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Details Warner And Paramount DVD Releases

EPE updated their site with news on the Elvis movie DVDs from Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video. The press release: “There have been pretenders and there have been contenders. But there is only one King!” -- Bruce Springsteen Paramount Home Entertainment And Warner Home Video To Celebrate Elvis Presley August 7. 24 Films Include WHV’s New Editions of Jailhouse Rock, Viva Las Vegas, Elvis: That’s the Way it Is, along with the DVD debut of This is Elvis, and the Elvis Hollywood Collection with Six New-to-DVD titles Plus PHE’s The Lights! Action! Elvis! Collection Burbank, Calif. May 14, 2007 – On August 7, Warner Home Video (WHV) and Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) will again join forces, this time to celebrate the life of Elvis Presley, and commemorate the 30th anniversary of “The King’s” passing. The man who made blue suede shoes, hound dogs and hip swivels an indelible part of America’s pop culture will come alive again as the two studios pool their DVD sales and marketing resources to release a total of 24 Elvis Presley films. The lead WHV titles in the promotion are Deluxe Editions of Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock and 2 Disc Special Editions of Elvis: That’s the Way It Is and This is Elvis (making its DVD debut). The lead Paramount offering is The Lights! Action! Elvis! Collection presented in a collectible blue suede case. A series of major events honoring this rock ‘n’ roll icon are being planned throughout this year, the highlight of which is ‘Elvis Week 2007,’ taking place in Memphis from August 11 through August 18. As part of the festivities, Warner Home Video will be collaborating with Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) on two “Elvis Music and Movies” nights on the grounds of Graceland Mansion , with outdoor screenings of Viva Las Vegas on August 13 and Elvis: That’s the Way It Is on August 14. WHV will also have a promotional presence at other Elvis Week events presented by EPE, including the Elvis Insiders Conference, “Elvis: The 30th Anniversary Concert” and the “Elvis: Midnight in Vegas Concert.” This year’s Elvis Week, which commemorates the 30th anniversary of Elvis’ passing, is expected to be the biggest edition of the annual celebration of Elvis’ life and legacy to date. WHV also will debut Elvis: The Hollywood Collection, containing six Elvis films never before on DVD – Charro, Girl Happy, Kissin’ Cousins, Stay Away, Joe, Tickle Me and Live A Little, Love A Little. The films will be available as a set, as well as individually. PHE is packaging eight classic Presley titles in a collectible blue suede case. The Lights! Action! Elvis! Collection will include King Creole, G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii , Roustabout, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Fun In Acapulco, Paradise , Hawaiian Style and Easy Come, Easy Go. Considered by many to be Elvis’ finest acting performance, King Creole was also Elvis’ personal favorite of all his films and was directed by Michael Curtiz ( Casablanca ). G.I. Blues was the first film that Elvis made after returning from his stint in the army and features the all-time classic song “Blue Suede Shoes”. Elvis’ highest grossing film, Blue Hawaii, was filmed in part on location in the Hawaiian Islands , as were Girls! Girls! Girls!, which was nominated for a Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture—Musical, and Paradise , Hawaiian Style. Elvis co-starred with a string of notable actresses including Ursula Andress in Fun In Acapulco, Barbara Stanwyck in Roustabout and Elsa Lanchester (best known for her role in Bride of Frankenstein) in Easy Come, Easy Go. All eight must-own titles are packaged together for the first time and feature sensational musical performances of beloved songs including “Hard Headed Woman”, “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and “Return To Sender”. Please see end of release for complete pricing and list of titles from both studios. PHE orders are due June 26; WHV’s order due date is July 3. Said George Feltenstein, WHV's Senior Vice President Theatrical Catalog Marketing, “With a talent as big as Elvis’ it’s only fitting to join forces again with Paramount . Doubling the marketing and sales effort focuses more attention on the 30th anniversary celebration and will ultimately benefit retailers and consumers alike. We’re particularly thrilled to be meeting consumer demand by releasing seven Elvis features to DVD for the very first time!” “Elvis Presley lives on as an American icon and we’re very pleased to be teaming with Warner Home Video to celebrate his film legacy in a way that is befitting of ‘The King’,” said Michael Arkin, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Paramount Home Entertainment. Voted the Third Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Artist of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine (after the Beatles and Bob Dylan), Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977) was also one of Hollywood’s top box-office draws, starring in 31 feature films and two theatrically released concert documentaries over the course of his career. ‘The King’s’ music was as much a part of his box-office success as his good looks and charisma. In fact, some of his top-selling songs were from the movie soundtracks. Eleven of his soundtrack albums made it into the top ten on the Billboard Album charts and of those, four became number one hits. It is estimated that Elvis has sold over a billion records worldwide, more records than any other artist in record industry history, and even 30 years after his death, Elvis still conquers new legions of fans as recent compilations of his RCA recordings, “Elvis 30 #1 Hits” and “Elvis 2nd to None,” both topped the Billboard charts of best selling albums. The Films Viva Las Vegas Deluxe Edition In one of his most popular movies, Elvis Presley shared the screen with Ann-Margret in Sin City , aka Las Vegas , easily creating the most electrifying teaming Elvis had on-screen. He’s Lucky Jackson, a Grand Prix race driver working at a casino to raise cash for a new engine; she’s a hotel swimming instructor - and the romantic action revs up from their first meeting. Veteran director George Sidney, who guided Ann-Margret in the prior year’s Bye Bye Birdie, combines the hormonal heat wave with fascinating sights of ’60s Las Vegas . Songs include the high-roller title track, the stars’ duet on “The Lady Loves Me,” her sultry “Appreciation” and The King’s version of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say.” Special Features: - Commentary by Steve Pond, rock journalist and author of “Elvis in Hollywood ” - Restored and Digitally Remastered in a 16x9 master, enhanced for widescreen televisions. - New featurette Kingdom : Elvis in Vegas - Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 from original production elements - Theatrical trailer - Subtitles: English & Français (feature film only) Jailhouse Rock Deluxe Edition (WHV) In this 1957 box-office hit that’s Elvis “Presley’s best film” according to Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, the King plays Vince Everett, jailed for manslaughter after a bar fight. There, Vince learns to belt out tunes while “in the house” and after being paroled, follows a bumpy road to music and movie success. Six Presley songs by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller spike the story, including “Treat Me Nice,” “I Wanna Be Free” and the classic shimmy-shakin’ title tune that was Presley’s favorite of all his films’ production numbers. DVD Special Features: - Commentary by Steve Pond, music journalist - Restored and Digitally Remastered in a 16x9 master, enhanced for widescreen televisions - New Featurette The Scene That Stole Jailhouse Rock - Soundtrack Remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 from original production elements - Theatrical Trailer - Subtitles: English & Français (Feature Film Only) This is Elvis 2-Disc Special Edition (WHV) From executive producer and award-winning documentarian David L. Wolper (Roots, L.A. Confidential), This Is Elvis is an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait crafted by Andrew Solt (Imagine: Jo
Source: EPE - Elvis Presley Enterprises / Updated: May 11, 2007 
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emjel (profile/ contact) wrote on May 15, 2007report abuse
Dan - both songs you mention were cut from video releases and even TV transmissions many years ago. Yes you guessed it - copyright or rather royalties stood in the way. That's why Warner's would not put them out until the problem was resolved. There was a rumour a while back that a couple of the songs from Blue Hawaii could fall foul of this problem. It will be good to see Girl Happy complete and in its proper ratio, especially at the start - no more 7 ft skinny girl in the beginning. Hope they sort the lip sync on the title song though.
Dan (profile/ contact) wrote on May 15, 2007report abuse
What do they mean with "Startin Tonight" and "Smokey Mountain Boy" sequences now BACK in the films. When were they ever deleted. Smokey mountain boy is the whole part where Elvis and the "army" head up the mountain in a motorcade, singing of course. The prints i've seen have all had those musical numbers in them. Was it some ridiculous copyright thing on proir releases or what? Just like older releases of "Aloha" missing songs. does any one know?
Dan (profile/ contact) wrote on May 15, 2007report abuse
"Twelve never-before seen outtake song/nonmusical sequences" on the TTWII DVD. Hmmmm, wonder what that is...sounds interesting.
ext_mnx (profile/ contact) wrote on May 14, 2007report abuse
I want to see Details Warner And Paramount DVD Releases! Viva Elvis Presley !
fllaw1 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
Spoken from the Heart CARL, I like that. RonBaker, I'm with ya, all these guys know they want to start singing Dirty, Dirty Feeling when they are watching Tickle Me....LOL.....Good or Bad, debateable. Highest paid actor in Hollywood at one time, ABSOLUTELY....
Wiebe (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
I think these are great releases. I like to watch most of Elvis' movies. I think they will survive much better than a lot of the silly 80ie's movies, that I used to like as a kid. I've been watching some of his movies lately, and the formula seems to work on me. I'm always pleasantly surprised when all of a sudden he starts to sing right in the middle of a scene. Some of his acting is really really bad, though, like in Easy Come Easy Go, not one line comes out naturely. They shot most of them in 2 weeks, which is impossible. An inexperienced actor like Elvis with virtually no technic needed a good director. You can see the difference ( King Creole, Wild In The Country, Flaming Star etc. ) I still don't understand why Elvis didn't get any acting lessons, some method would have made things easier, and then maybe he would have gotten some roles that would have challenged him. I think his best performance was in Love Me Tender, he really dared to let go. Later he played more with a pose. Nayway thanks Warner and Paramount. (I'm sure we'll get an EOT SE one day)
Carl (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
Elvis made movies that were musical comedies. These movies are dead in the water from the get go. Even on paper, any actor would have an uphill struggle trying to appear credible in such a movie format. The Beatles, for instance, quit making such movies after Help! in 1965, only their second movie. They understood that it was essentially a lose-lose proposition. I think Elvis did exhibit poor judgment in stubbornly continuing to make such movies when there was nothing there. A movie like Harum Scarum could only help to destroy Elvis' reputation. And yet...Elvis went ahead and made it...with Billy Barty the midget actor and the whole turbin thing.
Elvis never quite broke through as a movie actor. None of his movies ever were no. 1, none of the 31, although some came close, like Blue Hawaii and Viva Las Vegas. I think Elvis took a big risk in making those movies and he eventually lost. In hindsight, he should have focused on a few good movies instead of cranking out almost three per year. But that was the way his career was geared to in the the 1960s. He was to make movies to promote the records which would sell the movies and everyone would be a great success. The formula started breaking down in about 1964 though. Elvis was too rigid and showed very poor judgment. In short, Elvis drove it into the ground.
But we cannot judge his entire film career based on Harum Scarum. Tom Hanks, for example, began his career on this stupid TV comedy show and then became the greatest actor in the world. The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour TV movie was panned by critics in 1967. The critics hated that movie even more than they hated the Elvis movies. And then there is Ishtar, a horrible movie by Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty. Don't judge Elvis' movies based on the few very bad ones.
In their time, Blue Hawaii and Viva Las Vegas were great movies, regarded as witty and cool. They were huge box office hits, although never no. 1. The Blue Hawaii soundtrack album was no. 1 for 20 weeks on the Billboard Album Chart and is the no. 2 album of the 1960s. The most The Beatles were able to achieve was 15 weeks at no. 1 for Sgt. Pepper.
A lot of the people who put down the Elvis movies have never seen any of the good ones. Loving You (1957) or Jailhouse Rock, for example, are two of the best rock and roll movies ever made. Viva Las Vegas and It Happened at the World's Fair are well-made films.
The thing is that Elvis was pretty much the only one making these musical comedies. Bye Bye Birdie, Beach Blanket Bingo, Help, are the few movies made in the same or similar style. And they were not Oscar type movies either. Part of the problem is the format. Another problem is they were formula pictures that repeated a pre-set formula. The songs were also pretty bad in a lot of them. But everyone already knows about all of this.
What these DVDs will allow is for people to see these movies as they were meant to be seen in a theater, not butchered on TV, in black and white, re-formatted for TV, and in usually poor sound quality. I think people will enjoy the good movies and will appreciate how good they were.
The whole "image" issue is very superficial. People usually are just ignorant and uninformed and biased. Once they see Elvis at his best in the movies, that image will change. Just look at what American Idol has done for the image of Elvis in just two seasons of that show.
RonBaker (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
It just shows how opinions different. I thoroughly enjoy "Kissin' Cousins" (in fact it's one of my very favorite movies...not just favorite Elvis movies, but of all movies in general) and I like "Tickle Me" as well. There's nothing wrong with comedy. For me, the very worst movie is "Stay Away, Joe". As for sound, some of the sixties movies do have some songs in stereo, but most are in fake 5.1. Some very old MGM musicals (Meet Me in St. Louis) have true stereo soundtracks because of the way the scenes were miked. Some of Elvis' movies are also in true stereo: Wild in the Country, Girls Girls Girls, Blue Hawaii (however not all the songs are in stereo). I will definately be buying "The Hollywood Collection" with all six movies in it.
mature_elvis_fan75 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
I agree when you say the name elvis, alot of people will think,oh those bad movies,not too mention some of the songs on the soundtracks,i dont think ive ever heard of such a artist with a great talent recording such stuff that he did,while some of the movie songs f for me are fun ,some just get too silly and the people who wrote should never have gotten credit for such dribble,but people have to look at elvis as a artist and at the great body of work he did record,its the same way when you mention vegas and elvis, they see that image that we all know about,one of the reason im not a big fan of his vegas shows, he stayed there wayyy too long,so in elvis case its about the image and what people see when you say his name,.as for them ovies you mentioned, kissin cousins and tickle me are 2 of the worst!
Steve V (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
My opinion of why people panned Elvis movies? In the 50's he made great strides as an actor and ended the decade with King Creole before going into the Army. Everyone (incl. Elvis) agreed it was his best film. After the Army, his ambition was to be a good actor but it didnt happen. Instead, as some critics said, he sold his soul to Hollywood and the formula films got worse & worse and the songs got so bad they were embarassing to listen to for a talent like Elvis. I for one cannot sit thru many of the films , not because they are so bad, but because I actually feel sorry watching Elvis act. You cant see by watching them he was just not into it. Take a look at Tickle Me! I'll buy some but not all. I dont need Kissin Cousins, Tickle Me etc. on DVD. They are fine on VHS for the few times I may watch them again in my life. Also, I think the reason Elvis polls behind some other Rock artists is because of his movie career. If he was recording quality albums in the 60's, he would have gotten more respect. Clambake I'll never get over.
mature_elvis_fan75 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
Well surely the sound on the original ttwii will have better sound than the dvd released in 97,as for Elvis movies being panned by alot of people,its funny because alot of movies from the same era were made in the same way,think of all those beach movies made,and some musicals that are considered classics that to me are over the top!
fllaw1 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
Brian, what's funny is, Who was voted Artist of The Century, and on the cover of TV GUIDE. I'd like to see who Rolling Stone actually polled. Why is it everyone has always made fun of E's movies, but I've watched them since I was 7yoa. They just are always an escape for me, no cursing, nudity, just good fun, music and entertainment. Sometimes I think people are a little too critical of them. Now I look back at it, I'm glad my father exposed me to them, and threw his shoe at the TV when ARNOLD used the F- word in the movie COMMANDO.....LOL.......
JerryNodak (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
Herman: You do as you wish. Mono doesn't bother me. I don't have a setup to take full advantage of all that fancy, schmanzty Dolby anyway. And I can't afford to invest in one at this time. I'm going to buy the movies on DVD ONCE. And that's it. As for being happy about the release news...yes, I am.
fllaw1 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 13, 2007report abuse
Right on CARL I agree with ya.....
Herman (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
This really makes me laugh ! Why is everybody so happy ? This Is Elvis and TTWII original 1970 version in Dolby Surround 2.0 ? Even Gone With The Wind has been released with 5.1 sound. And is it not strange that Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock are the only movies with 5.1 sound ? Just 2 re-releases fom mono to 5.1 with little extra's on it. Are they gonne do the same with Charro and the other "new" movies. First released with mono and later (I hope) with 5.1 sound. The same happened with the James Bond movies, from mono to 5.1 dts. Listen to the movies that allready has been released like Speedway, terrible mono sound ! When I buy a deluxe movie it's almost always a 2 disc set, is this also gonne happen with Viva Las Vegas and Jailhouse Rock. Are they gonna release Jailhouse Rock in b/w and color ? I don't think so. My credit will absolutely go to Paramount, they will give very good 5.1 sound !
Carl (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
With regard to Girl Happy, I think the song they are talking about is "I've Got News for You" which is sung by Nita Talbot on the soundtrack. With Kissin' Cousins, I believe they are referring to the soundtrack which features that song. Remeber these are just short blurbs meant to give you an idea of what is coming up on the new releases. What is important here is that all of Elvis' feature films are being released on DVD now by major studios like Warner and Paramount. That is really the big story, not whether they got the details right in a blurb. Releasing these movies on DVD is fantastic news! I think Happy Feet, Lilo and Stitch, Elvis Lives, etc., have shown that Elvis sells, sells, sells...even in 2007. And that is the bottom line.
Carl (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
In the 1998 remake of Godzilla, Jean Reno, who plays a French intelligence agent, is asked how he learned to speak English, He replies: From watching Elvis movies. That is a nice little tribute to the Elvis flicks. On the Tom Snyder Tomorrow Show from 1975, John Lennon is asked how and why he wanted to go into music and performing. Lennon replied: We watched Elvis in a movie and we saw all the crowds and girls. We thought that would be a cool job! There is also that great comedy skit that was done on Saturday Night Live in the 1990s when Wayne Gretzky did a spoof of Blue Hawaii. That was a hilarious spoof of the Elvis flicks. And there is that Flintstones spoof called Viva Rock Vegas. It became cool to dis the Elvis flicks in the 70s and 80s but I think with the advent of DVDs and Turner Classic Movies on cable, the Elvis flicks have seen a resurgence and a new vitality. TV syndication and videos have also helped to preserve the movies. The DVD format, however, allows the best possible viewing format for the movies. It looks like Elvis gets the last laugh here too. His movies have taken the punches and have outlasted his detractors. Who is laughing now, huh?
Maybellene (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
August 2007 Im gonna buy all DVDs, hide myself for one full week at home and watch Elvis 24h/day!
JerryNodak (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
Looking forward to these releases (and catching up on others) as I don't have any Elvis movies on DVD yet.
mature_elvis_fan75 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
Steve,they would not do that to us would they?
RonBaker (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
Don't believe everything you read...since when is there a song called "Good News" in Girl Happy or when was "Long Lonely Highway" added to Kissin' Cousins. The lp of Kissin' Cousins had a version of LLH on it, but Good News is a new one to me....is it the Sam Cooke song or is it just a mistake?
Steve V (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
mature - i hope its not more unreleased footage of Tinkerbell the cat or the couple that got married. Please no honeymoon outtakes!
mature_elvis_fan75 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
Brian,we all know by now that many dont view Elvis with the respect he deserves,its become really quite common,but bob dylan? as for these movies they look to be great releases with some thought put into them,i am very happy to get the rest of his films on dvd,and even more happy and excited to get This Is Elvis & im wondering about the unreleased material on ttwii,please tell me that some of it is music and not talking heads,did i read it wrong, it does say 12 unreleased outtakes right!
Brian Quinn (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
This is really great news and I will be buying them all. However, for Warner Films to quote a Rolling Stone Poll in their Press Release where Elvis is voted the 3rd Greatest Rock 'n' Roll artist after The Beatles and Bob Dylan is unforgiveable. I have written to EPE and Warner Films to vent my anger at whoever was responsible for this. There are countless polls where Elvis is shown as No.1 so why not show one of these? EPE state that the Press Release is Warners and not theirs but by showing it on their website they appear to be 'compounding a felony' if you get my drift.
emjel (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
Great news from the Warner camp with the various extras. Pity Paramount could not come up with some extras for their films - a lost opportunity. Maybe they'll correct the lip sync problems with No More from Blue Hawaii. So that just leaves 20th Centry Fox - we've had LMT, so what about Flaming Star with the cut "Summer Kisses Winter Tears" camp fire scene, and Wild in The Country with the cut "Lonely Man" garage scene. Oh well, maybe for the 40th Annivesary, but will I or any fan from the past 40 yrs plus be around to enjoy them?
JimmyCool (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
"Voted the Third Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Artist of All Time by Rolling Stone Magazine (after the Beatles and Bob Dylan), Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977)". Those mothers... at Rolling Stones really made me mad. About the DVDs, I'll become very poor this year, 'cause I really want ALL those movies! It was about time that they release those DVDs for us ;)
Carl (profile/ contact) wrote on May 12, 2007report abuse
Elvis movies are finally given the respect and recognition they deserve. The movies have been digitally transferred and enhanced with restored footage and widescreen format. The DVD format will allow the revitalization and the resurgence of the Elvis movies. There are some classic Elvis movies which new fans will enjoy. Like any artist, Elvis made some great movies, some average movies, and some horrible movies. No actor made movies that were all great. These re-releases on DVD will allow a greater appreciation and a fresh outlook on the Elvis movies. New fans will enjoy classic rock films like Jailhouse Rock and King Creole and will probably be very diisappointed by Harum Scarum and Paradise, Hawaiian-Style. There are many enjoyable movies here. The Elvis legacy continues and expands. The revitalization and restoration of the Elvis film legacy is great news.
mature_elvis_fan75 (profile/ contact) wrote on May 11, 2007report abuse
Really great that these films will be on dvd and nice that songs have been put back in,although id still like on tour and lost performances on dvd,i am mostly intersted in the 12 unreleased outtakes from the original ttwii,any of this the footage that was planned for the special edtion? i am very intersted in any details on this and also this is elvis looks to be great,perfect time for bmg sony or whoever to release this is elvis soundtrack! last i must say i got a laugh out of bob dylan being mentioned as the number 2 ahead of Elvis as great rock and roll artist! thats comedy right there!

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