As I do every year on January 8th, I'm posting something to remember Elvis Presley by on his birthday.
Last year's HBO documentary on Elvis,
The Searcher, did as good a job as you can in telling the life story of someone who remains misunderstood. I must confess now that while I'm on record as having praised the doc, and it is essential viewing, there were some things that could have been done better. For one, I don't like the title. This whole idea of Elvis as a Searcher never gets through in the doc. Oh, and I don't like the promotional cover shot either. Let's just call the doc what they should have: "Elvis Presley: The King of Rock 'n' Roll". And instead of using a perplexed looking Elvis cover shot, include a regal one.
I also wish they had spent a little more time on his demise. The 70's are blown through too quickly. There's a bigger story there, and a cautionary one too.
Of course, all of this could have been solved had the doc not stopped at 3 hours. There's at least another 1 or 2 lying on the cutting room floor or that could have been filmed.
However, my initial thoughts on the film remain. It's the only documentary that covers Elvis' life from childhood to death. And the first part remains the best, painting a picture of Elvis as someone eager to digest all the different sounds he heard around him in Tupelo and Memphis.
But if you're the biggest Elvis fan or no fan at all, it's still a Rock 'n' Roll history lesson that all music fans should catch.
Elvis would have been 84 today.
