On Aug. 3, 2010, Warner Home Video created a new Elvis sighting by releasing a restored and remastered version of the Golden Globe-winning documentary Elvis On Tour on Blu-ray and DVD and introducing the Elvis 75th Anniversary DVD Collection, the singer/actor’s largest film box set so far.
The 1972 documentary Elvis On Tour followed Presley on a 15-city tour. Considered to be Elvis’ last film before his death in 1977, On Tour includes performances of “Proud Mary,” “Burning Love,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and all his other greats. It also features Elvis’ performance on the Ed Sullivan Show and montage sequences, supervised by filmmaker Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver), showing Elvis’ early career.
The Blu-ray features DTS-HD 5.1 sound, 16×9 video and is packaged as a Blu-ray book with photos, quotes, trivia, set lists and other background information.
Viva Las Vegas
The restored version of On Tour also is available in the 75th Anniversary DVD Collection. In total, the set contains 14 of Elvis’ films, three documentaries and a 40-page commemorative book with behind-the-scemes photos and career highlights. It’s packaged in a nice sparkly holographic foil (Vegas, eat your heart out!) with 10 memorabilia reproductions, including studio correspondence and checks signed by the King himself. Here are the featured films:
- Jailhouse Rock, with commentary by music journalist Steve Pond and featurette “The Scene That Stole Jailhouse Rock“
- Viva Las Vegas, with commentary by Pond and featurette “Kingdom: Elvis in Vegas”
- It Happened at the World’s Fair
- Kissin’ Cousins, with the “Smokey Mountain Boy” song sequence edited back into the film
- Girl Happy, with the “Startin’ Tonight” song sequence back into the film
- Tickle Me, for the first time in widescreen release
- Harum Scarum
- Spinout
- Double Trouble
- Stay Away, Joe
- Speedway
- Live a Little, Love a Little
- Charro!, also the first time in widescreen release
- The Trouble With Girls
- documentary Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, the 2000 version with the restoration featurette “Patch It Up: The Restoration of Elvis: That’s the Way It Is“
- documentary This Is Elvis, the original, uncensored 1981 theatrical version in a new digital transfer and the vintage featurette “Behind the Gates of Graceland”
Elvis On Tour was released priced at $19.96 on DVD and $34.99 for the Blu-ray book. The Elvis 75th Anniversary DVD Collection was priced at $74.92, and available individually, the movies were priced at $12.97 each. The Elvis Blu-ray Collection was priced at $49.99.
These releases came just before Elvis Week, Aug. 10-16, 2010, which celebrated what would have been the King’s 75th birthday. Held in Elvis’ old hometown, Memphis, Tenn., Elvis Week included a screening of Elvis On Tour on Aug. 14, with a “Conversations With Elvis” panel discussion beforehand, including former members of The Stamps Quartet, Donny Sumner and Bill Baize, along with Elvis’ musical director from 1970-77 Joe Guercio.
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