Baz Luhrmann’s EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert brings Elvis Presley back to the big screen with forensic audio restoration and a closing poem by Bono, reshaping the concert film for 2026 audiences
by Paul Cashmere
More than four decades after his death, Elvis Presley returns to cinemas in EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert, a project that reframes archival performance footage through modern restoration and an unexpected literary coda from Bono.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, the film culminates with Bono’s spoken-word piece American David, read over the closing credits against an instrumental score by composer Elliott Wheeler. While new to cinema audiences, the poem has a lineage stretching back more than 20 years.
American David was originally written by Bono in 1994 to accompany the Boston exhibition Elvis + Marilyn: 2 X Immortal at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The text later surfaced in U2’s Propaganda magazine in 1995 as a fold-out poster and appeared in Q Magazine the same year as part of Bono’s reflection on the record that changed his life. Elements of the poem also informed lyrics in Elvis Ate America, recorded by Passengers, the Brian Eno and U2 collaboration project. For EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert, the poem is restored to a central position, delivered in full as a meditation on Presley’s cultural weight.
The soundtrack release underscores the scale of Luhrmann’s undertaking. Rather than simply reissue familiar live recordings, the production team embarked on what can be described as an archival reconstruction. Approximately 65 boxes of original 1970 concert negative were uncovered, including multi-night Las Vegas performances, 16mm tour reels and previously unseen 8mm backstage footage. Much of it was disorganised or mislabeled, and none of it retained synchronised sound.
The absence of matched audio meant the team had to track down original magnetic recording tapes from 1970 sessions. In many cases, Elvis’ lead vocal, band instrumentation and orchestral arrangements had been recorded separately. Some elements were damaged, others scattered across archives and private holdings. Over nearly two years, the audio was isolated, cleaned and rebalanced using contemporary restoration tools, then painstakingly synchronised to the silent film negative.
Luhrmann and editor Jono O’Redmond shifted the film’s structure after discovering a rare 45-minute recording of Presley speaking candidly about his life. That tape became the narrative spine. Instead of constructing a traditional retrospective driven by external commentary, the film unfolds as a dream concert, Presley narrating his own journey through song and spoken reflection.
The result is an immersive reconstruction of the 1970 concert experience, with heightened clarity around Presley’s vocal phrasing, the punch of the TCB Band and the swell of orchestration that defined his Las Vegas period. The involvement of Peter Jackson’s restoration specialists, known for meticulous audio visual recovery work, further refined the material, balancing fidelity with the visceral energy of a live performance.
The EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert soundtrack mirrors that ambition. Alongside restored EPiC Versions of classics including Cant Help Falling In Love, Thats All Right, Polk Salad Annie, Burning Love and Suspicious Minds, the collection integrates contemporary reinterpretations. Always On My Mind appears in an Omer Fedi Remix, while In The Ghetto receives a Jamieson Shaw Remix. The set also revisits the 2022 PNAU reworking of Suspicious Minds, retitled Dont Fly Away, which previously introduced Presley’s voice to a new dance audience.
The sequencing traces Presley’s artistic arc, from the gospel gravitas of How Great Thou Art and Oh Happy Day to the pop soul of Youve Lost That Loving Feeling and the political resonance of An American Trilogy. The inclusion of American David in EPiC Version form positions Bono’s words as a closing reflection on Presley’s enduring myth.
Presley’s live career, particularly his Las Vegas residency beginning in 1969, marked a pivotal chapter. After years focused on Hollywood films, his return to the stage reasserted his status as a commanding performer. The elaborate stage production, white jumpsuits and expansive setlists became synonymous with his final decade.
EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert revisits that era with contemporary technical precision, inviting reassessment of a performer whose influence remains embedded across rock, soul, country and gospel traditions.
EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert is in cinemas on Thursday 19 February 2026.
The CD and digital edition of EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert is released on 20 February 2026. The vinyl edition follows on 24 April 2026.
EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert Tracklisting
CD
Cant Help Falling In Love (EPiC Intro)
Also Sprach Zarathustra / An American Trilogy (EPiC Version)
Thats All Right (EPiC Version)
Tiger Man (EPiC Version)
Wearin That Night Life Look
Hound Dog (EPiC Version)
Polk Salad Annie (EPiC Version)
Youve Lost That Loving Feeling (EPiC Version)
Little Sister / Get Back (EPiC Version)
Burning Love (EPiC Version)
Never Been To Spain (EPiC Version)
Love Me (Jamieson Shaw Remix)
I Cant Stop Loving You (EPiC Version)
Are You Lonesome Tonight (EPiC Version)
Always On My Mind (EPiC Version)
How Great Thou Art (EPiC Version)
Oh Happy Day (EPiC Version)
Big Hunk O Love (EPiC Version)
Bridge Over Troubled Water (EPiC Version)
In The Ghetto (Jamieson Shaw Remix)
Walk A Mile In My Shoes (EPiC Version)
Suspicious Minds (EPiC Version)
Bring The Curtain Down (EPiC Outro)
Cant Help Falling In Love (EPiC Version)
American David (EPiC Version)
A Change Of Reality (Do You Miss Me?)
Dont Fly Away (PNAU Remix)
LP – SIDE A
Cant Help Falling In Love (EPiC Intro)
Also Sprach Zarathustra / An American Trilogy (EPiC Version)
Thats All Right (EPiC Version)
Tiger Man (EPiC Version)
Wearin That Night Life Look
Hound Dog (EPiC Version)
Polk Salad Annie (EPiC Version)
LP – SIDE B
Youve Lost That Loving Feeling (EPiC Version)
Little Sister / Get Back (EPiC Version)
Burning Love (EPiC Version)
Never Been To Spain (EPiC Version)
Love Me (Jamieson Shaw Remix)
LP – SIDE C
I Cant Stop Loving You (EPiC Version)
Are You Lonesome Tonight (EPiC Version)
Always On My Mind (EPiC Version)
How Great Thou Art (EPiC Version)
Oh Happy Day (EPiC Version)
Big Hunk O Love (EPiC Version)
Bridge Over Troubled Water (EPiC Version)
LP – SIDE D
In The Ghetto (Jamieson Shaw Remix)
Walk A Mile In My Shoes (EPiC Version)
Suspicious Minds (EPiC Version)
Bring The Curtain Down (EPiC Outro)
Cant Help Falling In Love (EPiC Version)
American David (EPiC Version)
A Change Of Reality (Do You Miss Me?)
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