Nearly five decades after Elvis Presley’s death, newly restored concert footage is giving audiences an unusually intimate look at the man behind the legend. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, directed by Baz Luhrmann, brings together footage from six performances during Elvis’s 1970 Las Vegas residency and four concerts from his 1972 U.S. tour, much of it unseen by the public for decades.
The footage had an almost mythical history. The original film reels had been stored by MGM in salt mines in Kansas, where the environment helped protect the film stock from moisture. When Luhrmann and editor Jonathan Redmond began searching for the material, they eventually uncovered 65 reels of film, although portions were missing, damaged, or unusable. The discovery became the foundation for a project that would allow modern audiences to experience Elvis in a way that feels remarkably immediate.
What makes the project different is that it does not rely solely on people explaining Elvis. The filmmakers also incorporated Elvis’s own voice, including material from a 1972 interview recorded around the making of Elvis on Tour. Hearing Presley speak about his childhood, shyness, insecurity, and rise to fame adds another dimension to the concert footage. Instead of simply watching an icon from the past, audiences hear the man explaining parts of his own story.
That contrast is one of the most striking elements of the film. The footage captures Elvis joking during rehearsals, interacting warmly with his backup singers, speaking with directors, and making spontaneous decisions onstage. At the same time, viewers see the extraordinary performer who could control an entire room with his movements, voice, and physical presence.
For Graceland archivist Angie Marchese, the experience was especially powerful. After decades of studying Elvis and hearing stories about him from family members and members of his entourage, she described the newly restored footage as something different. The small gestures—the glances, smiles, expressions, and quiet interactions—help reveal an Elvis who could be humble and playful away from the larger-than-life image.
One of the most revealing details is Elvis’s own description of his younger self. He recalled being shy and not particularly popular at school, but discovering that singing gave him a way to connect with people. That simple observation provides a fascinating key to understanding the performer he eventually became. Music was not merely his career; it became a way for an intensely self-conscious young man to communicate with the world.
The concert footage also captures why Elvis earned the title King of Rock & Roll. He did not simply stand onstage and sing rehearsed songs. He moved like a conductor, changed tempos, interacted with his musicians, joked with his backup singers, and occasionally stepped into the audience. Some of those moments were completely spontaneous, creating an energy that could never be recreated simply by watching an old recording.
The restoration team also worked to ensure that the footage did not feel artificially nostalgic. Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post helped restore the film, with the goal of preserving its natural qualities while presenting it at the highest possible quality, including an IMAX presentation. The intention was straightforward: remove distractions and allow Elvis himself to command the screen.
And perhaps that is the most remarkable discovery of all.
The footage does not merely show what Elvis looked like decades ago. It captures how he moved, how he reacted, how he laughed, how he interacted with musicians, and how completely he gave himself to an audience. Those details can make the distance between 1970 and today suddenly disappear.
As Baz Luhrmann observed, the experience can feel almost as though Elvis is still there.
The legend may have left the stage nearly fifty years ago, but in these newly unearthed images, the man suddenly seems alive again.
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