Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley

A great documentary about the King that showcased the incredible talent and charisma Elvis had. It documents how Elvis's meteoric rise to fame was followed by formulaic movies that were about making as much money as possible. It was sad to see Elvis reduced to mindless entertainer doing anything for money. The 68 Comeback special is so iconic because it showed his fightback and talent he wanted to share with the world. It showcased old and present day Elvis where for a moment he took control of his destiny and journey. It is unforgivable what Colonel Parker did to Elvis and tragic how this great figure became a prisoner of his fame and his manager. After this comeback and revival, the King would live for less than a decade. He was a work of art and had incredible talent. I only wish they showcased a little more backstage footage of the special for the King.

I never understood Elvis growing up in 1970s Ohio. My parents were fans and we had his LPs in our wood console stereo cabinet, but to me, he was a Vegas lounge act from an era when where careers went there to die. After we watched Netflix's fascinating documentary on Elvis' 1968 NBC comeback special, "Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley", I finally got it. This compact and insightful film gives a well-rounded view of the man, the myth, the legend, (re)igniting an admiration for his artistry.

We then followed up with Sofia Coppola's film, "Priscilla", providing another layer of perspective on the Elvis story. The biopic gives the perspective of Priscilla Presley (though vociferously denied by Lisa Marie), offering a full view of the sad, complicated tale of a flawed genius gone too soon and the woman he loved. I found Priscilla more engaging than expected, and Coppola's direction and impeccable use of popular music, as seen to great effect in "Marie Antoinette", added depth and emotional resonance to the story.

To close out our Elvis era, we re-watched Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis", featuring Austin Butler's magnetic portrayal, which was even better the second time round, and "Viva Las Vegas" with Elvis and Ann-Margret, in a light, frothy romp around Sin City. To wrap up my deep dive into all things Presley, I just started Lisa Marie and Riley Keough's biography "From Here to the Great Unknown".

This is an EXCELLENT Documentary about The Greatest Showman/Entertainer Of All Time. The Documentary tells the Elvis story from the very beginning, and throughout his amazing career as a singer/entertainer, including his many ups, and some downs. His story is told through the people who knew him well. The documentary shows many wonderful photographs of him throughout his colourful career. Showing many clips of him singing lot's of his great songs, many clips of his shows/concerts, his interviews, and personal family/friends footage, though a lot of it on view to the general public, which would follow him around throughout his life, as though he was 'public domain'. I know the many legions of Elvis Fans around the world, including the many hundreds or thousands of Elvis impersonators, who will have seen the many documentaries made of Elvis, to know how this latest documentary compares to the previous one's, and how good they think it is. For me, who has 'Johnny Cash' as my number one singer, and seen a number of Elvis documentaries over the years, find this one my favourite. Really nice to see, and hear Bruce Springsteen talking highly of Elvis. Like me, I do hope you all enjoy this highly rated Elvis documentary. (ps)

You forget, or at least I did, just the incredible talent Elvis had. You can hear it in his music but as one commentator reflected, it's a whole other level when you 'see it'. This documentary smartly gives a reprisal of his career (not long, that's been done and done), how it went wrong but focuses on how this special helped him find his way back. I was very touched by the outtakes, showing his nervousness making the special. A lot of the footage I had not seen before so that was interesting. Although Elvis looked like a god (truly beautiful man), he wasn't arrogant or entitled, he had charisma. He had that in spades, and you just don't see that anymore in my opinion. The documentary does well to have various legends like Springsteen and the late Robbie Robertson talk about that sheer talent and influence. What I liked even more was the friends and back singers interviews, Conan Obrien and of course Priscilla Presley. I think this is definitely worth the watch. Netflix has had some misses, this is definitely a home run!

I thought this documentary was well done. I've seen many on Elvis and this one was very enjoyable and not over the top! Most of the other reviewers seem to have felt the same way! However, there's always that one that has to somehow make it political (see his heading usual suspects) which is ridiculous! I thought all the cameos were excellent! I especially liked Darlene Love's insight! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm definitely not a big fan of Conan but he was really good in this and made some very good points from an entertainers view! I would definitely recommend this documentary to any Elvis fan! 👍