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

Whether you are a big fan or someone just starting to learn about Elvis Presley's story, anyone who watches this super production will see facts, reflections and discoveries that are increasingly surprising when we think about the artist's masterpieces, his humanization, personal trajectory, his feelings and their impact on the American entertainment industry (which spread throughout the world).

More than that. Anyone who watches this documentary will see how the man's life was partly shaped and even impacted (both positively and negatively) by the captains of industry, and how the paths of Elvis and even society could have been different and more lasting if it weren't for the evil greed of others.

When I first read the title, I was displeased with the fact that it insinuated that there was in fact a "fall" of Elvis Presley, since to this day his works and actions are admired and arouse strong emotions and projects all over the world. But if you read it carefully, you'll notice that the "rise" comes after the "fall", showing how he recovered from difficult times and continues to rise in music, movies, art, fashion, business and society.

A beautiful, true documentary, with fans, historians, colleagues and relatives who really lived with him and know what happened at the time, as well as artists and professionals today who know how he must have felt, with the empathy that only those who live in the same environment know how this business works.

Even as a "documentary" with sincere and exciting facts, the production brings action, suspense, lots of energy and intimate views on different moments in the life of the King of Rock, from before he won this title, to the phase of one of his greatest artistic achievements, known as the '68 Comeback Special show (the first musical acoustic recorded and televised) that changed many trajectories, both in Elvis's life and in the lives of several other artists and the public.

Those who know the story may feel like something is missing at the end, since even after the shocking ending of the 1968 show (which is the focus of the documentary), Elvis actually continued his career with another 9 years full of innovations and stardom in his Las Vegas phase, show circuits all over the US, new successful films, the first show broadcast via satellite to the entire world and other artistic and personal changes of great value.

Since the king's life was relatively short, but full of such great achievements compared to the short time he was physically with the public, there really wouldn't be enough space in this particular production to show all the rest of it. There are already other works that talk about these other complex and spectacular moments.

But whether or not this rest of his life is present in this documentary, what anyone can feel after watching the work, as after listening to any album or watching any other show by the great Elvis Presley, is that good feeling of "I want more".

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)

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.

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!

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.