"“It's neither a documentary nor a concert film,” he says, “but a poem, a dreamscape in which Elvis himself narrates.” He unearthed 68 boxes of film from the early Vegas years from the Warner Bros. archives, synchronised the picture and sound - and finally found a 40-minute recording in which Elvis speaks about his life. “The humanity in it, the modesty - I couldn't escape that responsibility.”"
"Luhrmann is fascinated by the paradox: the poor boy from Tupelo who becomes a godlike idol - and is marketed as an attraction by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. What surprised him most was Elvis' humour and insecurity. “On stage, I've never seen anyone who seemed so comfortable - and off stage, probably no one who was so uncomfortable.”"
"For the director of Moulin Rouge! or The Great Gatsby, EPiC became a liberation: “My leading actor was quite talented.” And thus, the film becomes Luhrmann's homage and his attempt to give Elvis the world that was denied to him."
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is presented as neither a documentary nor a conventional concert film. The work is framed as a poem and dreamscape in which Elvis narrates. Footage from early Vegas years was retrieved from Warner Bros. archives, with picture and sound synchronized. A 40-minute recording was found in which Elvis speaks about his life. The project emphasizes responsibility toward the humanity and modesty in the material. The film focuses on the paradox of Elvis as a poor boy from Tupelo who becomes an idol marketed by Colonel Tom Parker. It also centers Elvis’s humor alongside his insecurity, portraying stage comfort and offstage discomfort. The result functions as a homage and an attempt to provide Elvis with a world denied to him.
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