Elvis on Tour, the Golden Globe-winning documentary that followed Elvis on a 15-city tour of the United States in 1972, will make its debut August 3 in newly-restored and remastered Blu-ray and DVD versions from Warner Home Video. A screening of the documentary on August 14 in Memphis will follow the home entertainment release as WHV joins in the celebration of Elvis Week (August 10 – 16), commemorating the 75th birthday year of the rock ‘n’ roll icon.
Elvis on Tour, considered to be Presley's last film before his death in 1977, was described by Variety in their review as “a bright, entertaining pop music documentary detailing episodes in the later professional life of Elvis Presley, the pioneer Pied Piper of rock music.” The film was written and directed by Robert Abel and Pierre Adidge, and the cinematographer was Lucien Ballard. Songs included “See See Rider,” “Proud Mary,” “Burning Love,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Teddy Bear,” “Hound Dog,” “Can't Help Falling in Love with You,” “Love Me Tender,” “All Shook Up,” “Suspicious Minds,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and more.
Some of the highlights of the new versions:
- Remastered in High Definition with 16 x 9 2.40 letterboxed image, as seen in the theatrical release.
- Blu-ray audio will be DTS-HD Master Audio (5.1 Surround); DVD audio will be Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
- Packaged as a Blu-ray book filled with Elvis photos, quotes, trivia, a tour itinerary, set lists, costumes, and background information about the filming techniques used.
- 25 musical numbers spotlight Elvis Presley’s talent, range and showmanship in captivating on-stage performances and intimate backstage rehearsals with his band.
- Contains Elvis’ first performance of “Burning Love,” which was so new, Elvis referred to the lyric sheet during his performance.
- Elvis’ Ed Sullivan Show performance is included, in which the charm, personality and musical ability that made him an icon is so evident.
- Montage sequences (supervised by Martin Scorsese) showcasing Elvis’ early career and movies
This is definitely on my shopping list. Judging by similar Blu-ray releases from Warner, like "Dirty Harry" and "Bonnie And Clyde", which I own, this will be awesome - the best audio available, pristine picture and marvelous packaging. Of course it would have been better had Warner decided on a 2 or 3 disc extended version but this will do for now. Can't wait!
I always said that it was a disgrace that On Tour wasn't on a official DVD, so now I have to be very happy indeed ! Good news !
There are a lot of unreleased ouutakes in the valuts... But no in this edition !!! Grrrr....
I think every fan out there should buy this simply because if it sells as well as it deserves then maybe the powers that be might see the possibility of making more money out of doing a special edition. Or to put it another way, if this doesn't sell well you can forget about ever seeing an official DVD special edition. So get your money out guys. If it's half as good as the remastering that was done on the Aloha DVD it's going to be amazing. I can't wait!
I am sure this will become one of my most played DVD's. I will buy a Blu-ray player at the same time.
Great news! Really looking forward to seeing this on Blu-ray. Interesting that the song list above includes ones from The Lost Performances, not just the Elvis On Tour movie.
"Always On My Mind" should have been included here :(
If Are you lonesome tonight will be on it as the news says, that means the set list will include bonus songs.
Sounds funny but I'm very disappointed about the bonus-songs. I want either a box with bonus-stuff or the original movie as it was when Elvis made it. I'm afraid I will get nothing of both.
This is a very good start! I think we are all looking forward to finally getting this, and Blue-Ray too! As we know it was shot on 16mm (Not super 16!) but as 16mm is not as good quality as 35mm film, I trust in the transfer to 16:9 they will not lose the top & bottom of the frame, we need all the quality we can get! 16:9 will fit well for the 3-screen sequences, but not when just one of the original 4:3 shots is featured alone.
Also, Lucien Ballard did not shoot this film! It was filmed by 6 different cameramen. Lucien Ballard shot many films (The Wild Bunch, True Grit, The Outlaw etc) & with Elvis Roustabout & TTWII, but not On Tour! Incidentally talking of TTWII, I keep reading that the shot of the 2 hefty guys in Hawaiian shirts, pictured filming Elvis on stage are shooting 16mm. This is incorrect, (beyond the fact that 16mm would look dreadful cut into 35mm Panavision) I can assure you they are using an unblimped 35mm camera! (A virtual Easter Egg to anyone out there who can tell me accurately what make of 35mm movie camera they are using!)
Very good news:) At first (like many others) I was diappointed that we did not get a box of outtakes etc, but now I see this "no-extras" release as an advantage both for us and Joe public.
With TTWII we only received the special edition in restored quality... In this case we will be treated with a fully restored edition of the ORIGINAL film! If the new On Tour release becomes a success, I think Turner will follow up with a release of unreleased material. I would see this as a bonus for us all. And hey, why mess things up with releasing everything at once?
I would love to see Martin Scorsese direct a cool, new documentary out of the remaining material:) (And the TTWII releases should have followed this logic as well...). With the DVD release of On Tour, I suspect that FTD will have some On Tour material scheduled for an Autumn release:-)
Why do they list the Ed Sullivan footage and Burning Love footage like they are extras??
I already own an excellent copy of 'On Tour' on DVD so will not be buying this. If I had a blu-Ray player then I would buy it. I have never liked the letterbox format and hope that one day they will remake the movie with all the additional footage included in full screen.
KTemple, these are highlights, not extras, and part of the original movie.
i hop ethey take out all the stupid garbage in it, like the fat jerk stuffing his face while setting the stage up, the truck sbacking into the thing to unload the speakers, the old man who acted like he didnt know what he was talking about, and all the fans they talked to like that short haired blond bimbo who was all crying. i want to see nothing but elvis on tour. i dont mind elvis greeting the fans or the mayor, but the rest of the stuff has to go. i want to hear the songs in there netirety. but i doub thatll happen which is a bummer.
There is nothing stupid about or in Elvis On Tour. I'm glad they remastered the original. I like watching the crew do their work, and everything that goes on around the Elvis Show.
Let's not forget On tour will also be available in a box set of like 14 movies (or something like that) with some "extras". Hello, where did they all of a sudden get these extras, they just love to make those cash registers ring having us buy duplicates of what we already own! It will also be part of a three disc Blue Ray Set with Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas! As well as single Blue Ray, single DVD, heavens how many ways can they sell this?
OK Rejane, agreed ! There are countless ways to sell a product, but it's up to us to make a choice and buy what we want. Always El.
Cleaned up and in the original format, and probably no more than 25 bucks....what's wrong with that? I'm staying with my original theory, which is, that another On Tour DVD will someday surface with a bonus disc. But until then, I'll be happy to buy this restored masterpiece.
Lefty : amen to that ! Always El.
For me the important thing with this release is that it is a remastering and restoration of the original film, in it’s original format, to see it in Blu Ray High Def with a DTS soundtrack will be awesome. The film gives an excellent portrayal of life on the road with Elvis in the early seventies and should be left as intended by the Director. I think Warner Bros are correct to preserve the integrity of the original film. One would certainly hope sales will be good and that in turn will encourage Turner Classic Movies (who own the outakes, not Warner or EPE) to release the outtakes at a later stage.
The TTWII special 30th anniversary edition, even with all its hype, was a bit of a sales failure. I don't think Turner/MGM wanted to put any more effort into this release other than get it out on DVD. We fans have been clamoring for it for years, so be happy its finally here. I saw many of those EOT outtakes on bootleg DVDs. Elvis wasn't always in the shape he was 2 years earlier, so maybe its best left as it is.
Personally, I can hardly wait for this one! I'll be getting my blu-ray player this summer and this will be one of the first discs I get! This is exciting!!!!
Really looking forward to this, just like everyone else, but as is also mentioned previously I can't help but feel a little cheated that SOMETHING new isn't included. I'm not talking about a 10 DVD box set but surely a second disc full of the interview stuff or concert footage. Wouldn't have killed them to include a little extra. Mustn't grumble though, can't wait to get this in hi-def.
Im aware that the Ed Sullivan and Burning Love bits are in the movie of course but why are these singled out as "highlights"? This is to make up that there are no extras, its to fool the casual fan to thinking these are exclusives. This is shoddy marketing and Im not sure why any serious fan who already has Elvis on Tour would buy this.
Ktemple - I have to agree & disagree with you. I agree the Burning Love & Ed Sullivan were singled out as highlights to lure the casual fan/buyer. What I disagree on is how u say you cant see why any serious fan would buy this. Well, how about because we have been waiting for it to appear on DVD for years now and its on blu-ray which makes it even better? I dont know about you, but I have come to despise VHS and thats all I ever had on this movie and since I just got a blu-ray player, it would be great to view this in pristine sound & quality. What I dont understand is how fans can shell for FTDs which will cost more than this , that basically re-issue (sometimes more than once) the same songs with a few outtakes thrown in to lure you. To see comments like I cant wait for the FTD classic album release of the 'Fool' album just amazes me.
Hey Steve V, I know I know. I was a bit hasty. I'm sure I will buy this release as it should be in any fans collection, Im just amazed about the hype on here. This has been available on dvd from various (unofficial) sources for years. I do agree that the quality of this official release should be great. Bluray or not though, I dont think they can improve the original film so its still no going to be up to the standard or a modern release but hey, its the best we're gonna get I guess.
There's at least 5 unreleased songs on that list, hopefully they are from the OT shows. I'd be more than happy if they're really on there.
Wiebe, I don't think there will be any new songs on this release, more likely this was just ignorance on the part of the individual who wrote the promotional copy (i.e. the blurb as seen with the announcement.)
