Jailhouse Rock

It's been 30 years since the King left the earthly bounds of his blue suede shoes for his Graceland in the sky. To commemorate the anniversary, Warner Bros. and Paramount have teamed up for a promotion featuring more Elvis than you can shake a hip at. "Jailhouse Rock: Deluxe Edition" (1957) is arguably his definitive screen appearance, playing a working-class kid who lands in stir after a bar fight gone bad and emerges surly, hardened, and with a gift for rocking. He's not much of an actor, but he's dynamic in the film's set piece, where he swivels and shakes through a dance number set to the title song. "It's just the beast in me." MGM musical specialist George Sidney helms "Viva Las Vegas: Deluxe Edition" (1963) and gives the musical numbers a dynamic that no other Elvis film has, while Elvis meets his match in screen spitfire Ann-Margret. Colonel Tom Parker made sure a co-star never again made Elvis work for the spotlight in one of his movies. The featurettes on "Jailhouse" and "Viva" are routine productions with more visual flash than interesting background. The commentary tracks, both delivered by music journalist Steve Pond (author of "Elvis in Hollywood"), are much more interesting and informative.

The "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection" is a box set of eight Elvis features on four discs in thinpak cases, packaged in a blue suede box. The best of the batch here is "King Creole" (1958), directed by studio great Michael Curtiz and featuring Dean Jagger and Walter Matthau (not to mention the surly Vic Morrow and pre-"Munsters" Yvonne de Carlo). Elvis is self-conscious as a restless waterfront rebel but, as usual, loosens up as he belts out hip shakin' rock 'n' roll numbers. "G.I. Blues" (1960), his first film after his army service, has our close-cropped boy crooning "Wooden Heart" to Juliet Prowse and belting out the theme song. "Blue Hawaii" (1961) has "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" (one of his prettiest ballads) and lots of great scenery; and with "Roustabout" (1964) you get Barbara Stanwyck as a carnie boss, Elvis driving a motorbike, and the Leiber-and-Stoller classic "Little Egypt." Also features "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (1962), "Fun in Acapulco" (1963), "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" (1966), and "Easy Come, Easy Go" (1967). No supplements on the box-set movies, but there are plenty on the new "Elvis: That's the Way It Is - Two-Disc Special Edition," which features the original 1970 concert rockumentary and the 2001 revision with more songs and less interview filler, and the 1981 documentary "This Is Elvis: Two-Disc Special Edition," which features both the original theatrical version and the expanded video version. The strangest item in the celebration is a re-release of the bizarre comedy horror "Bubba Ho-Tep" (2002), starring Bruce Campbell as a senior citizen Elvis battling a mummy in a retirement home, packaged in a white leather jumpsuit slip-sleeve.