Oscilloscope Laboratories
had it all planned out. Aug. 16 would
be the announcement date. It was a
date-certain; a special day in August for an equally special announcement.
And then the hand of fate
stepped in and headline writers made it all the more so. “Aretha Franklin Dies on the Same Day as
Elvis Presley.” 41 years to the date!
The announcement in
question was for the home entertainment release on Oct. 2 of both DVD and
Blu-ray editions of documentary filmmaker Eugene Jarecki’s The King. Of note, the ARR for that date is 102 days
and ticket sales for the film’s limited theatrical release (just 45 screens at
its widest) currently stand at $246,913.
Elvis is a cultural
phenomenon, even to this day. People,
from all different socio-economic and political backgrounds see Elvis through
their own personal prism as Jarecki would find out. Elvis is a reflection of America … good, bad
and everywhere in between.
For his film, he took one
of Presley’s prized automobiles, a 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom, on a national road
trip. The car served as a prop, a
calling-card, a performance stage, a studio and a focal point for a series of
encounters, interviews and musical sessions that Jarecki has incorporated into
his documentary.
An Emmy-winner for his
film, Reagan (2011), the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury
Prize-winner in 2005 for Why We Fight, and again in 2012 for The
House I Live In, Jarecki is not afraid to tackle thorny issues … he
does so with The King as well. It is
the kind of film that could easily be one of the five Best Documentary
contenders in this year’s Oscar competition (it opened theatrically on June 22
and is now qualified).
For some, even if they
were born after Elvis had died, they view him as a cultural appropriator,
becoming “The King of Rock and Roll” for his delivery of “black” music. For others in Jarecki's journey, the man, the music
and the legend are celebrated with impromptu renditions of his songs.
Regardless of your POV, The
King is a fascinating road trip … and by any standard well done and
remarkable for its ability to elicit emotions from a man — “The King” — who has
been dead for 41 years. Take any other
car, from any other celebrity on the road and you are likely to pass unnoticed,
but take a rolling symbol of Elvis Presley on the road and you get noticed.
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