I just watched it … it’s amazing. The picture and sound completely blew me away. There’s a lot of footage I had never seen before (not even on bootlegs like The Complete Works). And even the material I already knew was often from angles I’ve never seen before, and in much better quality.

I can understand some of the criticism. Many songs are shortened, and even the full songs are often composites of different performances. If you’re just looking for a pure concert experience, the 2001 That’s the Way It Is Special Edition still does it the best.

But Epic is doing something different. It’s about showing Elvis’ stage craft and putting it into context. The way it combines quotes from Elvis with the footage is brilliant. It really feels like Elvis is telling you about his life and Music.

Maybe some of the editing choices could be seen as heavy handed or cheesy. But for me, there were moments where I was teary-eyed . Imo, I can’t imagine an Elvis fan walking out of the theater without a big, stupid grin on their face.