This Is Elvis

This is Elvis combines documentary footage intercut with dramatic reconstructions. Easy to overlook the risible 'dramatised' inserts: a substantial proportion of the footage is for real, and it includes numerous gems. Shadow kinescopes of early TV appearances point an almost obscene contrast with the close-up coverage of Presley at the end, mumbling through the ironies of My Way; while in between, such socialising agents as Sullivan, Sinatra, the US Army, and MGM are seen contributing to the taming of a legend.