"Elvis - That's The Way It Is" original film version...

[BlackpoolEPfan]

Just watched the original movie documentary from 1970 this evening for the first time in a long time. It was from the 2-disc DVD set (which also featured the Special Edition (2001)) which was released as part of the 11-disc DVD box set back in 2007. I think this was the first time the original "T.T.W.I.I." had been released on DVD in the UK.

Apart from a couple of cringeworthy moments from the Luxembourg Convention, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this time capsule of a documentary once again. However, so glad they released the Special Edition three decades later to further solidify Elvis' status as the greatest performer! The Special Edition is a beneficial addition to this period of Elvis' career.

Any thoughts on the original movie doc?

[Mike C]

I personally think the original has a better selection of song performances. Suspicious Minds is way better in the original.

[NinaFromCanadaEh]

I don't mind the fan club part

it showed the reach of Elvis despite not touring worldwide

and was happening at the same time so kinda lucky to capture that

[lechersteve]

The original film captures the Elvis 1970 show experience. The selection of performances is outstanding. To be fair, it is marred somewhat by interruptions of the flow of the performance by extraneous fan interviews and items like the convention coverage.

I hate that the SE has become the defacto official release of the movie these days. For me, it is an outtakes film showing mostly fast Elvis songs that don’t conform to the concert Elvis wanted to perform that summer. The omission of Bridge and I Just Can’t Help Believing makes me feel the film is incomplete and not displaying all of Elvis’ artistry. To make matters even worse, they changed the performance of You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling so we can hear a vocal crack and substituted a great Suspicious Minds for a good one.

The SE is a film I never revisit.

[NinaFromCanadaEh]

the guy who directed it was not an Elvis fan so fandom was looked at as part of the phenomenon of Elvis

it was made for a general audience not just Elvis fans

i appreciate it that way

what I did not like was a lot of the camera work, the rapid zooming in and out

[KingElvis]

Any thoughts on the original movie doc?

My main issue with the original movie is the picture and audio quality.
The poor audio is especially a huge factor for me.
It’s incredible that in 2025 we still only have the movie in mono sound.
Thankfully we have the concert footage...including the 4 songs...in nice
video&sound due to the bootleg/fan community.
A crying shame that the SE version is missing the 4 songs from original movie.