Every few years, the world “rediscovers” Elvis… and Memphis ends up right back in the conversation, because this is where the fuse got lit.
Baz Luhrmann, the director behind Austin Butler’s Elvis in 2022, is back with something that hits different. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert isn’t a biopic. It’s a big-screen concert experience built from restored performance footage that’s meant to feel like you’ve got a seat close enough to hear the room breathe. (The Hollywood Reporter)
This movie doesn’t move like “and then in 1956…” history class. It moves like a time machine that keeps snapping you between two Elvis worlds:
1970 Vegas: focused, funny, dangerous-in-the-best-way—Elvis performing like he’s reminding everyone who runs the room.
1972 tour era: more motion, more road energy, more of the machine around him—Elvis as a live-force, not a legend on a shelf. (Metacritic)
Luhrmann also threads in rehearsal and backstage texture, plus Elvis speaking in his own words, so it’s not just “songs,” it’s the moment around the songs. (The Daily Beast)
The team behind this movie showed up. Tireless hours of work that turned film elements pulled from deep storage were painstakingly restored, which is why this doesn’t feel like an old TV special—it feels newly alive. (The Hollywood Reporter)
If the 2022 Elvis movie was the gateway drug for people who didn’t grow up on Elvis, EPiC is the receipt. Same director, same mission—make Elvis feel present tense—but this time it’s Elvis himself, not an actor trying to channel him. We all know Austin Butler delivered, but nothing beats the real thing, and in EPiC that’s exactly what the audience is getting: a real dose of Elvis.
Memphis showtimes: where to watch
Malco is playing EPiC in IMAX locally at the Paradiso now, but is playing in all Malco theaters starting this weekend.
Showtimes shift, so check Malco’s page for showtimes that work for you. (Malco)
Reviews right now: critics loved it, audiences are basically screaming
If you’re wondering whether this is hype or legit: the review sites are loud.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% critics (80 reviews) and 99% verified audience (500+ ratings). (Rotten Tomatoes)
Metacritic: 87 “Universal Acclaim”. (Metacritic)
Variety called it “one of the most exciting concert films you’ve ever seen.” (Variety)
The Hollywood Reporter flat-out labeled it “the greatest concert documentary ever made”. (THR)
The Memphis ending this deserves
Memphis is where Elvis became possible. You can draw a straight line from Sun Studio, to that early sound that didn’t fit anywhere else, to the confidence you see in these concert years when he’s completely in command of the room. Make sure to go see it – and don’t wait for it to hit the streaming apps. This is a movie that hits different in theaters.
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