Sars: Sweet, everyone's made it.
Steven Boone: Viva Las Vegas. Putting on my jumpsuit as we speak.
Sars: Awesome. Wow...I have Charro! on right now and it is ridonkulous. Elvis 1, cannon fire 0. Okay, Hollywood.
Steven Boone: Me too. It's on MUTE right now, but still, as you say, ridiculous. With that beard and scowl, he sorta resembles Ice Cube (!).
Sars: My God, he DOES.
Steven Boone: Roundish face, wide nose bridge...
Sars: You're missing some Hall of Clunk Fame exposition from the townsfolk, though.
Steven Boone: So weird and kinda antiquated for '69.
Sars: I get the feeling these movies existed apart from the culture pretty much entirely. I mean, how many times can he play a race-car driver? In a row?
Steven Boone: Yeah, it was pure manager-agent-publicist-executive art. Even The Duke was making more radical westerns around this time. Ahem, The Cowboys.
Sars: Most of these made crazy money, though, apparently.
Steven Boone: I'm sure. It'd be crazy if they didn't.
Sars: "...and Elvis as a mule for stolen jewelry in Double Trouble." Really, Colonel Parker? ...Wow, he doesn't look bad. Although I'm going to accuse him of waxing right now and get it over with.
Steven Boone: Yeah, get that outta the way.
Sars: I can't wait to see the infamous karate moves.
Matt Zoller Seitz: I didn't realize Lucien Ballard shot this. He's the same man who shot The Wild Bunch. I love that this is in widescreen, CinemaScope aspect ratio. I wish all documentaries were.
Steven Boone: This Elvis (circa 1970) is like Michael Jackson JUST before the surgery went mad. "Thriller" Michael.
Sars: I didn't realize Elvis dressed right.
Steven Boone: Amen on the Scope comment.
MZS: It's hard to get my mind around the fact that Elvis was only in his mid-thirties when this was shot. I have this mental image of him in his Vegas period being 60 years old and as fat as Brando near the end.
Sars: I don't think it started to get that consistently bad until around '73. It's funny how he's like a soap opera in that the thing, and the parody of the thing, are basically the same.
MZS: Nice pan up from Elvis's car heading down the street to a perfectly-framed shot of that enormous "Elvis" sign.
Sars: Sweet, everyone's made it.
Steven Boone: Viva Las Vegas. Putting on my jumpsuit as we speak.
Sars: Awesome. Wow...I have Charro! on right now and it is ridonkulous. Elvis 1, cannon fire 0. Okay, Hollywood.
Steven Boone: Me too. It's on MUTE right now, but still, as you say, ridiculous. With that beard and scowl, he sorta resembles Ice Cube (!).
Sars: My God, he DOES.
Steven Boone: Roundish face, wide nose bridge...
Sars: You're missing some Hall of Clunk Fame exposition from the townsfolk, though.
Steven Boone: So weird and kinda antiquated for '69.
Sars: I get the feeling these movies existed apart from the culture pretty much entirely. I mean, how many times can he play a race-car driver? In a row?
Steven Boone: Yeah, it was pure manager-agent-publicist-executive art. Even The Duke was making more radical westerns around this time. Ahem, The Cowboys.
Sars: Most of these made crazy money, though, apparently.
Steven Boone: I'm sure. It'd be crazy if they didn't.
Sars: "...and Elvis as a mule for stolen jewelry in Double Trouble." Really, Colonel Parker? ...Wow, he doesn't look bad. Although I'm going to accuse him of waxing right now and get it over with.
Steven Boone: Yeah, get that outta the way.
Sars: I can't wait to see the infamous karate moves.
Matt Zoller Seitz: I didn't realize Lucien Ballard shot this. He's the same man who shot The Wild Bunch. I love that this is in widescreen, CinemaScope aspect ratio. I wish all documentaries were.
Steven Boone: This Elvis (circa 1970) is like Michael Jackson JUST before the surgery went mad. "Thriller" Michael.
Sars: I didn't realize Elvis dressed right.
Steven Boone: Amen on the Scope comment.
MZS: It's hard to get my mind around the fact that Elvis was only in his mid-thirties when this was shot. I have this mental image of him in his Vegas period being 60 years old and as fat as Brando near the end.
Sars: I don't think it started to get that consistently bad until around '73. It's funny how he's like a soap opera in that the thing, and the parody of the thing, are basically the same.
MZS: Nice pan up from Elvis's car heading down the street to a perfectly-framed shot of that enormous "Elvis" sign.
Television Without Pity • © 2013 Bravo Media LLC • A Division of NBCUniversal •
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