This 'EPiC' movie makes Elvis Presley vital once again – Review

You thought Baz Luhrmann was done with the King of Rock 'n' Roll after \

Think about how many people attended Taylor Swift’s worldwide Eras Tour. That’s a fairly huge number, right? Now think about how many people still remember seeing Elvis Presley live and in person. That’s likely not a very big number at all, and one steadily decreasing as time goes on.

That’s why director Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” (★★★½ out of four; rated PG-13; in IMAX theaters now, nationwide Feb. 27) is so special and so, well, epic. This electrifying combo of documentary and concert film showcases the King of Rock 'n' Roll at his creative zenith during his 1970s Las Vegas residency and early '70s tours, and more importantly showcases Presley in all of his jumpsuited splendor, as both cultural icon and cool guy. It’s an essential watch for every music fan, even if you’re not an Elvis junkie.

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And a Presley-phile I am not. The most into Elvis I’ve ever been was as a kid in the 1980s somewhat obsessed with him not actually being dead, reading books about how he was living in Hawaii or something. But watching “EPiC" you get it. You get him. You get why teenage girls went berserk when he shook his hips and why people just went mad everywhere he went for decades. You also get, in his own words, a glimpse into who Presley truly was that no other documentary or film has ever captured the same way.

“EPiC” is light years better than Luhrmann’s recent “Elvis” biopic, and it’s a minor miracle that it exists in the first place. While working on his Austin Butler-starring movie, the Australian director unearthed 59 hours of lost footage in an underground Kansas salt mine, restored it and painstakingly matched it with audio, including new Presley interview material.