Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii

This is the one to show young people who want to know Elvis. Not the silly movies he made in the 60's. Not even Elvis On Tour or Thats The Way It Is. Show people who want to know what Elvis was all about...Aloha From Hawaii. This is The King of Rock and Roll in his court. He looks stunning. He sounds awesome. You can see the charisma that made him an icon. His white jumpsuits have become kind of a running joke. However in 1973 this was the style a lot of artists were wearing on stage. The one he sports in Aloha From Hawaii looks beautiful. He even tosses the cape and belt out to the audience. I love the 70's Elvis. The jewelery, the jumpsuits, the limos...all the excess he became famous for. I know that excess (in all forms) drove him to an early grave, but here we get to see him in all his glory before it spun out of his control. Aloha From Hawaii is Elvis, takin care of business.

This is it, folks. This is the greatest concert of all time. To me it's to see the light.

Elvis Presley looks more handsome than ever in the film. He sings better than ever, but doesn't do so much rock 'n' roll than he made in the '68 Comeback Special (original name "Elvis"). There he was king of rock 'n' roll, in Aloha from Hawaii he is King of Music.

Special Edition and Deluxe Edition DVD's includes the new edition which is much better than the original US version, which was aired later than the live concert to Asia, Europe and other areas.

10/10

Elvis returned to Hawaii for what became his last great performance. It was broadcast around the world via satellite. Elvis is 38 and looking fit. It is hard to believe he would be dead in just over four years! Burning Love is followed by The Beatles' Something. Fever sizzles and is remarkably relevant for a song that was a hit in the 1950s. There is very little clowning here like there was in Elvis: That's The Way It Is. Elvis is thoroughly confident, and his band is polished and tight after having played together 3 or 4 years. It is all business as Elvis moves from one dramatic cover to another. Song selection seems to reflect his recent divorce.

I at first gave this 10 out of 10, but then I realized, what would I give "That's The Way It Is"? So OK I give Aloha 9, and TTWII 10.

Anyway, those that compare Aloha to Elvis' earlier shows in Vegas (eg. TTWII) are not remembering that Aloha is a TV special, not a Vegas show. Things were a bit looser and faster in Vegas (and on tour). I would speculate that Elvis wanted to put across a slightly more sedate and for lack of a better word, dignified show.

I would reluctantly agree with critics that Elvis did hold back on his voice a bit, probably out of nerves. But it is still beautiful. Those that complain about the large number of covers: I've never heard Elvis cover a song that wasn't better than the original. Elvis' version of Early Morning Rain (not actually in the concert btw) is my favorite version of one of my top 3 favorite songs. That's saying a lot because I'm happy to listen to most anyone sing it.

Other songs that are still spine-tingling-give-you-goosebumps quality in Aloha are "What Now My Love," "I'll Remember You," and "An American Trilogy," among, well, pretty much all the others! I've seen Aloha hundreds of times. I'm an admitted Elvis junkie. So that does bias my review some, I admit. But anyone who comes in here and puts in a review that refers to "Suspicious Minds" as "Satisfied Mind" has zero credibility with me. That's not really how I wanted to put it, but hey, I'm trying to remain polite here.

I could go on and on about this show, and I won't. It's truly an awesome show, and if you haven't seen it, do see it. You'll be glad you did and will probably want to buy the DVD!

To this date October 2001, I have seen many concerts by other performers on TV, all of them were very good but none yet to equal the performance put on by Elvis and his band members from that concert in Hawaii, I still watch the video as often as I can and every time I get just as emotional as the time before and before and before. I only hope that if the tape wears out I can find a replacement.