Review: EPiC - Elvis Presley in Concert (2026)

When Baz Luhrmann's Elvis hit the screen back in 2022, it accomplished a couple of things. First, it made an overnight star out of actor Austin Butler. Second, it reminded everyone how Elvis Presley had changed the world. Unfortunately, these achievements were accompanied by quite a few fictions, because, hey...biopics lie. A lot. Now, nearly four years later, Baz is back with EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a film that's part concert, part behind-the-scenes rehearsal, part documentary. It's as if the entire project is an apology from Mr. Luhrmann for his past transgressions against Mr. Presley--a man who I'm still not sure Baz even likes. (I suspect the filmmaker may simply be drawn to the drama of this great American tragedy.)

But my oh my, EPiC is indeed epic, and it's at its best when Baz steps out of the way and allows Elvis to tell his own story. The film, which runs 100 minutes, is composed entirely of archival footage of Elvis during his residency at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, which began in 1969. We get to see rehearsal footage of Elvis with his first-rate band and his backup singers, the Sweet Inspirations, plus a few candid moments captured backstage and during press conferences. To provide us with the appropriate context, the film also uses "flashbacks" that utilize archival footage of everything from Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show to clips from his movies to rare home video footage, presumably provided by Priscilla and the Elvis estate. 

The trailer promotes much of this footage as "newly discovered," but I'm skeptical. After all, the Follow That Dream label has plumbed the depths of Elvis' live performances for many years, selling countless expensive box sets to an eager-but-dwindling fandom who are happy to have another concert in their collection. It seems unlikely to me that this footage was truly unknown..."until now." Nevertheless, what matters is that the footage is here and it looks absolutely stunning in what I assume is a 4K restoration of the 35mm film elements. To be blunt, this film accomplishes what Baz's 2022 biopic attempted to do, but soars so much higher because we're actually watching The King, both on stage and back stage. All the charm, all the self-deprecating humor, the corny jokes, the double entendres, the sly winks to the camera...the man behind the music is here, warts and all. But what's also here is a man with something to prove after years of movies that left him creatively unfulfilled. This is Elvis at the very beginning of his second act as a live performer, giving literally everything he has to the audience. He's thin, virile, pacing the stage like a panther (or a Tiger Man), doing karate and pouring sweat. But most importantly, he's singing his heart out and sounding better than ever before.  

It's a potent reminder why Elvis scared the pants off the establishment when he first arrived on the scene in the 1950s. Off stage, he's a polite southern gentleman. He's soft spoken, saying yes ma'am and no sir. He never meant to upset nobody, no sir. But on stage, he's dangerous. Elvis' 1968 television special had re-introduced him as a rock star, and this residency at the International Hotel was not only record breaking in attendance, it was his opportunity to remind the world that he was a musician, first and foremost. Baz does something unique with the many musical performances, cutting back and forth between the rehearsal footage and then the actual show in front of a live audience, allowing us to see how much more intense and invested Elvis was when he could feed off the energy of the crowd. 

The film is practically perfect, and it only missteps when Baz can't help himself from being Baz, occasionally forgetting to let Elvis tell his story and injecting his own personality into the film. It's in these moments that we get weird techno versions of Elvis songs mingled among the 1969 recordings, or when he completely remixes a song like "In The Ghetto" to sound like a cover version by some modern pop artist. Then there are the gaudy little Baz touches, like the CGI rhinestone graphics, that feel out of place. Sure, Elvis was tacky in his own rite, with his jumpsuits and capes and belts and gold glasses the size of a Buick. But Baz can't seem to stop reminding us that this is Baz Luhrmann's EPiC, a Baz Lurhmann film brought to you by Baz Luhrmann. The worst sin of all is that the movie has a very clear end. The music swells, the images decelerate into slow motion, and the screen fades to black. Elvis has literally left the building. But no, Baz isn't done and we're treated to a post-script that feels ham-fisted and literally introduces someone else's voice (spoilers: it's Bono) into a film that has been entirely narrated by Elvis Aaron Presley. Bad form, Baz. Audiences are then treated to a dance remix version of an Elvis classic while the end credits roll. Baz just can't stop Bazzing. 

Fortunately, the good FAR outweighs the bad and I found myself with goosebumps over and over throughout the film. This film is formatted for IMAX screens and there's simply nothing like seeing Elvis on the large format screen with all those surround sound speakers playing the music so loud that it vibrates my clothes. This is the closest some of us will ever get to actually seeing Elvis live, and witnessing it in IMAX is simply stunning, reminding us all of the power of this music--yes--but also of the power of Elvis, before the dark times. 

I always stay through the end credits of movies out of respect to the filmmakers, and as I made my way down the stairs toward the exit of the theater, I passed the only other two people still in the room as the lights came on: an elderly couple who were sitting almost at the front. As I walked past them, I heard the woman tell the man "I'm coming back tomorrow for both shows. I miss him so much." That's the real gift of this film: it doesn't give us an illusion, someone pretending to be the icon. It brings the real Elvis back to life.