They faked so much real stuff. "History vs Hollywood" breaks it down

Thank you for your post. I finished watching it and here are my comments. I'd say the rest of the movie after he was drafted was harder to watch because of the evils of Col. Parker. I was not following the news in 1981 and did not know about Col. Parker being exposed as a grifter who robbed Elvis and prevented him from branching out, tricking him into destroying his health by playing at a casino every night and burning himself out. I knew the rumours about his telling Elvis he could not tour overseas, or accept certain movies. Now seeing it laid out that was horrifying to me. I did not know how he schemed to get his debts paid by promising the casino Elvis would play there perpetually, while telling E. it was only for six weeks. I was stunned by them suddenly showing the real Elvis at the end. They showed one entire song which was near the end of his life, to hammer home the point that this is what Col. Parker did to him. Still giving his all despite a swollen face, clearly not well. It is heartbreaking but it brings it all together. As I said before, the little mistakes in the timeline or the made up scenes don't matter. It's the overall story, a tragedy. I cried at the end. If anyone still wonders why Priscilla cried, it's impossible not to cry.

Regarding the actor, there were many times when I forgot it was an actor. He got the body movements and even the stuttering right. He lost himself in the role, much more so than most impersonations. I remember the Kurt Russell version - he looked nothing like E. but absolutely captured his essence, the way he read the lines.

About the emphasis on black performers, that was needed for today's audience to show how E. was so ahead of his time and in fact, as it showed, he created a new genre from his country, rockabilly, gospel, and blues influences. People really were shocked or thrilled or disgusted when he came on the scene. Rock and roll was a scandal in 1956 and was heavily criticized in the news, but my family loved it. This included, at the time, Bill Haley and the Comets - he was just a country singer who had zero influence or style but his movie Rock Around the Clock exploited this new music. Consider at the time that Pat Boone was a huge teenage idol. He was bland, pleasant, not electrifying like Elvis. I think John Lennon once said that before Elvis there was nothing. They showed a brief glimpse of a (thin) Fats Domino - who was a major star then with Ain't That a Shame and Blueberry Hill. So it wasn't a vacuum with just blandness and then Elvis. At the time I did wonder why there were two version of Ain't That a Shame on the radio - both Fats Domino's and Pat Boone's. I think Little Richard was also more of a star than the movie indicated. His music was on the radio at the same time as Elvis's version of Tutti Frutti. Anyway, overall the movie got the important things right and it moved me deeply to revisit those times. It's just that the image most people have of Elvis is the Vegas white jumpsuit....and younger people need to know he was not always a Vegas entertainer. He fought for artistic integrity and was thwarted constantly.

I should mention some of the other key actors. His mother Gladys was portrayed beautifully. It was a major crisis in his life when she died young. The movie says she became an alcoholic out of worry. I always wondered why a young woman would get hepatitis and die. His father was not given much of a personality or role in the movie; his sidekicks were not fully introduced or fleshed out - they just appeared - but I understand it would take at least a mini series to explain everyone's role in his life. This speeded up version still did the job of telling the story. I absolutely loved the collages showing the young boy Elvis, the beginning rocker and the Vegas act. Just to cement his full development from early influences to Vegas act. I don't want people to think E. was the Vegas act. This movie tells the truth that Col. Parker forced him to become that, and it killed him.

Priscilla and Lisa Marie were given a minimum of screen time, but I understand why. There was just too much to show. They had to focus on his gruelling schedule and his fervent attempts to have artistic integrity. I appreciated the scenes where he insisted on doing the shows his way, especially the Singer special, which I saw at the time. People might not realize he was a has been because of the British invasion, and this brought him back. This was evident in the polite manners of the girls gathered around the stage. When I saw him in 1957 we were in the 7th row in front of the stage. To the left, there were teenagers in the first row screaming and fainting. There were cops to keep order. His performance was everything you see in the movie and more. At the end, the announcer said "Elvis has left the building." This was to avoid fans trying to mob him backstage. He was whisked away by car because otherwise fans would try to tear at his hair and clothes.