Elvis Presley EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert Reveals Never-Before-Seen Power Of The King

Baz Luhrmann brings Elvis Presley back to the big screen with EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert, using extraordinary rare footage and cutting-edge restoration to present Elvis Presley as audiences have never experienced him before.

by Paul Cashmere

Baz Luhrmann has spent years living inside the world of Elvis Presley, first through the lavish 2022 biographical drama Elvis and now through an even more direct and intimate experience, EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert. This new theatrical event is not a conventional documentary, nor a simple reassembly of familiar material. According to Luhrmann, it is the result of an almost archaeological discovery that unlocked the raw power of Elvis at his peak.

Baz Luhrmann held court at Melbourne’s IMAX Cinema presenting the movie for the first time for Melbourne fans ahead of it’s Australian premiere on February 19.

Luhrmann describes the moment the project truly began as something closer to an adventure film than an archival exercise. Boxes of film arrived in disarray, roughly 65 boxes of original negative, some mislabeled, some incomplete, some thought lost.

Among them was footage shot across multiple nights during Elvis’ 1970 Las Vegas performances, along with 16mm film from the tours and astonishing 8mm footage never intended for public viewing. One of the most remarkable finds shows Elvis in a gold jacket, filmed privately by the wife of a tour member, material even Luhrmann says had never been seen before.

The footage was originally uncovered during preparation for Elvis, but it proved impossible to incorporate fully into that film. Rather than return it to storage, Luhrmann and his long-time editor Jono O’Redmond committed to building something entirely new. The guiding principle was simple and radical, let Elvis tell his own story. Instead of modern commentary or talking heads, EPIC is structured around Elvis speaking directly, drawn from a rare 45-minute audio recording in which he reflects on his life with an openness Luhrmann says he had never previously heard.

Technically, the challenge was immense. Much of the film existed only as silent negative. The original sound had to be hunted down separately, often on magnetic tapes scattered across collections and private holdings. Luhrmann recounts sending team members to track down audio in unlikely places, sometimes in car parks, sometimes through unofficial channels. Once recovered, it took nearly two years to synchronise Elvis’ voice, the band and the orchestra, dealing with damaged microphones, incomplete mixes and inconsistent recordings.

To achieve the immersive sound audiences hear in cinemas, Luhrmann collaborated with Peter Jackson and his restoration team, whose work on The Beatles: Get Back set a new benchmark. Jackson’s technology was used to isolate and enhance Elvis’ vocals and the live instrumentation, restoring clarity and presence without losing the grit of a live performance. Luhrmann says Jackson was struck by how little of Elvis’ backstage, rehearsal and musical process had ever been truly seen.

The result is a concert film that captures Elvis as a complete performer. Luhrmann points to performances such as Polk Salad Annie as examples of Elvis’ unique command of the stage. The band never knew exactly where he was going, Elvis conducted with his entire body, improvising, pulling musicians in and pushing the energy forward in real time. Watching the footage repeatedly revealed an artist operating on instinct, commitment and total immersion.

Beyond the spectacle, Luhrmann was surprised by Elvis’ humour and gentleness. The film reveals a man deeply empathetic, shaped by his upbringing in Tupelo, his closeness to the Black community around him and the vulnerability that followed the imprisonment of his father and the loss of his mother. Luhrmann sees Elvis as someone constantly trying to put others at ease, whether that was musicians, fans or a young Whitney Houston visiting rehearsals with her mother, Cissy Houston, then a member of The Sweet Inspirations.

Historically, EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert also addresses a lingering absence in Elvis’ legacy. Elvis never toured outside North America, despite his global fame. Luhrmann is determined to give audiences around the world the concert experience Elvis himself longed to deliver. By placing the film in cinemas, from small regional towns to major international cities, Luhrmann believes this is the scale Elvis always deserved.

For Luhrmann, this project is personal. Growing up in a small Australian country town, cinema represented something precious, a shared escape and a communal experience. He sees presenting Elvis on the big screen as a responsibility, almost a sacred task, to honour the audience’s time and the artist’s spirit.

EPIC: Elvis Presley In Concert stands as a powerful companion piece to Elvis, the 2022 film starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, which chronicled Presley’s life under the management of Colonel Tom Parker. Where that film dramatised history, EPIC strips everything back. Elvis sings, Elvis speaks, and Elvis connects. For fans, it is a rare chance to see not a myth or an impression, but the living force that made Elvis Presley a once-in-a-generation phenomenon.