A vivid, IMAX-scale concert documentary that turns rare Elvis footage into something closer to a mythic event than a standard archive compilation. Even for viewers who are only casually interested in Elvis, the energy, editing, and sheer performance charisma make it an easy recommendation.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Music · Documentary
Wed · 1h 38m
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Elvis Presley, James Burton, John Wilkinson
Overview
Long-lost footage from Elvis Presley's legendary Las Vegas residency in the 1970s woven together with rare 16mm footage from Elvis on Tour, and 8mm from the Graceland archive, plus recordings of Elvis telling "his side of the story" rediscovered during Baz Luhrmann's research for his 2022 film, Elvis.
Director
Baz Luhrmann
Cast
Elvis Presley, James Burton, John Wilkinson
Curator Review
Verdict
A vivid, IMAX-scale concert documentary that turns rare Elvis footage into something closer to a mythic event than a standard archive compilation. Even for viewers who are only casually interested in Elvis, the energy, editing, and sheer performance charisma make it an easy recommendation.
Best for
Elvis fans
viewers who love concert films and performance documentaries
fans of Baz Luhrmann’s maximalist style
IMAX and archival-footage enthusiasts
people curious about 1970s Las Vegas showmanship
Skip if
you want a conventional, strictly chronological documentary
you dislike stylized editing and sensory overload
you are not interested in Elvis as a performer or cultural icon
you prefer talking-head-heavy music docs over performance-first films
Overview
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is less a behind-the-scenes documentary than a resurrection. Baz Luhrmann shapes long-lost performance footage into a feverish, crowd-pleasing spectacle that makes Elvis feel immediate again, not embalmed by history. The result is part concert film, part archival treasure hunt, part devotional cinema.
Worth noting
What stands out most is how alive the material feels. The editing, the film stocks, and the scale of the presentation turn familiar songs into a fresh experience, especially when the film leans into the electricity of Elvis in full command of a room. It’s the kind of movie that can convert skeptics and delight obsessives in equal measure.
Bottom line
This is also unmistakably a Baz Luhrmann project: heightened, romantic, and a little unhinged in the best way. If you want a clean historical account, look elsewhere. If you want to feel the force of Elvis as an event, this is the one to see.
Top Letterboxd reviews
demi adejuyigbe (4.5★) · 3133 likes
I’ve never been an Elvis guy but this might’ve turned me into one. That boy was kissing strangers the way you or I would ask for a cup of water. He’s up in heaven right now goin’ “whoa mama. I woulda never survived that there COVID”
critchy (3.5★) · 987 likes
hats off to baz for putting elvis deepthroating the microphone not once, but twice on the big screen
Campbell George · 702 likes
They put me on the IMAX, momma
andy (4★) · 573 likes
one of the best concert movies i’ve seen. all the different film stocks this was shot on are so good and stunning in imax.
𝐳𝐞𝐡𝐫𝐚𓆩♡𓆪 (5★) · 563 likes
it’s amazing how livable life becomes when a director is just as mentally unwell about your dead man as you are
Themes
celebrity mythology, live performance, archival resurrection, music history, Las Vegas spectacle, fandom and obsession, legacy and reinvention, showmanship
Topics
concert documentary, archival footage, IMAX, music legend, Las Vegas, 1970s, showbiz, maximalist, performance energy, nostalgia