performance? Something cold and real behind the kitsch? I\u2019m not convinced. America\u2019s pop icons aren\u2019t merely shiny distractions. They\u2019re a culture talking back to itself, constantly interrogating its own ideals and its desires. I don\u2019t think who Elvis was is necessarily more important than what Elvis represents. And, while you won\u2019t find all that much truth in Baz Luhrmann<\/a>\u2019s cradle-to-grave dramatisation of his life, the Australian filmmaker has delivered something far more compelling: an American fairytale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI am the man who gave the world Elvis Presley,\u201d utters Tom Hanks<\/a>\u2019s Colonel Tom Parker, his manager, (left)<\/em><\/strong> as the curtain rises (literally) on Luhrmann\u2019s expansive, rhinestone-encrusted epic. \u201cAnd yet there are some who would make me out to be the villain of this story,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parker, who saw early promise in Elvis\u2019s almost certainly unintentional politically radical blend of country and R\u2019n\u2019B, slyly positioned himself as the sole overseer of the star\u2019s creative enterprise \u2013 the man who won him a recording contract with RCA Records, who secured his merchandising deals and TV appearances, and who navigated him through a fairly brief but bountiful acting career. But Parker took far more in return. In 1980, a judge ruled that he had defrauded the Presley estate by millions. Some even blame him for pushing an overworked Elvis to the brink and ultimately contributing to his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For Luhrmann (right) <\/em><\/strong>, the fairytale parallels couldn\u2019t be more obvious. Parker is the evil stepmother, Elvis (here played by former child star Austin Butler<\/a>) is the princess locked in her tower \u2013 if that tower is, in fact, the vast and gilded stage of his Las Vegas residency. When Parker, a former carnival worker, first seduces Elvis to become his client, it\u2019s in a literal hall of mirrors. That may sound a little absurd, but Luhrmann\u2019s roots in the Australian opera scene have granted him a winning (though, to some, divisive) ability to deliver baroque stylings with a sincere, romantic sensibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve always believed strongly in the purpose and necessity of Luhrmann\u2019s outlandish visions \u2013 that it\u2019s not enough simply to capture the grotesque consumption of The Great Gatsby<\/em>\u2019s Jazz Age, but to prove that we, the audience, would be as weak to its charms as Fitzgerald\u2019s protagonist, Nick Carraway. The same is true here, in the ways his subject is both seduced and betrayed by his own fame. And, anyway, Luhrmann\u2019s always shot his films a little like Elvis performs \u2013 sweaty and kinetic, as the camera sweeps through the corridors of Graceland and through decades of his life with the fury of a thousand karate kicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u200bElvis<\/em> will, and should, invite serious discussions about the musician\u2019s outstanding legacy, and the film\u2019s weakest spots speak mostly to how unsettled the debate around him still is. There\u2019s certainly a lot to be said for how nervously the film tiptoes around his relationship with Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge), who was 14 when they first met. Can a film speak on behalf of a woman who\u2019s still alive and able to share her own story? And where do we settle on the great debate of Elvis\u2019s wider role in music history? Was his success really another chapter in white America\u2019s long history of cultural appropriation, or did that early, rebellious appeal in fact prove to be a surprisingly powerful tool in the fight against segregation?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luhrmann\u2019s film arguably offers the most plausible, romantic ideal of Elvis, even if it turns him into something of a na\u00eff trapped under Parker\u2019s spell. He is always, in Parker\u2019s narration, referred to as \u201cthe boy\u201d and never \u201cthe man\u201d. Elvis in this film is the sweet-souled, blue-eyed momma\u2019s boy who just wants to buy his family a Cadillac and play the music of his childhood, which was spent in the Black-majority communities of Mississippi. Even at the height of Elvis\u2019s fame, the film is careful to constantly bring us back to the Black artists who inspired him, either through the musician\u2019s own words (and he was always deferential to his origins, to the very end) or through Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond\u2019s frenetic editing work. When singer-songwriter Big Mama Thornton (Shonka Dukureh) launches into her rendition of \u201cHound Dog\u201d, a voice on the radio commands us to listen \u2013 this is the voice of Black America speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By framing Elvis\u2019s story through Parker\u2019s, Luhrmann\u2019s film is cannily able to take a step back from the intimate details of the musician\u2019s life. Instead it views him as a nuclear warhead of sensuality and cool, someone stood at the very crossroads of a fierce culture war. Parker thinks he can turn him into a clean-cut, all-American boy for the white middle classes, compelling him to accept the draft, cut his locks, and go to war. Elvis resists, and his gyrating pelvis (captured in many, glorious, zooms to the crotch) helps fuel the burgeoning sexual independence of young women across the country. \u201cShe\u2019s having feelings she wasn\u2019t sure she should enjoy,\u201d Parker notes, as the camera surveys one wide-eyed, lip-biting fan. Costume designer Catherine Martin \u2013 Luhrmann\u2019s spouse, credited also as co-production designer and producer \u2013 dresses Elvis in an array of soft, dreamy pinks to sublime effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To say that Elvis<\/em> isn\u2019t really so much about the real Elvis might sound like it\u2019s taking the pressure off of Butler\u2019s performance. But that\u2019d be an entirely unfair judgement of what\u2019s being achieved here \u2013 an impersonation of one of the most impersonated people on the planet, that\u2019s at times uncanny without ever coming across as parody. Sure, Butler has the looks, the voice, the stance and the wiggle nailed down, but what\u2019s truly impressive is that indescribable, undistillable essence of Elvis-ness \u2013 magnetic and gentle and fierce, all at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s almost odd to watch a performance so all-consuming that Hanks \u2013 the<\/em> Tom Hanks \u2013 feels like an accessory. He\u2019s all but buried underneath layers of prosthetics and a pantomime Dutch accent, seemingly cast only so that the warm smirk of America\u2019s dad can trip a few people into questioning whether he\u2019s really the villain of all this. Butler makes a compelling argument for the power of Elvis, at a time when the musician\u2019s arguably lost a little of his cultural cachet. So does Luhrmann. So does the soundtrack, which is packed with contemporary artists (Doja Cat\u2019s \u201cVegas\u201d has sound of the summer written all over it). And while not everyone will be convinced by their efforts \u2013 I know that I\u2019m ready for Elvis to be cool again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To summarise, the film explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The story delves into the complex dynamic between Presley and Parker spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the most significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PG-13 (Strong Language|Smoking|Substance Abuse|Suggestive Material)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original Language:    <\/strong>English<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director:                      <\/strong>Baz Luhrmann<\/a>\u00e7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Run time\u00a8                     2h 39m<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many debating points in the extracts above, as we acknowledge that Rotten Tomatoes and The Independent have been primary sources for this article.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However I\u00b4d now like to add my own observations. I grew up and worked on the very peripheries of the pop music industry pretty much in parallel with the time scale covered in this film.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the very first piece of music we hear in this film is of Elvis singing a couple of lines of the great American Trilogy configured by white singer-writer Mickey Newbury. A few years after Elvis recorded the song I had the pleasure of interviewing Newbury who had so many good Presley stories but spoke only kindly of the man.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His fans, his manager, his politicians and the entire music business still seem today to be confused by what was Presley\u00b4s position on the black and white musical borders. What did a song like Trilogy, so romanticised and yearning, say about that?  I was wakened as a young man by Chip Taylor\u00b4s reminder that we should always want The Real Thing rather than a white-world\u00b4s sanitised mis-<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

appropriation of true (black) roots music, and alert to Chip Taylors alarm. I had no doubt that Elvis was trying to give us that Real Thing and this film reveals that his styling of Hound Dog and That\u00b4s All Right Mana etc had been imbibed as a young man and so his recordings sounded authentic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film gives me a fresh insight into how ensconced Elvis was in that church-gospel and rhythm and blues era that immediately followed the Jazz Explosion. He is shown to be very close to Little Richard and other artists of the time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the key scene in the film is one that shows the insight and cunning and even the sheer greed that epitomised Colonel Parker.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before he\u00b4d even heard or seen Elvis the former carnival proprietor had been passing some kids listening to an Elvis recording His ears prick up and he says softly to himself, \u00a8Hell, that\u00b4s a white boy, but with a black voice.\u00b4 And you can see him beginning to wonder how he would handle an artist with that talent. The promotion of black artists, or recognition of their talents, were never on Parker\u00b4s agenda even if they might have been on Presley\u00b4s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film is set against a horrible decade or so in America\u00b4s history, with the assassinations of JF Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy and, surprisingly to me, President Johnston heard as a voice of reason.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some ways Presley seems to have been not much more than an unwitting agent provocateur in the racial unrest but in striding across the black and white categorisations of music, he was undoubtedly a catalyst.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we will never know is whether Presley could have been a unifying force for good in the way of Sidney Potier or Joan Baez, had he been given more room by Parker to follow his own instincts, or indeed if he could have found the courage to find his own instincts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We had, in fact, raved so much over a recent Aretha Franklin: Respect movie when partaking on one of our occasional, coffee, cake and conversation meetings with Larry Yaskiel and his wife Liz, that Larry gave me a biography of Jerry Wexler, a man heavily involved in Aretha\u00b4s career and who had been featured in the film..I spent the following couple of days reading the book in silence, but occasionally interrupting Dee to read out loud a section of what I consider to be Wexler\u00b4s glorious street-slang style.So impressed was Dee when she remembered that Wexler had been part of that Aretha bio-pic she had so enjoyed that she bought an autobiography Of Aretha on which the film was based. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dee responded wryly, and somewhat wearily, when I asked her over our delicious meal following Elvis The Movie, how she was getting on with that book. She said that, even now, she is only half way through a massive tome, made more difficult by its inclusion of so many names.Even nowwe have seen a life of Elvis, she is still only half way through the life of Aretha !<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the above and more was discussed by my wife, Dee, and I as we we walked around San Gines (left)<\/strong> to The Davinia Restaurant, and over dinner I said I was now looking forward to reading a biography of Elvis as I had so obviously been unaware, perhaps, of how important is his place in the firmament.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dee had been impressed by the actos and characters of the black female singers in Elvis: The Movie , who were new names to her other than by reading them from her studies of Aretha Franklin. She had fully enjoyed Elvis; The Movie, though, <\/em> Then, more or less simultaneously, we both said, \u00b4So often, we only know half the story, don\u00b4t we\u00b4?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The prime sources for this article were published by Rotten Tomatoes and The Independent. Each, in contrasting ways, offer excellent coverage of the arts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our occasional re-postings Sidetracks And Detours are confident that we are not only sharing with our readers excellent articles written by experts but that we are also pointing to informed and informative sites readers will re-visit time and again. Of course, we feel sure our readers will also return to our daily not-for-profit blog knowing that we seek to provide core original material whilst sometimes spotlighting the best pieces from elsewhere, as we engage with new genres and practitioners along all the sidetracks & detours we take.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em><\/strong>This article was collated by Norman Warwick (right) , a weekly columnist with Lanzarote Information and owner and editor of this daily blog at Sidetracks And Detours.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norman has also been a long serving broadcaster, co-presenting the weekly all across the arts programme on Crescent Community Radio for many years with Steve Bewick, and his own show on Sherwood Community Radio. He has been a regular guest on BBC Radio Manchester, BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Merseyside and BBC Radio Four.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a published author and poet Norman was a founder member of Lendanear Music, with Colin Lever and Just Poets with Pam McKee, Touchstones Creative Writing Group (for which he was creative writing facilitator for a number of years) with Val Chadwick and all across the arts with Robin Parker.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Monday to Friday,<\/em><\/strong> you will find a daily post here at Sidetracks And Detours and, should you be looking for good reading, over the weekend you can visit our massive but easy to navigate archives of over 500 articles.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The purpose of this daily not-for-profit blog is to deliver news, previews, interviews and reviews from all across the arts to die-hard fans and non- traditional audiences around the world. We are therefore always delighted to receive your own articles here at Sidetracks And Detours. So if you have a favourite artist, event, or venue that you would like to tell us more about just drop a Word document attachment to me at <\/em><\/strong>normanwarwick55@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a> with a couple of appropriate photographs in a zip folder if you wish. Being a not-for-profit organisation we unfortunately cannot pay you but we will always fully attribute any pieces we publish. You therefore might also. like to include a brief autobiography and photograph of yourself<\/em><\/strong> in your submission.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We look forward to hearing from you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sidetracks And Detours is seeking to join the synergy of organisations that support the arts of whatever genre. We are therefore grateful to all those share information to reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

correspondents                                Michael Higgins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hot Biscuits Jazz Radio                      www.fc-radio.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AllMusic  <\/strong><\/a>                                          <\/strong>https:\/\/www.allmusic.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

feedspot                                              https:\/\/www.feedspot.com\/?_src=folder<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lanzarote Information                        https:\/\/lanzaroteinformation.co.uk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

all across the arts                                 www.allacrossthearts.co.uk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Agenda Cultura Lanzarote<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lanzarote Art Gallery                  https:\/\/lanzaroteartgallery.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dee had been impressed by the actors and characters of the black female singers in Elvis: The Movie , who were new names to her other than by reading them from her studies of Aretha Franklin. She had fully enjoyed Elvis; The Movie, though, Then, more or less simultaneously, we both said, \u00b4So often, we only know half the story, don\u00b4t we\u00b4?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,54,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aata","category-circus","category-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10912"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10925,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10912\/revisions\/10925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}