| Elvis: That's the Way It Is | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Denis Sanders |
| Starring | Elvis Presley |
| Music by | Elvis Presley |
| Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | 1970 |
| Running time | 108 min. 97 min. 2001 Special Edition |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
Elvis: That's the Way It Is is a documentary movie directed by Denis Sanders about Elvis Presley that was released on November 11, 1970. The film documents Elvis' Summer Festival in Las Vegas during August 1970. It was his first non-dramatic film since the beginning of his movie career in 1956, and the film gives a clear view of Presley's return to live performances after years of making movies. The original concept as devised by Colonel Tom Parker was in view of Elvis's triumphant return to live performances was a closed circuit television presentation of one show but the concept developed into this movie. Although the majority of the footage takes place onstage at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, there are several other parts to the film:
Contents |
All credited cast as themselves:
Elvis Presley, Terry Blackwood, Estell Brown, James Burton, Richard Davis, Joe Esposito, Joe Guercio, Glen D. Hardin, Charlie Hodge, Felton Jarvis, Millie Kirkham, Armando Morales, Joe Moscheo, Jim Murray, Jerry Scheff, Sylvia Shemmell, Myrna Smith, Ronnie Tutt, Del 'Sonny' West, Red West, Roger Wiles, John Wilkinson, Ann Williams.
The Elvis Summer Festival at the International Hotel began on August 10, 1970, and the MGM movie crew was on hand to film this show as well as the evening and midnight performances of August 11, 12 and 13. He sings many well-known songs, including several of those that he had been seen rehearsing earlier in the film. The songs are:
Elvis is also seen relaxing in his hotel suite with various members of his entourage. The movie is also intercut with footage of fans offering commentary about what Elvis means to them; officials at the International Hotel; and celebrities (including Sammy Davis Jr., Cary Grant, Charo, George Hamilton, Juliet Prowse and Xavier Cugat) arriving for opening night of the show.
A soundtrack album was released in conjunction with the film. It was Presley's first full-length film soundtrack album since 1968's Speedway, and the last as his final film, 1972's Elvis on Tour, did not have a soundtrack release. It was only a partial soundtrack release, as it did not include all of the live performances, and substituted studio recordings for some of the songs performed in the film (some of these recordings can actually be heard playing during the film itself).
A Special Edition was released in 2001 in conjunction with the Special Edition of the movie. This consisted of three discs:
However the following shows are also available on CD:
The concert film reached #22 on the Variety National Box Office Survey on its original theatrical release in 1970.
In 2001, a new version of That's the Way it Is was compiled. The new version eliminated much of the documentary and non-Elvis content of the original in favor of adding additional performances of Elvis rehearsing and in concert. The final film runs 12 minutes shorter than the original, but contains more music, although several performances included in the original film are omitted (most notably the concert performance of "I Just Can't Help Believin'", even though the new version of the film features footage of Presley rehearsing the song and being concerned about remembering its lyrics on stage).
The special edition was released on January 19, 2001, when this new version made its worldwide debut on the cable network, Turner Classic Movies and produded by award winning producer Rick Schmidlin.
In August 2007 a two-disc DVD "special edition" was released by Warner/Turner that has both the reworked version plus the original cut. The original, however, has only a mono soundtrack [it was made with 4 track stereo]. The DVD also includes approximately 35 minutes of additional performances and other footage that was not included in either edition.
http://www.rareelvispresley.com
www.rareelvispresley.com