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

This is a a very good documentary of Elvis Presley. It is centered around his 1968 Comeback Special. The film is a sort of companion piece to the highly successful Baz Luhrmann film. Baz is heavily interviewed together with the Priscilla Presley. There is more here than the 1968 Comeback- the main part of the story is what lead to the need for the Comeback at all. That was a series of monetarily momentous, yet culturally disastrous decisions by his Manager, Col. Tom Parker. The footage is great. The music is great. The film is not too long. I highly recommend this for Elvis fans, or for people not too familiar.

Gives new life to an incredible story. But does not do justice to his fascination with religion. Elvis used to carry a Bible with him everwhere, and he would ask friends to open to a page at random, pick a verse, and he would complete the verse from memory. In my IMDb comment on the original ELVIS THE COMBACK SPECIAL (1968) -- on my IMDb list of best all-time films -- I suggested that, decades from now, historians looking back at our present time period will note that, of the many dozens of Conspiracy Theories floating around, the Bob Joyce controversy was the only one that could actually produce a smile. The world is a brighter place with him still in it. Do your own research. Start with "Clark Kent Syndrome." ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

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! 👍

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".

The story of Elvis is the quintessential triumphant tragedy story. From a truly dirt, poor person to the highest points of stardom and still being held back from even more lightning in a bottle by Colonel Tom Parker, not letting him tour overseas. But I always grab me about the story is that there was no blueprint for anything back then. Certainly they were great singers, actors, etc. But this level of fame was different. For all the different reasons, whether they were good reasons or bad, or somewhere in between Elvis was the chosen one. And he struggled with that for most of his life. I enjoy hearing people giving him reverence for his contributions and his story. It is tragic beyond words how his the Klein affected him and was so rapid. At least he ate the world before they eat him. Incredibly sad. I would give this a nine, but only because I want more. Hopefully they'll be another one of like this covering the Vegas years. I agree with some of the other posters here. This wasn't all that in-depth. There's much more to say by people who were really there. But the Elvis machine keeps feeding the masses because so many of us want it. He was just simply taken too soon and people like me want more. I've never seen an artist be copied by so many tribute artist across the world. It always amazes me to see people putting so much effort and making a career out of it essentially. An amazing man for sure with an amazing story.