But Elvis had already been known to gyrate on stage by this point, and the real Hayride story is actually more interesting than the movie’s version. 16, 1954, after he’d made a disastrous debut on the Opry stage. The banter with the Hayride announcer makes it clear that the film is depicting Elvis’ first appearance on the show, which took place on Oct. In the film, manager-to-be Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) drives to the Hayride, a less prestigious alternative to Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, to see this white kid who has made a Black-sounding record, “That’s All Right.” There, he sees a nervous Elvis blossom into a star in front of his eyes, gyrating in ways that send the teenage girls (and their mothers) in the audience into paroxysms of desire as he sings “Baby, Let’s Play House.” Semi-warning: This story contains spoilers for “Elvis,” if you consider the biographical details of a very famous person who died 45 years ago spoilers.ĭid Elvis first unveil his onstage gyrations at the Louisiana Hayride? But if you want to know the life that prompted this retelling, read on.įYI, my conclusions here are drawn from numerous sources – but when in doubt, I turned to the two-volume Elvis biography from author Peter Guralnick, “Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley” and “Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley.” Those are the most thorough and comprehensive works on Presley, and Guralnick is an informed admirer without the kind of ax to grind that you often find in books about the King. Since that’s what Luhrmann set out to do, pointing out the moments that aren’t accurate is beside the point when it comes to a very entertaining movie that shows great respect to the main subject (and considerably less to Colonel Parker).
Overall, it’s best to think of “Elvis” as an extended fantasia that uses some facts from Elvis’ life to tell a condensed, simplified, heightened and occasionally fictionalized version of his story. While watching it, you can’t help but wonder if the things you’re seeing on-screen, performed by Austin Butler as Elvis and Tom Hanks as his controversial manager, Colonel Tom Parker, really happened. Still, “Elvis” lays out the life of a real person of considerable import, one whose story has long been co-opted and distorted by both admirers and detractors. ‘Elvis’ Film Review: Baz Luhrmann Gleefully Distorts Legend’s Life in Extravagant Biopic
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