THE SEARCHER - I've seen it and I liked it, but . . .

[Jukebox]

Please can you tell me if they showed the 8mm film of 1969?

I recall them showing footage that scanned/panned the inside of the International Hotel Showroom with the curtains down... possibly from 1969.
No footage of Elvis performing (that I recall)... maybe a few seconds, but nothing to write home about.

Did they show the 8mm film of jan or feb 1970?

No.

Was there any TTWII footage ..? 'Words?'etc ...

Yes, but they mostly passed that footage off to represent 1969. There was no main focus on the movie known as Elvis - That's The Way It Is or Elvis' August 1970 Las Vegas engagement.

What was the opening 2 minutes and what footage did it consist of ? Thank you ...

The opening 2 to 3 minutes was done in a very delightful manner, imo. I think everyone will fully enjoy the opening. I won't go into detail... don't want to spoil it for anyone!

One thing about this documentary that we well-established fans need to remember --
It will be very informative and enlightening to the curious folks that are just now beginning to take interest in Elvis Presley. I believe there'll be an increase in Elvis music sales for the remainder of 2018 once HBO starts showing this documentary. Mission accomplished.

[Jukebox]

Zimny and Landau should stick to Springsteen. This Elvis job was not for them.

I honestly feel like Zimny and Landau did a pretty good job over all presenting a fresh, enlightening angle on Elvis' life. It certainly had a different feeling from most of the other Elvis documentaries that we've seen in the past. Perhaps we could put some of the blame on Jerry Schilling and/or Priscilla Presley for anything that was lacking in this movie.

So Elvis' 1957 recording of "Jailhouse Rock", one of the landmark rock and roll records of all time, is not contained in a 4 hour documentary that is pompously presented as the definitive thing on rock and roll's most important performer.

I feel your pain, Mister Moon, but believe it or not it wasn't necessary for them to highlight or even mention Elvis' recording of Jailhouse Rock. The documentary worked well in showing the new/curious viewer to now seek out Elvis Presley's music catalog... possibly starting with The Searcher set.

So, when this thing was announced, I said something along the lines of there was no need for another documentary because everything we have been told about Elvis has been told. ...... so, was there any new nuggets of importance that came about during this re-telling
of the Elvis story?

I think so. They showed a lot of what they thought Elvis probably saw, experienced, and absorbed during his youth. All of that influence enabled him to later start blossoming at SUN on July 5, 1954. That is a very important/major part of this documentary.

[Johnny2523]

Was there any footage from 1977 to be seen?

[Jukebox]

Was there any footage from 1977 to be seen?

No.

[Mister Moon]

Was there any footage from 1977 to be seen?

How dare you !

It did not happen !

[DarylR]

Was there any footage from 1977 to be seen?

How dare you !

It did not happen !

The first rule of 1977 is: You do not talk about 1977.
The second rule of 1977 is: You DO NOT TALK ABOUT 1977!
Third rule of 1977: Someone yells stop, goes limp, taps out, 1977 is over.
Fourth rule: only two guys (Elvis and Charlie) on stage.

[Mojo Filter]

Was there any footage from 1977 to be seen?

It amazes me why people want to see footage of Elvis in 1977. Not exactly at his physical peak or even musical creativeness.

Unless your the morbid sort.

[DarylR]

How were the non-Elvis songs featured on disc 3 of the deluxe version of the soundtrack used throughout the film. For example, the recording by Gladys of "Home Sweet Home," the two Odetta songs, the Staple Singers version of "The Weight," the Orlons version of "Heartbreak Hotel," and Tom Petty's version of "Wooden Heart."

DId they mention the USS Arizona benefit show from March, 1961?

Did they use any of the film performances from the 1960s. The soundtrack features "Bossa Nova Baby" and "C'mon Everybody." Were these two performances shown in their entirety from the films "Fun In Acapulco" and "Viva Las Vegas."

[Jukebox]

~ When it came time for the documentary to touch on the Jungle Room sessions they showed an RCA equipment truck parked on the left side of the front driveway with a couple of cables on the ground running from the back of the truck through the front doorway with the front door wide open. In reality, wasn't the RCA equipment truck parked behind the house (near the den) when the recordings took place?

"Hurt"
This is where the voice-over narrator was either reading from a script or simply making up an
embellishment (polite way for me to say "lie") of how Elvis' recording of "Hurt" came about in the Jungle Room at Graceland.

There were so many different voice-overs during the film that I can't remember for sure if Jerry Schilling was describing this, or if it was Ronnie Tutt.
But regardless, this is close to how it was described in the documentary --
~ Things were very crowded and tight in the Jungle Room and the band was tuning & adjusting their musical instruments while waiting for
Elvis to come down to record. When Elvis finally did come down, he greeted everyone and then sat down to look over some song titles to record.
After a few minutes Elvis suddenly stood up, took his stance, and broke into "Hurt" without letting anyone know what he was gonna do.
With Elvis in full flow and involvement in the song, the band simply did their best to hold on and follow along.

-- The producer/producers were attempting to give the impression that this was Elvis expelling all of the pain trapped deep down inside of him that he had experienced during his entire career.

The film then proceeded to play the whole song as if it was an off-the-cuff performance captured like lightning in a bottle. HBO was simply trying to make the whole scene appear to be as dramatic as possible since the end of the film was drawing near. For the unknowing curious viewers, it'll work as planned, but for the rest of us we already know that Elvis did 7 takes to get the master. HBO used take 6.

[kevanbudd]

Thank you Jukebox for sharing the details with us all.

I'd like to ask what new 1950's footage was to be seen - if any, in this final edit?
Anything from 1955?

Thanks

Kevan Budd.

[KEV]

Love to read that they took other singers that HE liked and put them up on screen.

This doc"s were made for the non fan,so will love to hear from fans around the world what they think when its shown in there country,ie did it work ... and what will the sales be like on the SOUNDTRACK?.

I read about mistakes and the xmas song on the 68 show should have been correted and TTWII footage should be told its from 70 etc but if it flows over the hours?.

Thanks for your time JUKEBOX.

[a mess of Polk salad]

Thank you Jukebox for sharing the details with us all.

I'd like to ask what new 1950's footage was to be seen - if any, in this final edit?
Anything from 1955?

Kevan Budd.

So it seems the TCB band interviews regarding the JR sessions never made the cut ...

[TonyS]

~ When it came time for the documentary to touch on the Jungle Room sessions they showed an RCA equipment truck parked on the left side of the front driveway with a couple of cables on the ground running from the back of the truck through the front doorway with the front door wide open. In reality, wasn't the RCA equipment truck parked behind the house (near the den) when the recordings took place?

"Hurt"
This is where the voice-over narrator was either reading from a script or simply making up an embellishment (polite way for me to say "lie") of how Elvis' recording of "Hurt" came about in the Jungle Room at Graceland.

There were so many different voice-overs during the film that I can't remember for sure if Jerry Schilling was describing this, or if it was Ronnie Tutt.
But regardless, this is close to how it was described --
~ Things were very crowded and tight in the Jungle Room and the band was tuning & adjusting their musical instruments while waiting for
Elvis to come down to record. When Elvis finally did come down, he greeted everyone and then sat down to look over some song titles to record.
After a few minutes Elvis suddenly stood up, took his stance, and broke into "Hurt" without letting anyone know what he was gonna do.
With Elvis in full flow and involvement in the song, the band simply did their best to hold on and follow along.

-- The producer/producers were attempting to give the impression that this was Elvis expelling all of the pain trapped deep down inside of him that he had experienced during his entire career.

The film then proceeded to play the entire song as if it was an off-the-cuff performance captured like lightning in a bottle. HBO was simply trying to make the whole scene appear to be as dramatic as possible since the end of the film was drawing near. For the unknowing curious viewers, it'll work as planned, but for the rest of us we already know that Elvis did 7 takes to get the master. HBO used take 6.

They should have used take 69

[Jukebox]

How were the non-Elvis songs featured on disc 3 of the deluxe version of the soundtrack used throughout the film. For example, the recording by Gladys of "Home Sweet Home," the two Odetta songs, the Staple Singers version of "The Weight," the Orlons version of "Heartbreak Hotel," and Tom Petty's version of "Wooden Heart."

Gosh, I can't remember when they were all interwoven in the film, but I do know for sure that Tom Petty's version of "Wooden Heart" was played during the rolling of the final credits at the end of the film.

DId they mention the USS Arizona benefit show from March, 1961?

Yes they did. They played some of "Reconsider Baby" from it and commented about all of the wonderful musicians that Elvis had access to during
this time of his career such as Boots Randolph, Hank Garland, Bob Moore... and how Scotty Moore & D.J. Fontana were now playing a lesser role.
The voice-over also added that it was such a shame and waste that this was to be Elvis' last concert until 1969.

Did they use any of the film performances from the 1960s. The soundtrack features "Bossa Nova Baby" and "C'mon Everybody"

"Wooden Heart"

Were these two performances shown in their entirety from the films "Fun In Acapulco" and "Viva Las Vegas."

If my memory serves me correctly the only songs they played in their entirety without any edits or interruptions from voice-overs were
near the end of Part 2... "Hurt" and "If I Can Dream". I suppose the forthcoming 3-cd set is for complete songs.

[a mess of Polk salad]

Please how good regarding picture quality was the Elvis & Frank Sinatra "Welcome Home Elvis" footage? Had it been cleaned up..? Thank you