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Graceland Tour DVD - 2008

By ElvisMatters/ David Hamal, June 18, 2008 | Video
The previous edition of the official Graceland tour DVD was produced in 2000. Even in a house where nobody lives any more, things can change in eight year: time for a revamped version. We’ve watched this DVD in premiere and must say that it is an absolute must-have. While the old release came out on one disc with a total running time of 60 min., we now have 2 discs with over 140 min. The quality of the footage is crystal clear and the soundtrack is mixed in the high quality 5.1 Dolby Digital format. When we visit the music room, we hear a moving instrumental version of ‘How Great Thou Art’ and when the narrator tells about the passing of Elvis’ mother, we hear an emotional female voice humming ‘Amazing Grace’ through the back speakers. De documentary starts with a technical gimmick: a collage of famous pictures are rendered in 3D so it looks like they are ‘moving’. It’s hard to explain in words, but the effect looks awesome!

Before we enter the mansion, there is some pre-history of Graceland and Elvis’ rise to stardom. The guided tour in the house is combined with footage from important moments in Elvis’ life.

When the front door closes behind us, the camera looks upstairs – the forbidden area for visitors. EPE is well aware that fans are anxious to know more about the second floor. Eventually, we see a shot from the top of the stairs, ending at a closed door…what follows is a nice 3D animation of the second floor, made from the blue prints. We got a virtual look upstairs in all the rooms and learn about their function.

Each room that is open to the public is narrated in detail. We see different views from angles that you don’t have as a visitor. This gives us some interesting surprises: under the table in the dining room is a buzzer at Elvis seat, so he could call somebody from the kitchen in complete discretion. In one of the kitchen drawers, we get a look of the acts of Lisa-Marie as a child: she carved her name in the wood. The items that are on the night stand next to Gladys bed are from her purse, at the time she passed away and the lamp above the pool table is broken from behind due to a ‘lost’ billiard bal. Such facts are spread all over the DVD, together with never before seen pictures of various interiors during the years.

After we have visited the mansion, we go back to the foyer to have a quick look at the rooms during Christmas time. We leave the house for a while for a brief overlook of the car museum and the two planes and go back to the trophy room and the racquetball building where we can see the complete second floor for the first time with the dressing room, Jacuzzi and bath room.

Whenever you bring a visit to the Meditation Garden, Elvis’ grave site is always covered with lots of flowers, cards and souvenirs. It’s a strange sight in these shots when you see that the lawn is completely empty and there is only one white rose on each grave. De documentary ends with an overview of the activities around Graceland and Elvis after 1977 with emotional footage of the Candlelight Vigil.

The second disc contains over 60 min of bonus footage in 4 chapters

Graceland in the Snow (15:24)

Footage from January 1958 with Graceland under a large coat of snow. This is the known footage of Elvis’ parents walking around in the snow and driving around in the pink Caddy. This time, the footage is complete.

A Fan’s Home Movies of Elvis (19:35)

Some of these shots are included on various DVDs (Elvis during horseback riding, talking with the fans at the gates …), but know collected in its total. The footage was shot by one fan and donated to Graceland. Filmed between 1968 and 1970.

‘Home from The Army’ Press Conference (16:04)

The famous press conference from March 7, 1960 when Elvis returned back from the army.

‘Graceland Archives’ (14:13)

Probably the most interesting item on this disc is this extended tour of the Graceland Archives by Angie Marchese, director of archives. In the past, we had some sneak peeks in this building, but it’s always interesting and fascinating to see the lady with the white gloves opening another box full of surprises. Once again, this proves that there are still hundreds of documents and pictures in the archives that are never seen by fans. We can see the blue prints for a recording studio that was never build, the plan was cancelled and the racquetball building was build on the location. Another large box is stuffed with items that the Presley’s took with them when they moved from Tupelo, we see a postcard from Vernon that he wrote to his wife and son when he was in jail. Probably each fan will want to take a look in the files with documents for the preparation of the august 1977 tour…the tour that never was…

The production of this DVD was the last project that Todd Morgan was working on before he passed away. This DVD is dedicated to his memory. With this item, Todd leaves a great legacy to all fans! An absolute must-have!

Details:

Format: Region Free
Language: English
Subtitles: English / Spanish / French / German / Nihongo
Discs: 2
Time: 140min

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Steve V wrote on June 18, 2008
Sounds nice. I would love for a DVD or a documentary to focus on Elvis' record collection. We always see the albums stacked and we know some of the LPs he listened to, but no one ever goes thru them to let us see Elvis' entire (or a least a good portion) record collection. That would be very interesting.
JustPretend1975 wrote on June 18, 2008
SteveV, a part of your wish is fullfilled :), During the tour in the archives, you see a section that is stacked with hundreds of Elvis' personal records, the camera goes over some of the items, and you can see the labels of some records very clear..not completely what you want, but it gives an idea :)
Steve V wrote on June 19, 2008
Great! Thanks for that update.
bray1977 wrote on June 20, 2008
This sounds like a great release. I'll buy it for sure when I'm in memphis this August.
Vegas Sun wrote on June 20, 2008
Why on the Graceland tour DVD would there be a picture of him catching a baseball in Germany? It makes me wonder about attention to detail in yet another overpriced EPE product. I'm looking forward to getting this DVD, but that's discouraging right off the bat to see that. Just because he's in a yard in a candid picture doesn't mean it's Graceland. It's not.
JerryNodak wrote on June 21, 2008
I expect I'll buy this sooner or later.
JerryNodak wrote on June 21, 2008
Re: Germany, catching baseball. Interesting. Not same old, same old. So it's not tied to Graceland in a strict sense of the word. Big deal! You're getting upset over nothing. Take something to relax. Must some of you fans complain over every little detail. No wonder the rest of the world think Elvis fans are 'nuts'.
Vegas Sun wrote on June 21, 2008
I don't need to relax about anything, and I'm fine really. It's just a point that it's about Graceland. It's a DVD tour of the house. So a picture of him catching a baseball in Germany has zero to do with a tour of Graceland. My point was a lack of attention to detail by the people that put these projects together. Though it's overpriced, the review looks great and I will pick it up. I have an issue with a lack of paying attention to detail on a project, especially if it's going to be as high priced as it is. Think about it like this. What if they put out Elvis On Tour on DVD, and the cover picture has a shot from TTWII on it. Are you saying that would be OK, and people would be complaining too much if it was brought up and they should just be happy with whatever EPE puts out no matter what it is? I just want a good solid project that has some care put into it by the producers, not something just slapped together. I don't think that's too much to ask for. Maybe you should relax a little, but I'm fine. I am looking forward to getting this DVD, and it looks like a fine project. I just don't care for the picture from Germany being on the front.
Jesse Garon Presley wrote on June 22, 2008
details details..just buy the dvd. it's the content that matters and that picture of elvis in Germany?it's part of Graceland. at Graceland they are displaying clothes elvis wore in germany and stuff. so that picture is correct on this dvdcover..
JerryNodak wrote on June 22, 2008
Yeah, I might consider a TTWII picture on the On Tour box. He looked a helluva lot better then. It just might boost sales to Joe Public. As fans we know the difference, but we'll buy it anyway.
Steve V wrote on June 22, 2008
This has nothing to do woth paying attention to detail, they are just photos. The baseball picture is a non-issue. There is a wedding picture on the cover also. What does that have to do with Graceland? He got married in Vegas. And tha main picture is from Jailhouse Rock. So a moot point really. Enjoy the DVD.
Vegas Sun wrote on June 22, 2008
The wedding photo could be from the reception held at Graceland after the wedding. It really wasn't a big point. I am looking forward to picking up the DVD, and the review looks great. It was just the point that the picture in particular didn't belong with the rest of it. Not a big issue, just something I pointed out. If you don't hold them to a high standard, they will put out low standard material.
Jerome returns wrote on June 23, 2008
Home from The Army’ Press Conference only 16:04?? What happened to the other 35 seconds?..
Steve V wrote on June 23, 2008
Jerome - Old Shep ate it.
CharlieRogers wrote on June 27, 2008
I have to say I am very pleased to see a good review for this DVD release. My partner and I visited Graceland for the first time this May and this is a really, really fantastic keepsake of our wonderful trip. The audio commentary is fascinating and I for one didn't realise that the interior we see now is really quite a mixture of the different times when Elvis lived there. To me Graceland was a surprisingly stylish, elegant, yet comfortable, family home and I felt privileged to have been allowed inside; this DVD is a brilliant permanent record and reminder of that insight with a thoughtful re-telling of his life story highlighting the elements that have special significance to Graceland.
Harvey Alexander wrote on July 27, 2008
The back cover states that there are almost 90 minutes of extra features, and yet I could only find about 60 minutes. Is this just EPE ripping us off again or is the rest of the extra stuff hidden as Easter Eggs?