Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and Sofa Entertainment teaming up for the May 25, 2018 three separate DVD sets of performances of Elvis Presley is a special treat for Elvis fans, music and pop culture historians, and folks with a desire to see first-hand the basis for the fuss about this man. The good news is that these sets, which feature the incredible Elvis appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," should exceed the expectations of all three groups. The big picture is that these releases and those mentioned below makes one hope for regular future sets.
UMe and Sofa also have separate DVDs of Sullivan performances of The Temptations and The Supremes, as well as the truly iconic performance of The Beatles on that series. A post on these sets is pending.
The aptly titled "Just Elvis" is a Cliffsnotes version of "The Three Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring Elvis" in that it cuts out the other performers, including Carol Burnett and Sugar Ray Robinson. Time constraints are the reason for the shortcut of only watching "Just."
An amusing aspect of the September 9, 1956 episode that marks the first Elvis appearance on "Sullivan" is that Sullivan does not host; Hollywood royalty Charles Laughton fills in that week.
A very endearing Elvis starts things out with "Don't Be Cruel" and then premieres "Love Me Tender" in conjunction with plugging his film premiere in the film of the same name. Elvis pops up again at the end of that episode to seemingly wrap things up with "Ready Teddy" but amusingly adds a surprise encore.
Sullivan is back for the October 28, 1956 Elvis episode. This one has Elvis essentially repeating the playlist and the bits from the earlier show; a variation of his performance of "Cruel" is entertaining.
The set wraps up with a January 6, 1957 "Sullivan" that has Elvis starting with a greatest hits medley, doing "Cruel," and finishing up with some songs that he had not previously performed on Sullivan.
The aptly titled 2-DVD set ""Elvis: The Great Performances" consists of three documentaries on The King. The following YouTube clip of the trailer for "Performances" offers a glimpse of the rockin' fun of this one.
The shortcut this time is only watching "Center Stages," which chronicles the entire career of Elvis, that childhood friend of Elvis and current Memphis DJ George Klein narrates.
This tale begins with Klein discussing Elvis amazing his eighth-grade classmates with his singing talent. Coverage of the early career of Elvis includes footage of his first television appearance, home movies of Elvis and other future stars such as Buddy Holly singing at a high school dance, and (of course) clips from "Sullivan."
We then move onto an amusing subversive appearance on the "Steve Allen Show" in response to Allen demanding that Elvis literally tone down his act in the wake of the scandal surrounding the allegedly highly sexual nature of his performance style. Movie clips include scenes from "G.I. Blues," "Jailhouse Rock," and Elvis favorite "King Creole." This leads to the Vegas years.
"Fat Elvis" appears most prominently in footage from a concert soon before his death. The bad news is that he looks even worse than anticipated; the good news is that he still sounds very good.
"The Man and the Music" focuses on the tabloidicious private life of this pioneer American Idol. Highlights in this one include rare home movies and interviews with Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
Current Irish Idol Bono narrates "From the Waist Up." The focus this time is on the rapid rise of Elvis from unknown to superstar.
Elvis warranting this star treatment more than 60 years after first appearing on the scene and the amusing and/or dynamic footage of "Thin Elvis" shows that he still has it 40 years after experiencing the arguably most embarrassing celebrity death ever.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Elvis" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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