TheLittleSongbird Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. 'Elvis: That's the Way It Is' is an acclaimed documentary film for good reason, and better than all of his films he made during the mid-50s-late-60s.His film career was highly variable as an overall film career with some good ones, some decent ones, some mediocre ones and some bad ones. Elvis' performances in them ranged from good, great even in a few, to clearly disinterested and embarrassed (and in some of his later films who could blame him), even the best ones.Simply put, for fans of the justly named The King of Rock and Roll, 'Elvis: That's the Way It Is' is unmissable, and even non-fans may find themselves converted. It's cohesively shot and edited, where one gets to properly know Elvis, the band and the audience.With Elvis himself, he looks great and sounds even better. He looks like a natural on stage, electric with the band and while with a couple of awkward moments which one puts down to nervous energy fun with the audience. The energy levels seen are immense. The backstage stuff is fascinating too and is seeing Elvis in rehearsal.The quality of the music can't be faulted either, with a mix of his greatest and iconic hits and his newer music. No forgettable at best ones here and no career-low ones either. It's all brilliantly performed all round and there is a real atmosphere with the audience, everybody clearly having a great time without being over the top.In conclusion, unmissable to sum it up in one word. 10/10 Bethany Cox

lisa-kevin3531 This is classic Presley during the peak of his all too short comeback. This was filmed mostly in Las Vegas before his emotional problems and drug abuse had taken their toll. His talents as a showman are evident throughout, and he has enough charisma and sexuality for ten men. For those of you not fortunate enough to see Elvis live, this is probably the next best thing. The special edition DVD eliminates the sometimes embarrassing fan comments of the original film and replaces them with additional performances and some extra backstage material, which is, after all, the main reason to see this movie. It's a shame Elvis wasted so many years in Hollywood making cut-rate films when he could have been performing live or at least producing quality movies like this. If you're just one of those people who knows Elvis simply because he is an icon who is an integral part of our society, then watch this film. Afterwards you'll see why they call him The King!

moonspinner55 Documentary on Elvis Presley the singer, directed by Denis Sanders and chronicling the King's '69 comeback as he prepares for a big show in Las Vegas. Either you're entranced by Presley's megalomaniacal antics or you're not--he certainly is!--while the camera continues to trail right behind E.P. as if were the two were somehow attached. Veteran cinematographer Lucien Ballard's participation in this film is rather bizarre, but his solid work puts the whole thing over, even more so than the music. Capturing every star-twitch and running bead of sweat, the documentary does become a fascinating look at one person's stardom, his ritual. Director Sanders keeps the pacing lively, and keeps the songs coming, though most of the soundtrack is made up of cover tunes. Questions such as why Elvis felt the need to sing music already made popular by other artists never get addressed nor answered, which is why the film is mainly for devotees. The on-screen fans are quirky and interesting, probably more so than the star himself, while the movie provides some brief razzle-dazzle and tacky backstage glamour. **1/2 from ****

johno-21 Here's Elvis performing live at the International Hotel in Las Vegas over a period of six nights in 1970. He jokes and stumbles through abbreviated versions of his classics from the 50's and early 60's but gets serious and turns in great performances of songs that would be his concert staples for the rest of his career including Suspecious Minds, In The Ghetto and The wonder of You. He's backed by famed guitarist James Burton and a band that includes Chip young, Ronnie Tutt, David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan, Norbert Putnam and John Wilkerson with an orchestra led by Eddie Hinton and vocals by The Sweet Inspirations and Millie Kirkham and The Imperials Quartet. Besides the concert footage taken over six consecutive nights at the hotels are also rehearsal footage from MGM studios in Culver City, California. Celebrities in the audience that came out for the shows include Cary grant, Sammy Davis Jr. and George Hamilton. Elvis' Memphis Mafia stalwarts Joe Esposito, sonny West and Red West are here too. There's even a brief overhead shot of Col. Parker. Denis Sanders who directed this documentary had a sporadic career as a screenwriter and filmmaker of feature films, television and documentaries. He followed this the next year with his second music documentary called Soul to Soul which featured some of the great R&B acts of the time. These two films were definitely the highlight of his career. They got a big name cinematographer to do the photography in Lucien Ballard. He had been a Hollywood cinematographer since the 30's and had filmed Presley in roustabout. He was involved in a string of feature film hits in the 60's with The son's of Katie Elder, The Wild Bunch, Nevada Smith, The Getaway and True Grit. This is a must for any Elvis fan and even for non-fans it serves as a fairly good documentary of Elvis in peak physical form and having a fun and energetic time as a performer. White high collared jump suits with sequence and kung fu jump kicks are all here on a Vegas stage. He's comfortable in his element. The film originally ran at 107 minutes when it debuted in theaters in December of 1970. It's not a great concert film and not very imaginatively filmed or edited but since Elvis is such a legend it's worth a look. I would give it a 7.0 out of 10.