ELVIS PRESLEY IS IN THE BUILDING!
The highly anticipated bio-drama about his life and career is here, and so is the Official Trailer on my blog! Presley’s life was epic, so it would take an epic filmmaker, like Baz Luhrmann, to tell the story of the singer with the most dangerous pelvis in America. Fans of the iconic showman have waited years to see a film detailing the legendary life of the King of Rock and Roll. This isn’t just any biographical drama about a boy from Memphis, Tennessee who became famous, it’s about an extremely talented boy from Memphis, Tennessee who broke musical barriers and segregation laws to become one of the most famous performers ever, while changing what the world knew as Rock and Roll and music forever. Elvis Presley didn’t just change the Rock and Roll genre of music forever, Elvis changed what it was to be a musical performer and ultimately affected every facet of music and culture for generations thereafter.
![Elvis, starring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, and Richard Roxburgh; directed by Baz Luhrmann; written by Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pierce, and Jeremy Doner; produced by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick, and Schuyler Weiss for Warner Bros. Pictures, Bazmark Films, and The Jackal Group and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. (2022)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-3.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Singer Elvis Presley performs Hillbilly Heartbreak on stage in Hollywood, California on June 22, 1956. Photo Credit: Bettmann/Getty Images](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Performing.jpeg?ssl=1)
![American rock singer Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977), wearing his signature white rhinestone-studded suit and strapped guitar, singing for his fans with his eyes closed in 1975. (Photo by Fotos International/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Performing-70s.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Baz Luhrmann attends the "Elvis" UK special screening at BFI Southbank on May 31, 2022, in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Baz-Luhrmann.jpeg?ssl=1)
![American actor and singer Elvis Presley (1935 - 1977) dancing in a stylized prison uniform in 1957 for a promotional portrait for director Richard Thorpe's film, 'Jailhouse Rock.' (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Presley-Jail-House-Rock.jpeg?ssl=1)
![A historic marker is seen next to the two-room house where Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in the singer's hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. Presley spent the first 13 years of his life living in various Tupelo homes before moving to Memphis. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Birthplace-of-ELvis.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Rock and roll musician Elvis Presley performs on stage in 1972. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-the-King.jpeg?ssl=1)
A MUSICAL OR A FILM ABOUT MUSIC ICON…
Films with a musical theme are a gamble in Hollywood, they do not necessarily fill theaters or box office quotas, but how do you tell the story of Elvis without music? You don’t, so you hire visionary director Baz Luhrmann to tell that story. The famed Moulin Rouge director has a film style that has always included a musical component, making him the best director for a film about Elvis. And it all sells with Austin Butler who pulls off the best Elvis impersonation in decades, and there have been a lot of them. Baz knew Butler was the actor to lead this story and you often forget he’s not Elvis, he’s simply playing him in a movie. Austin’s impersonation is uncanny. He becomes Elvis Aaron Presley in this high-profile role, right down to the gyration of his hips. And it works because Butler learned everything he could about the very real person he was going to play, and wanted to respect the legacy of the icon. Butler also worked with a vocal coach and sang the songs himself after a long preparation for the otherworldly encompassing legendary role he was about the play. The film was made with the blessing of Elvis Presley’s ex-wife, and the mother of his daughter, Lisa Marie, Priscilla Presley.
![Director Baz Lurhmann speaks at the Blu-Ray launch of "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge!" at the Ace Hotel on September 27, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Will Ragozzino/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Baz-Luhrmann-Moulin-Roge.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Elvis Presley plays guitar during a scene from the documentary film Elvis: That's the Way It Is in 1970. Photo Credit: Getty Images](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Presley.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Austin Butler attends the "Elvis" UK special screening at BFI Southbank on May 31, 2022, in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Austin-Butler-Elvis.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Entertainer Mark Shunock (C) and the OV Elvi attend the 6th anniversary of Mondays Dark with Mark Shunock at The Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort on December 09, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/WireImage)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Impersonators.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Austin Butler as Elvis in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “ELVIS,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Hugh Stewart. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Austin-Elvis-resley-1024x512.jpg?ssl=1)
![Elvis Presley in the '68 Comeback Special and Austin Butler recreating the '68 Comeback Special. Photo Credit: Getty Images/Warner Bros. Pictures/Frank Carroll/Gary Null/YouTube (1968/2022)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-and-Austin-Butler-1024x512.jpg?ssl=1)
![Elvis Presley performing on stage in 1957. Photo Credit: Getty Images](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Performing-Ed-Sullivan.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Austin Butler as Elvis in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “ELVIS,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Hugh Stewart. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Austin-Butler-Elvis-Hips-1024x722.jpg?ssl=1)
![Austin Butler in a promotional photo for a profile in the Los Angeles Times on June 24, 2022. Photo Credit:(Whitten Sabbatini / For The Times)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Austin-Butler-819x1024.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Austin Butler embodying Elvis Presley right down to the footwork seen in this 1956 photo of Elvis Presley beside it. Photo Credit: Hugh Stewart/Alfred Wertheimer (2002/1956)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Austin-Elvis-1024x1024.jpeg?ssl=1)
![American rock legend Elvis Presley with his wife Priscilla and their daughter Lisa-Marie. (Photo by Frank Carroll/Sygma via Getty Images)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Lisa-Marie-Pricilla.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Singer Elvis Presley peeks out from behind his wife, Priscilla Ann Beaulieu, as the couple sit in a chartered jet airplane after their wedding at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.(Photo by Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Priscilla-Presley-and-ELvis-plnae.jpeg?ssl=1)
ELVIS PRESLEY HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!
The Featured Film Blog for August is ELVIS! To kick this show off I am providing the Official Trailer for the 2022 film which will be followed by my Critique, Recommendation, and Review of the film! So join me as I take a look back at the history of Elvis Presley and the moments of American History and culture that coincided with his epically short time here on Earth. I will look at the relationship between Elvis and Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks in the film, as well as Elvis’s relationship with B.B. King, Civil Rights, and the Black Community. And I will look at the musical influences Presley took from Beale Street, his growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi around the gospel community, and how he would use them to create his historic music. I will also look at the music of generations that have been influenced and continue to be influenced by Elvis, long after his untimely death on August 16, 1977. And Lastly, I will look at the music itself, because there is no talking about Elvis Presley without talking about his driving force! I hope you enjoy the show!
![Elvis, starring Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, and Richard Roxburgh; directed by Baz Luhrmann; written by Baz Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pierce, and Jeremy Doner; produced by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick, and Schuyler Weiss for Warner Bros. Pictures, Bazmark Films, and The Jackal Group and distributed by Warner Bros Pictures. (2022)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-2.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Elvis Presley (1935-1977), the American rock 'n' roll legendary icon. Photo Credit: Getty Images](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Presley-1.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Unemployed men eat soup in Washington, circa 1935. Photograph: Archive Photos/Getty Images](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/The-Great-Depression-3-1024x614.jpg?ssl=1)
![Hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into a tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet-Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh, near the Cambodian border, March 1965. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Vietnam-War-1024x670.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Dexter King visits the grave of his father Martin Luther King Jr. one year after his assassination. (Photo by © Flip Schulke/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/MLK-Dies.jpeg?ssl=1)
![American civil rights campaigner, and widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King (1927 - 2006) (center left, in black) and civil rights leader Reverend Ralph Abernathy (1926 - 1990) (center, right) lead a massive march following the assassination of husband only days earlier, Memphis, Tennessee, April 8, 1968. With them are, King's daughter Yolanda (1955 - 2007) (in white coat at left), singer Harry Belafonte, Kings' sons Martin Luther King III and Dexter Scott King, and fellow civil rights leaders Andrew Young and Reverend Jesse Jackson (visible directly behind Coretta Scott King). (Photo by Robert Abbott Sengstacke/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/March-on-Memphis.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Clutching his rosary beads, Senator Robert F. Kennedy lies wounded on the floor of the Ambassador Hotel, after being shot by an assailant, following his victory speech in the California primary election on June 6, 1968. Kennedy's wife Ethel is at lower left corner. Photo Credit: Getty Images](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/RFK-shot.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Colonel Tom Parker with Elvis Presley. Photo Credit: GAB Archive/Redferns](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Colonel-Tom-Parker-Elvis-1024x1024.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama “ELVIS,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Hugh Stewart. Copyright: © 2022 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Tom-Hanks-Colonel-PArker-1024x682.jpg?ssl=1)
![A black-and-white portrait of Elvis Presley and B.B. King. On the left, Elvis Presley wears a necktie and striped jacket and puts his arm around the shoulders of B.B. King, right, who wears a bowtie and plaid jacket with a pocket square. Photo Credit: Dr. Ernest C. Withers, American, 1922 - 2007/National Museum of African American History and Culture/Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. (December 7, 1957)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-BB-King-828x1024.jpeg?ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Civil-RIghts-Movement-.jpeg?ssl=1)
![1950s shops and pedestrians on Beale Street and overhead electric wires for trackless trolley buses in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Lanks/ClassicStock/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Beale-Street.jpeg?ssl=1)
![The small home where Elvis Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Thousands of people from around the world come to location of the childhood home of Elvis Presley who died August 16, 1977. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Presley-Home-.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Two year old Elvis Presley poses for a family portrait with his parents Vernon Presley and Gladys Presley in 1937 in Tupelo, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)](https://i1.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Presley-with-Parents.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Legendary American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson performing at Berlin, Germany, 1967. (Photo by Helmut Reiss/United Archives via Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Mehelai-Jackspn.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Popular Rock and Roll Band, Måneskin performs at the Coca Cola Music Experience 2022 to be held in Valdebebas, on September 3, 2022, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo By Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images)](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Maneskin.jpeg?ssl=1)
![View of the front page of the Commercial Appeal newspaper the day after the death of American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, Memphis, Tennessee, August 17, 1977. The main headline reads 'Death Captures Crown of Rock and Roll--Elvis Dies Apparently After Heart Attack.' (Photo by Blank Archives/Getty Images)](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Dies-Newspaper.jpeg?ssl=1)
![The casket of Elvis Presley can be seen through the back window of the hearse as it passes out the front gate of the Presley mansion past saluting policemen, while thousands of fans watch from across the street. Photo Credit: Getty Images (1977)](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ELvis-Funeral.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Elvis Presley Memorial Service, held at Christ Church in Cockfosters, North London, Thursday 18th August 1977, picture shows Congregation during service. (Photo by Arthur Sidey/Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Memorial-ELvis.jpeg?ssl=1)
![The final resting place of Elvis Presley at the home he bought for his mother, Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by David LEFRANC/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)](https://i2.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Grave.jpeg?ssl=1)
![Close up of Elvis Presley playing guitar in January 1956. Photo Credit: Getty Images](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Elvis-Performing-1.jpeg?ssl=1)
You can watch the 2022 Official Trailer for ELVIS here:
![Movies to History.com Logo Movies to History.com Logo](https://i0.wp.com/moviestohistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/cropped-cropped-d3d0f4de5c874cf7a06b2f50e0bc7820-2-3.png?resize=250%2C250&ssl=1)