EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is the rare music documentary that reminds me why I tend to fall in love with artists only after seeing them perform live. Even if that performance comes decades later, filtered through archival footage and IMAX-sized speakers! I’ve always respected Elvis Presley as an icon and a cultural inevitability, but Baz Luhrmann‘s unique blend of a concert film/documentary finally made his music click for me on a visceral level. This isn’t just a greatest-hits victory lap or a museum-piece curio; it’s a thunderous, sweat-soaked immersion into what made Elvis one of the most electrifying performers to ever step on a stage.
From its thunderous opening, EPiC understands that Elvis’ power wasn’t just in his voice, but also in the way his music reverberated throughout a room. The instant Ronnie Tutt’s drums come crashing in on “See See Rider,” Luhrmann’s movie detonates into pure musical ecstasy. It’s loud, propulsive, and alive in a way that immediately justifies the scale of the presentation. This is concert filmmaking as resurrection; bringing Elvis back not as a myth, but as a working musician commanding a band with ferocity, humor, and joy.
The Gospel According to Elvis Presley
One of EPiC‘s greatest strengths is its unwavering emphasis on the King of Rock ’n’ Roll’s gospel and blues foundations. It’s neither lip service nor trivia padding; it’s the spine of the entire experience. The musicians who played with him speak with reverence about his deep love for gospel music, and it becomes increasingly clear how intentional Elvis was in surrounding himself with players who shared that background. You can hear it in the arrangements, the call-and-response energy, the way his performances feel less like recitals and more like communal release.
The concert footage itself is a holy grail for diehard Elvis fans, packed with unreleased material and captured with an almost surreal clarity. Writer-director Baz Luhrmann — best known for Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), and The Great Gatsby (2013) — originally sought unused footage from the 1970 documentary Elvis: That’s the Way It Is and the 1972 concert film Elvis on Tour during the development of his 2022 Elvis biopic. What he reportedly found, with the help of the Warner Bros. archive, was 68 boxes of lost footage, both in 35mm and 8mm, deep within a salt mine in Kansas. Ten professional-shot concerts from the early ’70s that had not seen the light of day for 50 years.
Astounding Restored Footage
Now, thanks to Baz Luhrmann’s editing team, we can see Elvis Presley perform “Burning Love” live in front of an audience for the very first time, with the lyrics literally printed on paper in his hands. It’s one of the film’s most striking musical restorations, stripping away the polish and replacing it with something far more compelling. EPiC provides an extremely rare look at the man himself as an artist who is still experimenting, still chasing the high of connection.
A beautiful rendition of “Never Been to Spain” is prefaced by a comedically mean interlude about Colonel Tom Parker and his shifty yet domineering business practices. However, Luhrmann’s framing of the song shows how one of Presley’s biggest goals and now most tragic regrets was his failure to ever perform outside of the United States. Jonathan Redmond’s editing really sings throughout the classics like “Hound Dog” and “That’s All Right”, seamlessly cutting together Elvis performing the same moves in different outfits from his various Las Vegas performances.
Then there’s “Polk Salad Annie,” which emerges as the undeniable showstopper. It’s raw, funky, and feral — Elvis at his most untethered, riding the groove like it might throw him off at any second. Moments like this reinforce EPiC’s core argument without ever stating it outright. Elvis wasn’t just a symbol or a star; he was a true musician in constant dialogue with his band and his influences.
The Man, the Myth, and the Missed Opportunities
Where EPiC occasionally stumbles is in its quasi-documentary framing. The movie is, without question, a sanitized overview of Elvis Presley’s life, one that sands down rough edges and avoids deeper reckonings. That choice might have been easier to forgive if the entire project had committed fully to being a pure concert movie. Instead, the documentary-esque interludes seem oddly obligatory, offering information that’s either well-worn or unnecessary, and interrupting the momentum built by the performances.
That said, there are genuine bright spots in these quieter moments. The behind-the-scenes footage captures Elvis as funny, charming, and disarmingly warm with his band and crew. These candid exchanges humanize him far more effectively than any biographical summary or historical tour ever could. In those fleeting glimpses of him joking around and connecting with his musicians, you catch the version of Elvis that feels closest to the stage animal we see under the lights.
Fans of Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, starring Austin Butler (Caught Stealing, Dune: Part Two), will recognize a familiar philosophy at work here. Much like that movie, EPiC prioritizes musicality, showmanship, and Elvis’ gospel-blues lineage over tabloid spectacle. It’s a perspective that can be largely appreciated, even if it comes at the cost of complexity. EPiC obviously isn’t interested in interrogating Elvis, nor is it designed to at all. This is a celebration of him as a performer, and when it’s firing on all cylinders, that celebration is undeniably powerful.
Long Live the King (In IMAX)
This is Elvis as an incomparable star — commanding, vulnerable, playful, and transcendent — captured in a way that feels less like nostalgia and more like time travel. Above all else, Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC made me want to see it again, preferably as loud and as large as possible. In IMAX, with the drums rattling your chest and Elvis filling the frame with his moves, the film becomes what it always wants to be: not a history lesson, but a genuine experience. A reminder of why live performance matters, why music endures, and why Elvis Presley remains, decades later, utterly unstoppable and incomparable.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert will be released exclusively in IMAX on February 20, then expand nationwide on February 27!
Release Date: February 20, 2026.
Directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Produced by Baz Luhrmann, Schuyler Weiss, Jeremy Castro, Matthew Gross, & Colin Smeeton.
Executive Producers: Tom Mackay, Catherine Martin, Jonathan Redmond, Richard Story, & Krista Wegener.
Composer: Elliott Wheeler.
Edited by Jonathan Redmond.
Production Companies: Sony Music Vision, Bazmark Films, & Authentic Studios.
Distirbutor: Neon (United States) & Universal Pictures (International).
Runtime: 96 minutes.
Rated PG-13.
