Starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler, with direction from Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann, Elvis is set to be the defining story of Elvis Presley's meteoric rise to superstardom. The musical biopic, opening June 24th, 2022, chronicles the singer's early life as a poor kid from Mississippi, the molding of a Rock 'n' Roll icon, and his descent into drugs, depression, and an early demise.
To get ready for the momentous occasion, it's time to prepare the way The King intended. By watching a few of his films, some documentaries and mini-series about his life, a couple of well-made musical biopics, and something to get a taste of Luhrmann's directing style, fans will be able to watch Elvis with a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, Elvis Presley's legacy.
Love Me Tender (1956)
Available On Hulu
Presley's big-screen debut at 21 was in Love Me Tender, and it's unsurprising that Elvis also performs the movie's titular song, a lullaby that combines all the pain of a country torn apart by the Civil War, and two brothers torn apart by their love of the same woman.
More surprising is the doe-eyed singer's acting ability which, though curtailed in later movies in favor of more gimmicky approaches, is dramatic, provocative, and earnest. He lacks pretense as the younger brother of a Confederate soldier who places more importance on money than his own family, and who must diffuse the older man's rancor at finding his callow sibling wed to his fiancee and thrust into manhood before his time.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Available On Hulu
Freddie Mercury, the charismatic frontman for Queen, has long credited Elvis Presley as an influence on both his music and his showmanship on stage, and that's never more apparent than in Bohemian Rhapsody. The musical biopic follows Mercury's early days through his formation of the band, and their induction into rock royalty.
The movie doesn't reveal as much of the darker side of Mercury's life, which in many ways mirrored his idol's own after "fame and fortune and everything that goes with it" caused him much personal pain. But for unbridled enthusiasm and fantastic performances, it will be the movie Elvis is most compared to.
This Is Elvis (1981)
Available On Prime Video & Apple TV
Using really footage from Elvis's life, from behind-the-scenes filming movies or appearing on talk shows to touring around the world, This Is Elvis is an impressive documentary that aims to let The King speak for himself just a few years after his sudden and untimely death in 1977.
Featuring interviews from his ex-wife Priscilla Presley and those who knew him best, and including four different actors portraying him at four distinct time periods of his life, it's a comprehensive, defining look at his rise as well as what continues to make him an enduring pop-cultural icon decades after the height of his career.
Jailhouse Rock (1957)
Available On Apple TV & Prime Video
There is perhaps no better showcase of Elvis's musical talent and physicality than Jailhouse Rock which, although encumbered by a flimsy plot, nevertheless is an undeniable tour de force of performance art. Presley plays a man who lands in jail after a bar fight, but through the power of song (and the help of a fellow inmate) secures his release -- and a record contract.
Though the entire movie, like the many dozens of movies Elvis made over nearly a decade, is simply a means to showcase his singing talents and gyrating hips, Presley is simply electrifying, and the titular number in the jailhouse is better than bail money. He is quite simply possessed by the spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, and his rasping enthusiasm is a wonderful homage to the gospel sermons he attended as a child (and that will be prominently featured in Elvis).
Elvis (2005)
Available On Tubi & Prime Video
Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers tackled Elvis's early years in this 2005 mini-series, from sneaking off to nightclubs to listen to R&B artists to his first taste of stardom. He has the spunk to pull off Elvis's infectious energy, and Randy Quaid was born to play the sinister Colonel Tom Parker, whose illegal status as a Dutch national in the United States prevented Elvis from touring internationally.
Meyers took home the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries, and his performance is a celebration of the highs and lows of Elvis's legacy. Like Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, this movie touches on an Elvis plagued by guilt and the fear of becoming obsolete, the clawing knowledge that the world has moved on providing the impetus for flashbacks into his early life.
The Great Gatsby (2013)
Available On HBO Max
In The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann used his particular visual style to celebrate one of the most venerated pieces of American literature. The impossibly sumptuous world of Jay Gatsby is brought bursting to life, with all of the tragic melodrama, corruption, and greed contained in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. Luhrmann's handling of the emotional subject matter, coupled with his ability to make a time period seem vibrant and fresh, makes him an inspired choice for an Elvis story.
Though the movie isn't based on a real person, Gatsby is its central figure, and Luhrmann does a commendable job balancing his undeniable charm and charisma as a billionaire with a man for whom all the riches in the world cannot mend a broken heart. Gatsby believes in love, liberty, and the pursuit of the American Dream, but receives a twisted version of them all, not unlike Elvis Presley.
Elvis & Nixon (2016)
Available On Prime Video
No transcript exists for the epic meeting of titans that occurred when the King of Rock 'n' Roll went to visit the King of the United States, but historical documentation --and some creative license-- ensure fans see a side of Elvis they never knew and learn a great deal about his idiosyncrasies at the time.
From flashing his deputy badge from Memphis and his diamond-studded pistols to proposing to Nixon --with a few karate chops-- that he become a Federal Agent At Large, there are all sorts of fascinating tidbits used to form the basis of this enigmatic meeting, when Elvis was at his most extra.
Elvis (1968)
Available On Apple TV
In 1968, Elvis Presley was scared. The King of Rock 'n' Roll felt his reign had come to an end, and a televised concert was the sort of comeback he needed to reclaim his crown. He'd spent seven years making movies and hadn't been touring, and other bands (like the Beatles) had been setting the trend for a new wave of popular music.
The King had nothing to worry about. The legendary 1968 "Comeback Special" reminded fans exactly why he was one of the most electrifying performers in global entertainment. In a solid red room, wearing head-to-toe leather and a candy apple red Hagstrom Viking II slung over his shoulders, he belted out all of his hits, and peace returned to the kingdom.
Ray (2004)
Available On Hulu & Prime Video
One of the most widely praised musical biopics in the last several decades, Ray follows R&B legend Ray Charles who, like Elvis, uses music to flee poverty, and the searing memory of his younger brother's death as a child. Full of grit, Charles doesn't let his loss of sight at 9 deter him from becoming a skilled piano player, and with the support of his determined single mother, he embarks on a musical journey towards becoming one of the most soulful entertainers of the 20th century.
Ray doesn't shy away from including the performer's drug abuse and infidelities while on the road, but it uses these moments to help paint the picture of a complicated, fallible man who, much like Elvis (who was his contemporary) responded to fame and its seductive forces in mercurial ways.
Charro (1969)
Available On Tubi & Prime Video
The only movie not to feature Elvis singing, Charro was Elvis's attempt to be taken seriously as an actor (hence his scruffy beard). A Western drama, it places Elvis as an outlaw trying to make a different future for himself, only to be drawn back into his old life when his gang frames him for theft, and the singer boasts a gritty performance.
Though not as widely seen as others in his catalog, it remains one of Elvis's best movies, and like Flaming Star, the 1960 Western he made where he appears as the biracial son of a rancher and a Kiowa woman, it isn't afraid to challenge his brand. It showcased that Elvis was a far more creatively complex performer than he was given credit for.