ELVIS: BY THE PRESLEYS!(2005)
This is a very good documentary about the King
of rock and roll! However, it could have been
much better!!! Because Pricilla is the main person
here doing the talking, it is slanted toward her point
of view, and unfortunately her attitude about Elvis
isn't the best! If this had been left to Lisa Marie
and Jerry Schilling, this would have been excellent!!
The main problem is that with Pricilla being the
main narrator here, along with her mom and dad,
it just has a lot of negitiveness to it!
On the upside, this has a lot of clips that most
people have never seen of Elvis, and even has
several songs in their entirety! Not a bad watch
at all, albeit a little lengthy! B+
From another reviewer at Amazon:
The King of Rock and Roll would have turned 70
in 2005, the same year Elvis by the Presleys was
released. An impressive number, but it's a pea in
the ocean compared to the amount of posthumous
products bearing his name; and the really amazing
part is that some of them actually manage to shed
new light on this much-studied icon. Assuming one
has the time, stamina, and interest to wade through
the enormous amount of material presented on Elvis
by the Presleys, this ambitious, well-made documentary
-reminiscence certainly falls into that category.
The presence and participation of Presley's ex-wife,
Priscilla, and daughter Lisa Marie, as well as
Priscilla's parents and sister, Elvis' first cousin,
and "Memphis Mafia" member Jerry Schilling,
lend an air of authenticity to the project. There
isn't a lot here about Elvis' music, although the
interpolation of many clips from his TV appearances,
movies, concert performances, and recordings
more than adequately convey the singer's ineffable
(and apparently eternal) appeal. Elvis by the
Presleys is more specifically designed to provide
an inside look at the day-to-day life of Presley,
his family, and those in his immediate orbit, and
on that level it succeeds rather well.
There is a lot of talk here--nearly four and half
hours' worth (including bonus material), spread
out over two discs. Some of the territory covered
is yawn-inducingly familiar: Elvis was well-mannered
but moody, he was exceedingly generous, he
loved Christmas, he appreciated his fans, and on
and on. But there are more surprising (at least
to the casual fan) revelations as well: Presley
was an accomplished horseman; he was not only
a good Christian but a voracious reader with an
interest in spiritual as well as purely religious
matters (he even joined the Self-Realization
Fellowship in Los Angeles); and he suffered
mightily from insomnia. Moreover, while this
is a loving tribute, it's not hagiography. Priscilla
makes it clear that she and everyone else around
Elvis were expected to surrender their own lives
to suit his needs and whims, a demand she
eventually found unendurable. Nor do they gloss
over Elvis' final years, when he was fat, drug-ridden,
and disillusioned. Little matter that Elvis Presley
is dead. Long live the King! --Sam Graham