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The Final Days

November 25, 2004 | Video
Released in the import circuit is another CBS concerts DVD. Is it worth getting?

Design

The cover features an Elvis from the special, a brave choice. The DVD menu looks good, with images from the Aloha special you can’t go wrong, neither can you original Elvis music. But you can go wrong with the menu, after selecting one of the main chapters you can’t go back to the main menu. Only opening and closing the DVD player gets you where you want.

There are two versions of this DVD-release, a standard DVD case and a paper digipack.

Content

Most of us know the sad images from the CBS television specials. Three versions of that special are featured on this disc, all video transfers, and all several generations old. We will leave these shows (Omaha, Rapid City and Indianapolis) for what they are.

More interesting are the interviews with Joe Esposito and Charlie Hodge at the beginning of the Geraldo tribute (not obituary as he puts it) are interesting to see. The documentary itself is a video transfer too, but it more interesting then the usual documentary releases. With the recent Memory release “The Cover Up” we now have pictures to the interviews we heard on that CD.

Also on this disc a CBS Special Report on Elvis’ death with footage on the accident during the wake outside Graceland and famous people arriving at Graceland, the hearse and footage of the mausoleum where Elvis was originally buried. It holds a cubicle named the “Presley room” was ready to receive Elvis’ coffin. The reporter even stated that Elvis crypt would always be visible for the public.

The shows are typical American television shows, but also a good tribute with a lot of footage tells the story of the recently passed away Elvis. It is a typical “obituary program” you see on television after the death of a famous person with the mourning friends (George Klein), celebrities (Stevie Wonder on Elvis’ breaking the race barrier), radio and television personalities and “so called” experts. .

Unfortunately the video footage isn’t that good, the audio is good enough.

Conclusion

This is a very interesting DVD, not for the concert footage, Elvis in 1977 looks very sad, but it is very interesting for the television specials from the week after his death.
Mofoca22 wrote on November 25, 2004
where do u get this dvd from? id love to see this even if the quality aint all that good. i down loaded elvis in concert off from kazaa b4 but i didnt really like it too much too much talking and not enough elvis. i wanna see concerts in there entirty like u do with aloha, thats the way it is, and the 68 comeback. id love to see them re do elvis on tour as well any news on that?
Aron wrote on November 25, 2004
I got this DVD from the Netherlands. It's really interesting to see the CBS Special Report and listen to the interviews. I don't care re quality of footages in this case.
forelvis wrote on December 16, 2004
I am interest to get this DVD. How I get this DVD?
Steve Grayson wrote on July 22, 2005
I got this for some time and think its a good dvd. Its a sad dvd condsidering the time it was shot, 1977. The reports are rare to see these days. Its a good dvd to have if u are a collector of Elvis.