Newly Restored Elvis Presley Concert Film to Premiere, Featuring Lost Audio Interview
TORONTO – A newly restored concert film featuring elvis Presley, comprised of 59 hours of previously unseen footage from his 1972 Las Vegas performances, is set to premiere. The film, a project spearheaded by director Baz Luhrmann, also includes a remarkable discovery: a 45-minute lost audio track of Presley discussing his life, which forms the film’s narration.
Luhrmann, known for his visually dynamic filmmaking style, described his approach as creating experiences for audience participation. “So I like to think that even though I make shows, they’re made for audience participation,” he said at the Toronto International Film Festival.”They are made as showmanship, some people call it razzle-dazzle, but then right in the middle of it, I like to flip it and say yes, but it is about something. Whether that’s about growth through pain or impractical love, it is about something.”
The recovery of the concert film negatives occurred during research for Luhrmann’s 2022 film,Elvis,which starred Austin Butler as Presley and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker.The film garnered critical acclaim, winning four BAFTAs, a Golden Globe, and receiving eight Oscar nominations.Initial hopes of finding footage from Presley’s Vegas shows evolved into the discovery of what was considered “mythical footage” stored in film archives in Kansas, which Luhrmann referred to as ”the salt mines.”
However, the recovered footage was without accompanying sound. Luhrmann’s sound editing team spent two years synchronizing the visuals with existing audio fragments. The unearthed 45-minute audio interview proved pivotal. “He just talked about his life, and he was so unguarded, and we thought, that’s it,” Luhrmann explained. “We made the decision that we should let Elvis sing and tell his story himself.”
An Australian release date for the film has not yet been announced.
