Follows Elvis Presley, featuring never-before-seen footage and recordings. (from IMDb)

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a labor of love from director Baz Luhrmann, who also helmed 2022's acclaimed Elvis biopic, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks. EPiC was assembled using lots of previously unseen footage of Presley in concert that Luhrmann found in a Warner Bros. vault. It's an unusual documentary where an Elvis interview kind of serves as the project's narrator, with a quick visual summary of the performer's life leading up to excerpts from his long-running stint in Las Vegas. Most of the film consists of a few live performances of some of "The King's" most popular songs from several different shows. Many times, a live performance would be played - in part or in whole - with footage from various shows at different points in his career being set to the music. It's almost like a series of live music videos stitched together to act as a feature film. Interspersed between performances are some interview clips with Elvis, footage of him in the studio, hanging out backstage, or rehearsing. We also see him interacting with fans, some family footage, and other odds and ends. The way the movie opens, we also see clips from various films he acted in, all leading up to his post-Hollywood return to performing in Vegas.

If you're unfamiliar with Presley, or haven't really seen him perform live before, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a decent introduction to the artist. Elvis was no less than an icon and pop culture phenomenon, and EPiC does a fair job portraying this. However, I still kind of felt like it's a fairly limited view of who he was as a person. The interview clips give us a little insight into his heart and mind, but we mostly just see his on stage performances. And, frankly, he often comes off a bit arrogant and full of himself. If it weren't for the handful of interview clips, I couldn't say this documentary paints him in the best light. Still, from just watching this, you can kind of get an idea of why the man was so popular. Although, I have to admit, it amazed me how much he just stuck to center stage and barely moved from that spot - just sort of vibrating in place. He'd dance till he was drenched in sweat, but it was hardly the most engaging stage presence.

What stood out to me the most about EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is actually its picture. The clarity and color are absolutely ridiculous. It's a beautiful looking film, and it's easily one of the best 4K UHD discs I've ever seen. Even the movie company logos are dazzling -- the whole thing just flexes the 4K presentation. It's gorgeous. The sound is solid, too, and Luhrmann & co. did a pretty good job stitching all of the archival footage together to work as an entertaining piece. It's a little strange to think of Luhrmann as a "director" for footage that was probably shot by hundreds of different people throughout Elvis's lifetime, but the director's vision here is clearly unique. The film is ultimately about the singer's legacy and, more specifically, his time as a performer on stages in Vegas, but if all you know about Elvis is through his impersonators, or the 2022 film, then EPiC is an eye-opening experience. For diehard music fans alone, it's a pretty interesting watch.

A surprising amount of Elvis's songs make an appearance in this film. From some of his earlier songs, to cover songs he did, and even hymns / gospel songs, it's extensive. There's a brief montage later in the film that addresses his gospel roots, including "How Great Thou Art" and "Oh Happy Day," featuring him talking about them in interview audio, and it's a nice addition to the song collection here. Just a few of the other songs you'll hear throughout the movie include "Can't Help Falling in Love," "Polk Salad Annie," "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Always On My Mind," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and "Walk a Mile in My Shoes." If you're a fan, there should be a decent amount of music sampled here.

The content is probably borderline PG-13, but I guess I see why they slapped it with that instead of rating it PG. There is a little bit of language, but it's infrequent, and mostly just a couple uses of "h*ll" and "d*mn." I heard Elvis jokingly mumble out at least one use of "S.O.B" from the stage, but there could have been more. There isn't any blasphemy, but he does say "L-rd have mercy" twice during his concert, and at least once during a song. Other than that, there are occasional glimpses of people smoking or drinking, but it's not really focused on (except the one time a fan passes a drink up to Elvis during his concert and he sips it). The thing that took me most by surprise was how often Elvis kissed female fans right on the lips. There are lots of instances shown where he just wades through crowds, leans over and locks lips with a random woman. It was definitely surprising. At the start of EPiC, we see a montage of clips from movies Elvis acted in, and so we see him kissing various girls or dancing with girls in bikinis. We also see him briefly fist-fighting in one scene. When the intro switches to talk about Elvis serving in the war, we briefly see some real war footage, including a plane dropping bombs. There's no real violence in EPiC aside from these clips from other movies, but in one of those clips, Elvis is playing a character who has some blood on his face.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert. Is it amazing? Not especially, but the picture and presentation is pretty impressive. I was curious how Luhrmann was going to end a documentary that didn't seem to have a strong narrative, so after about 90 minutes of live footage and interviews, we hear the voice of U2's Bono deliver a poem he wrote just before the end credits, and then it's over. It's not an especially interesting, or even good, poem, so I found it to be a strange (and bland) way to end the movie.

If you're a fan of Elvis Presley, or curious about his musical legacy, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a pretty cool experience. I'm not sure I'd ever really choose to watch this again, but the dazzling picture may tempt me to revisit it someday. It's a well-made documentary - even if the show-jumping throughout a given song could be frustrating at times. I kind of would have liked the camera to linger a bit less restlessly than it does, but I can imagine it was all done in a way to keep the film visually engaging. Elvis fans will especially not want to miss this.

- John DiBiase (reviewed: 8/9/26)

There aren't many bonus features on the 4K set. The combo pack comes with a 4K UHD disc and a standard Blu-Ray disc, but no digital copy. The only bonus features on the 4K disc include a couple trailers and TV Spots. It would have been nice to at least have a director interview talking about how the project came together.