Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley has been the subject of a handful of screen biographies of various degrees of seriousness (one can draw their own conclusions that most were made for television). 1979's Elvis, directed by John Carpenter in a rare foray away from horror or fantasy, starred Kurt Russell as a young Elvis (concluding with Presley's Las Vegas comeback) who was at once respectful and headstrong, fully aware of his abilities and doubting his staying power as a performer. It's a winning portrait that, for the most part, rings true. 1981's Elvis and the Beauty Queen was an odd film that featured Don Johnson (pre-Miami Vice) as Elvis in his later years, focusing on his romance with one-time Miss Universe contestant Linda Thompson (Stephanie Zimbalist). Johnson's performance makes Elvis seem frequently stoned and more than a bit silly; the overall effect is rather sad. 1988's Elvis and Me was based on Priscilla Presley's book about her marriage to the King; Dale Midkiff sadly seems much better suited to portraying the surly latter-day King than the early fun-loving Elvis, though given the downward spiral of the story, that may be appropriate. 1981's This Is Elvis was a highly unusual project, a biography cobbled together from newsreel footage, TV appearances, clips from his films and home movies from the Presley estate. This material was linked together with narration by Ral Donner as Elvis Presley, presumably speaking from beyond the grave, and a variety of actors playing Elvis at various ages. As moving as it is bizarre, This Is Elvis delivers an incisive portrait of Elvis the Performer; Elvis the Man, however, comes off unfathomable and murky. 1997's Elvis Meets Nixon was at once the most irreverent and most affectionate film about Presley's life. Rick Peters starred as Elvis, who gets a notion to ask Richard Nixon to make him a DEA agent, so he hops on a plane to Washington and heads to the White House (something Elvis actually did). Peters' performance as Elvis is a bit cartoonish but also spunky and enthusiastic (it's certainly more realistic than Bob Gunton's turn as Nixon). And while the movie doesn't shrink from Elvis' bad habits (pills, guns, blowing up TV's), director Allan Arkush treats him not as a tragedy waiting to happen, but as a likable good old boy who ended up in a life (and a world) he just doesn't fathom.

Beyond films about his life, Elvis has popped up as a character in several fictional films. The ghost of Elvis (played by Val Kilmer) offered guidance to Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) on dealing with women and being cool in the Quentin Tarantino-scripted True Romance. (Significantly, Tarantino played an Elvis impersonator on an episode of The Golden Girls, opting to emulate his early rockabilly period rather than the later Las Vegas Elvis.) Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train also features Presley's ghost (here played by Stephen Jones) appearing in a beautiful and romantic vision seen by Nicoletta Braschi. In Finding Graceland, Harvey Keitel played a hitchhiker who may or may not be Elvis Presley (he thinks he is, but not everyone else is so sure). 1988's Heartbreak Hotel features the most jaw-dropping Elvis tale of all; in 1972, a high school student (Charlie Schlatter) wants to cheer up his mother, so he and his friends kidnap Elvis and bring him home to say "hi" to mom. For Elvis fans, it's a fabulous "what-if" story (someone should have told Elvis to rock more and eat less junk food), but David Keith isn't especially convincing as The King, though Tuesday Weld is so good as Marie, wide-eyed with wonder at having Elvis at her motel, that it's easy to suspend disbelief for a few moments. In many ways, Elvis Presley is a cultural Rorschach Test; what we see in him says a great deal about ourselves and our culture, and his continuing presence in contemporary entertainment still fascinates, though one can't help but believe that the definitive Elvis film still remains to be made. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide