Elvis

Austin Butler looks nothing like Elvis, he doesn't have his unique charisma (no one does), but he’s a total magnet for women with his knockout looks, so he's a clear casting hit. Unlike the overrated Bohemian Rhapsody, which was held under the authoritative thumb of Brian May and where Rami Malek only played Mercury, Butler became Elvis for two and a half hours with his movements, his sexy deep voice, and the sparkle in his eye, which Malek didn't have. The first hour is a roller coaster ride, the timing of the scenes, the blending with the comic book panels, the craziness of the female fans, the riveting live performance where Elvis was arrested, the editing is fantastic. But there’s one big BUT. From the moment the Beatlemania fatally interferes with Presley's career, the film loses traction and, rather than focusing on the first ten years or so of his career, when he influenced rock 'n' roll like no one else, the story focuses on the last phase of his work and life, which is no longer so crucial and interesting. I would cut short everything that revolved around his career winding down at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. PS: Tom Hanks is perfect as the backstabbing manager. This is where I'm sure at least an Oscar nomination will clink. (15.08.2022)

A great film, I certainly didn't expect a flop. It was clear from the first trailer that this was going to be a powerful, emotional, charged and entertaining spectacle that might even go for the Oscars. Austin Butler as Elvis is great, Tom Hanks is unrecognizable but also excellent, the music is of course awesome (all the performances are great), the dialogues are good, and the story managed to surprise several times. There was also the traditional troubles that belong to rising stars like the looming jail time. However I'm a bit sorry that the film isn’t R-rated, and there was no room for drugs and a bit of that wild nightlife, but probably the makers just wanted to show it in the best light. I'd fault the longer running time, but otherwise solid. 8/10. (27.06.2022)

It was agony to spend nine years waiting for Baz Luhrmann's next feature film, but at least in terms of the visuals, the editing, and the overall use of the author's characteristic mannerisms, Elvis didn't disappoint, quite the contrary. Everything shines, pulsates, and moves from side to side, from window to window, or over the rooftops exactly as the fans would have hoped. The problematic yet daring creative twist is the narrator. To distance oneself from the idolized icon and let someone speak who, even with the greatest objectivity, is the antagonist, could have resulted in an absolute screenwriting disaster. Instead, Elvis is more alive than other biopics, but also not always comfortable for the audience and sometimes even venomous. In short, it's as if Fletcher were telling us about Australia, or even if the Duke himself was guiding us with his voice after Moulin Rouge! – a completely different kind of emotional experience. I understand everyone for whom this change didn't land right, but I also understand everyone who felt that the creators were forcing them to start hating Tom Hanks. I stayed close to the enthusiastic fever of all the camera and sound tricks, but slightly bitter that all of Baz's films in the last thirty years have resonated with me a bit better. (10.10.2022)

An energetic romp until the overweight, stoned ending. Baz Luhrmann piles up opulent shots, attractive camera fly-overs and the remixed and reimagined Elvis hits in the background pull you into the story immediately. Hanks’ unreliable narrator, denying any responsibility for the King’s stagnation and eventual decay, is an unlikeable, calculating bastard. His typical economic dodging, the merchandise scene and the corporate over-emphasis on security are the essence of everything that is bad about today’s world and Tom "America’s boy next door" Hanks lays it on us with great verve. Austin Butler is uncompromising and dedicated as Elvis, very faithfully copying his expressive dancing style; Feyd-Rautha is in good hands. The story follows a classic rise and fall pattern, while also going up interesting side roads, whether it is the luck of a white kid who was lucky enough to grow up in a better and all-round righter (black) environment. The timing of the premiere of this movie at the end of a PROUD month is a master stroke straight out of the Colonel’s textbook, the parallels are crystal clear. And Parker’s efforts to keep the King away from politics, family rows, disintegration of marriage, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But it never runs on the spot. A most quality memorial to a legend. (03.07.2022)

Als Baz Luhrmann Elvis Presley als sein neues Thema wählte, war klar, dass es wieder einmal ein Film sein würde, den man nicht nur einmal sehen sollte. Und voilà. Das Ergebnis ist brillant. Eine großartige Hommage an klassische große Biopics mit einem fatalen Antagonisten (im Stil von Amadeus) und dem Glanz einer sterbenden Kirmeswelt (American Horror Story: Freak Show oder Nightmare Alley). Wo habe ich nur die DVDs mit GI Blues, Blaues Hawaii und Girls! Girls! Girls!? ;) (25.07.2022)

Two and a half hours of visual debauchery where the editor, the cinematographer and the director's specific signature reign supreme. However, when it comes to the emotional level, with the exception of a few moments, the film only touches the surface. Luhrmann doesn't know how to work well with characters and their personal motivations and emotions, which, among others, was also problem in The Great Gatsby and other films of his. As an homage to Elvis, it is alright, as a proper viewer experience, not so. In this, Elvis is beaten by the romantic A Star Is Born. (30.10.2022)

A lavish and ornate ride. The film doesn't stop for a moment, it's bursting with ideas and, unlike The Great Gatsby, it's fully deserving of them all, because you expect exactly what Elvis gives you from a film that pays homage to the King. How timeless his music was is evidenced by probably the best original soundtrack I've ever heard, which puts Elvis's hits into the hands and throats of contemporary musicians who do whatever they want with them, and yet they're still absolutely great. Great joy... And as for Austin Butler, also a big surprise – I didn’t like him much in the trailers, but in the film he just needed a few minutes and he had me in the palm of his hand. And there were tears at the end, I just couldn't help it. Tom Hanks was also great, he shows what a versatile actor he is when given the chance. Great job. I have the urge to go to the cinema again like I did for Bohemian Rhapsody or the unjustly neglected Rocketman, although those films couldn't be more different. (01.07.2022)

In many ways this is a remarkable piece of work that shows its protagonist through the eyes of the antagonist, the music and the image of Elvis as a construct of the environment and the media, and also as the passion it held in one man, controlled like a puppet by every greedy little bugger who wanted to make a buck out of Presley, which eventually drove the whole world mad. Elvis's career was a ground-breaking show with an impact on pop culture that even the Beatles didn't have in Britain, so it's clear that Luhrmann opts for heavily pop-cultural filmmaking devices – from splitscreen to extravagant compositional continuity to flashbacks and flashforwards, with a narrator who is utterly reliable in all his guile and cunning. Tom Hanks may never have entertained me like this before, and as the manager, Parker dangerously steals some scenes for himself – as does Luhrmann, who dominates the fragmented but iron-clad and coherent plot much like Parker dominates Presley's life, reduced to a glittering pompous cliché. "I'm caught in a trap, I can't walk out....," Elvis sings in Casino as his manager makes a deal with the devil and takes absolute control. Luhrmann showers us with vivid scenes, but never leave us floundering, clinging to his increasingly fractured protagonist as the noose around his ill-fated life partner tightens. Everything is perfectly aligned, each act and each collage complementing each other in an almost constant spatio-temporal communication, which in Luhrmann's circus rhythm is almost dizzying. How long can a man be an attraction when he himself is denied pure joy? Countless motifs for comparison emerge from the film, which makes it easier to navigate the dynamic arrangement, and the fact that the director, with his perfectly calculated mannerisms, sometimes takes us too far away from Elvis can be forgiven – the final archive shots bring such lumps in our throats that not even the greedy Parker would take them. And I don't want to blame Butler at all, who was really amazing and blended so well with Elvis that after a while I didn't notice the actor, but only the character, something I couldn't do with Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody. Richard Roxburgh, my still favourite Sherlock Holmes from a not so favourite film, was also very enjoyable, and thanks for Little Richard. This is how you make biopics about cultural icons, through the lens of a culture that was crumbling before your eyes, and all it needed to be happy was a good wiggle in its hips. Again and again. 90 % (29.06.2022)

Elvis ist ein angenehmer Musik-Biopic, der erzählerisch nicht viel Neues bietet und die zentralen Ereignisse leicht abändert, um darum herum ein etwas besseres Drama aufzubauen. Seine Hauptstärke liegt jedoch zweifellos in der eigenwilligen Regie von Baz Luhrmann und der hingebungsvollen schauspielerischen Leistung von Austin Butler, der es geschafft hat, sich von den ersten Minuten an voll und ganz mit dem Charakter des Elvis zu identifizieren. Tom Hanks hingegen ist es nicht gelungen, mit seinem Charakter zu verschmelzen und wirkt im Film wie ein schmerzender Finger. Es hängt ein wenig davon ab, ob man seine eigenwillige Leistung akzeptiert, aber ich habe während der zweieinhalb Stunden einfach nicht daran geglaubt, dass ich Colonel Tom Parker sehe, sondern eher Hanks, der unter einer Schicht von Prothesen spielt. Baz Luhrmann setzt seine Überstilisierung manchmal ein wenig zu übertrieben ein und seine Auswahl an Begleitmusik, bzw. modernen Musikgenres, würde ich in einer Geschichte über den König des Rock 'n' Roll mindestens als fragwürdig bezeichnen. Trotz dieser störenden Elemente funktioniert der Film in erster Linie als Unterhaltung für das Publikum und bietet wirklich spektakuläre Bilder, die es wert sind, wenn möglich auf einer großen Leinwand gesehen zu werden. Für mich eine leicht zwiespältige Zufriedenheit. (01.07.2022)

In der ersten Hälfte wird unter anderem auf die Zusammenstöße zwischen dem rebellierenden Elvis und der Zensurkommission Wert gelegt, die seine verdrehten Bewegungen als obszön betrachtet. Die zweite Hälfte basiert hauptsächlich auf Presleys Konflikten mit seinen Mitmenschen, entweder indem er ihren Erwartungen grundsätzlich nicht entsprechen möchte oder indem er ihnen zu ihrem eigenen Enttäuschung nicht gerecht werden kann. Das ganze Filmes thematisiert den unermüdlichen Versuch, die eigene außergewöhnliche persönliche und musikalische Identität aufrechtzuerhalten, die als einziger Schlüssel zum Erfolg und Unsterblichkeit des Künstlers dient. Der charismatische und sowohl bewegungs- als auch gesangsbegabte Austin Butler ist in der Hauptrolle absolut herausragend. Er kann nicht nur bei fantastisch inszenierten Musiknummern begeistern, sondern auch in leisen Momenten eine relativ breite Palette an Emotionen absolut natürlich und sensibel ausdrücken. Die meisten Neben- und Randrollen sind typgerecht besetzt. Natürlich hat auch der großartige Tom Hanks in der Rolle des zweitwichtigsten Charakters, Presleys Musikagenten und gleichzeitig des Erzählers des Films, viel Raum, der zwar mehrfach versucht, das Publikum davon zu überzeugen, dass er es die ganze Zeit gut mit seinem Schützling gemeint hat, aber seine Taten, wie sie im Film dargestellt werden, sprechen das Gegenteil. Seine Perspektive als unzuverlässiger Erzähler ergänzt sich natürlich mit der Perspektive von Elvis und der Film legt großen Wert auf die Veränderungen in ihrer freundschaftlichen-familiären-geschäftlichen Beziehung. Die Geschichte folgt einer präzise rhythmisierten Struktur, in der Elvis' Auftritte immer den Höhepunkt der einzelnen Abschnitte und Zeitabschnitte bilden. Regisseur Baz Luhrmann ist in Bestform seit "Moulin Rouge" und glänzt auch als herausragender audiovisueller Erzähler und Meister des Schnitts. Ein paar zweisekündige Aufnahmen und die passende Musik reichen ihm aus, um sofort die richtige Stimmung des jeweiligen Moments, der Umgebung und der Umstände einzufangen. Im Bereich der biografischen Filme über Musiklegenden ist "Elvis" ein Juwel, das seinen titelgebenden Helden in vielen verschiedenen Positionen und Stilen zeigt und unabhängig davon fesselt, ob man seine Geschichten und Lieder kennt oder nicht, und dank vieler erkennbarer Markenzeichen und filmischer Techniken kann man seinen Regisseur einfach nicht leugnen. Es ist eine packende audiovisuelle Reise, die einen von den ersten Aufnahmen an mitreißt und förmlich danach schreit, auf der großen Leinwand gezeigt zu werden. (24.06.2022)

Nach Freddie und Elton hat auch der King of Rock 'n' Roll seine (un)berühmte Geschichte auf der großen Leinwand gefunden. Luhrmanns Filme zeichnen sich vor allem durch ihre audiovisuelle Qualität aus, seien es der unverwechselbare Soundtrack oder die aufwändigen Sets und prächtigen Kostüme - und auch Elvis trägt eine starke Handschrift des Regisseurs. Ich war fasziniert davon, dass Elvis' Geschichte aus der Perspektive seines problematischen Managers erzählt wurde, der versuchte, "E. P." in einem goldenen, aber äußerst giftigen Käfig zu halten. Aus schauspielerischer Sicht habe ich nichts zu bemängeln - es war ein schauspielerisches Konzert von Butler und Hanks, die von Olivia DeJonge brillant unterstützt wurden. Die stärksten Szenen sind für mich der Dialog mit den Müttern, das Gespräch zwischen Elvis und Priscilla im Auto und natürlich der Auftritt mit "Unchained Melody". Obwohl ich kein großer Elvis-Fan bin, hat es der Film geschafft, mich trotz seiner längeren Laufzeit bei der Stange zu halten. P. S. "When things are too dangerous to say, sing." (23.06.2022)

It suffers from pretty much everything that current mainstream biopics about music legends suffer from. 1) an unquestioningly noble protagonist as victim of the intersectionality of unsavory businessmen (Tom Hanks here is pretty much playing the Penguin from the comic books, with all the grotesque overacting that entails) 2) a narrative fractured into disembodied scenes, a year here, five years there 3) an attempt to anchor a potentially controversial hero in the mindset of the contemporary mainstream (Elvis, a queer icon, hangs sulking with his African-American pals). 4) When the filmmakers run out of mergle or get tired of it, along comes the green screen. I barfed at the final scene at the airport. ____ Unlike the other flat bio-memorials, however, Elvis has Luhrmann behind him, which... weeeeeell, it’s not bad news, but it’s not exactly good either. Because I have a recurring problem with this director – his methods of visual interpretation and indeed narrative as a whole is horrible kitsch, almost to the point of actually being an exploitation of kitsch. But one of the problems with kitsch is that underneath its perhaps flashy and colorful veneer you can tell at first glance that it’s not bringing anything new to the table. And yet here it is. Luhrmann can bust a gut in his effort to make sure not a second goes by without entertaining you and giving you something to look at. The image splitting, camera rotation, zooms, reflections, deliberate staginess, and frantic editing that often divides scenes into half-second shots are things that Bay, Neveldine/Taylor, or Gilliam got away with because they were intertwined with a comparably insane narrative. Elvis is just a conventional family spectacle about a kid from the suburbs where the camera pans dramatically to the Intercontinental Hotel eight times and the editing is all done with blurry rotation. (25.09.2022)

Für mich ist dieser Film die größte Überraschung der diesjährigen Saison. Ein fesselndes Werk, das vor allem am Anfang ekstatisch intensiv ist. Der Rest des Films strotzt vor Ideen und presst im Rahmen des verkrusteten Genres „Filmbiografie“ aus dem Material das Maximale raus. Und das sage ich als jemand, der sonst kein Fan von Luhrmann und Elvis ist. (29.12.2022)