I knew Obama had a part to do with it. Highway 61 Entertainment, those whack-jobs at the back last year's "documentary," Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison, possess a new one out there conducive to you conspiracy head-cases: Elvis Found Alive, the "undue," explosive doc that proves positively that Elvis did not die in 1977. Produced and directed again ~ the agency of investigative doc filmmaker par excellance Joel Gilbert (wasn't he "Joe Gilbert" in the McCartney doc?), Elvis Found Alive isn't wholly as much fun as Gilbert's deliciously loony McCartney faux-doc, goal anything that links a 77-year-advanced in years Elvis-in-hiding with The Mafia, Bill Ayers, the Black Panthers, and Barrack Hussein Obama, I'm along the course of with it. As an extra, you increase to hear samples from the tracks of Elvis' latest album...which just happens to be on auction at Highway 61 Entertainment's website.
Here's the official story: in 1977, after decades of a punishing lifestyle that included in a small degree sleep or exercise, a horrible, cholesterol-choked diet, a shaded world of pharmacological abuse of not quite mythical proportions, forced viewings of in appearance unending wrestling bouts involving white panty-wearing groupies, and greatest in number damaging, the movie Harum Scarum put ~ his resume, Elvis suffered a myocardial infarction, greatest in quantity probably brought on by a deaden with narcotics overdose, and died at his home in Graceland without interrupti~ August 16th, 1977.
Now...here's the sort of really happened. After a visit to President Nixon, in what place he was appointed a Drug Enforcement Agency in action after outlining his wish to forbear crush the hippie rebellion that threatened to spend the America he loved, Elvis Aaron Presley, superstar musician and inventor of rock 'n' roll, moonlighted taken in the character of "Jon Burrows," a DEA strike phalanx leader setting up drug stings similar to the U.S. government battled the home-grown terrorist assemblage, The Weather Underground―just considered in the state of Elvis' comic book hero, Captain Marvel, Jr., battled The Weather Men. Re-assigned to consolidate up similar stings against the most important figures in La Cosa Nostra, and discovering that his good economist, degenerate gambler Colonel Tom Parker, had sold half of his contract to mobster Paul Castellano, Elvis and his cohorts executed the 'ol' switcheroo, taken fit from Captain Marvel, Jr., #110. Elvis' full of help Dr. Nick had a terminal able to endure―and die-hard fan of Elvis'―who, with a little plastic surgery, could await just like Elvis. Roscoe Holloway was moved into Graceland, at which place everyone waited for him to die, and to which place Elvis began to eat tremendous amounts of fried peanut butter and nanner sandwiches to greater amount of closely resemble "generously proportioned" Holloway. Once Holloway passed, Elvis was immoderate to go completely underground in the Federal Witness Protection program, formerly he quit hanging out at the Graceland loch house...and, um, well...once he, uh, discharged night clerking at a Kalamazoo, Michigan hotel. Then it was back to warfare Bill Ayers (he captured him twice but the FBI let him be off), before a desk job at the FBI, retreat in a quiet Simi Valley suburb.
I've had a disproportionate amount of hits for my revise last year of director Gilbert's Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (to all appearance for the screen captures; read that ~al here), but a week or brace still doesn't go by at what place I don't receive an in the tantrums email either stating I'm a MI-6 stooge in on the "Faul" cover-up, or that I'm scary biscuits in opposition to believing such a ridiculous theory in the primary place (those emails are actually again fun than the so-called fruitcake ones, inasmuch as my review makes it obvious I don't believe for a second the "Paul is dead" conspiracies). So at what time I spied Elvis Found Alive in the fat pile, I grabbed it immediately, hoping in quest of a whole new crop of squirrelly readers (I live against those kinds of emails).
Now, slip on't get me wrong: Elvis Found Alive is a portion of fun if you catch it becoming. But it's no Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison. Truth have existence told, Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison scored despotic on my personal "Whack-O-Meter" for the reason that its conspiracy theory was so delightfully thick and convoluted―the work of decades-price of lunatics, opportunists, and satirists who helped diffuse and refine the theory with a dizzying disposition of tantalizing clues that sound insidious...for about two seconds before you laughter at how stupid they are. That's the granted sign of good 'ol' fashioned urban fable conspiracy con: you want to put confidence in it; you almost believe it; and afterwards you hit the floor laughing.
Unfortunately, Elvis Found Alive's machination theory, taken from dribs and drabs of imprudent rumors bandied about years ago (side by side with all the new Obama elemental part), isn't nearly as compelling while the "Faul" hypothesis. Now, if you were encircling when Elvis died back in 1977―and he did die, honorable in case you're still not doubtless where I'm going with this re-examine―you'll know that in quest of years afterward, the media had a al~ment of fun with reported sightings of the King viewed like he seemed to crop up total over America more times than Bigfoot. I can't believe anybody really believed those sightings, yet, as so many teens may hold fallen for the "Paul is dead" fabulous story, so it's next-to-that cannot be (no...on second thought, it is unachievable) to suspend your sense of non-conviction for just a second to rehearse to yourself, "Hey...what if...." (to forbear make the experience more fun) in advance of right-thinking prevails. Authors and historians be disposed be writing new conspiracy books in successi~ JFK's assassination for as spun out as books are written, because a part just isn't "right" with the fable as we officially know it, and further importantly, we'll probably never prepare a definitive answer. But as because poor, sad, Elvis...he O.D.ed and that's that. The invention of his ignominious, unnecessary end is all too simple, all too believable, and total too well documented.
So, lacking a befuddlingly convoluted machination to momentarily bewitch us with, and life saddled with a celebrity death that wasn't all that "mysterious" from the get-aroynt, Elvis Found Alive has to be enjoyed purely from a technical standpoint: does Gilbert put together an laughable conspiracy theory that's outlandish enough to gripe our attention for two hours? Well...yea, he does, for the most duty. If you value straight-up chutzpah, you possess to give Gilbert credit for attempting this by a relatively straight face. After aggregate, he films himself "tracking down" Elvis at his Simi Valley domiciliation, and then interviews him, Elvis' assurance obscured, as he recounts his double life...prior to Gilbert comes back the next lifetime and records an album with the King. If you're going to falsehood, lie big, I guess. If you're a in accordance with law Elvis fan, you can probably have the advantage Elvis Found Alive just from a store footage consideration alone; Gilbert keeps the newsreels, trailers and bootleg images future, so much so that at times you're ignoring the nonsense to come over the audio track just to watch the King. I also enjoyed the parallels that Gilbert picks to the end between Elvis' life and the adventures of his laughable book hero, Captain Marvel, Jr.. The connections drawn to this place are clever and intriguing (if completely coincidental), and visually it's for aye amusing when Gilbert has Elvis floating about a comic book panel with his pint-sized demigod (this potentially fascinating theme should be explored in a real documentary).
The rest is, to what extent you say...garbage, but at least it's perpetrated without an ounce of self-consciousness. Gilbert endearingly makes the similar mistake he made in Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison with this Elvis sound-alike: he's indeed quite good...for a 30-year-skilled Elvis. He sounds nothing like that which a 77-year-old Elvis would honorable like. But that's all work of the fun of Elvis Found Alive. Even "bettor"/worse is the opening sequence that supposedly blows the covercle off Elvis' fake death scheme. According to Elvis Found Alive, manager Gilbert authorized a Freedom of Information Act suit for the FBI's files steady Elvis that, ten days later, yielded a abundance-trove box of pertinent papers to the Highway 61 Entertainment offices (slip on't those requests sometimes take years to fulfill, strange to say to reputable, heavyweight news sources?). Unfortunately, various of the files were redacted...through fresh ink, no less (the inspection of Gilbert and crew smearing the very damp mess is priceless), so Gilbert gets his crew going in successi~ scraping off the ink (I'm not composition this up), and that's to what extent they learn all about DEA performer Elvis "Jon Burrows" Presley. Gilbert strange to say has the nerve to hire Live a Little, Love A Little co-heavenly body honey Celeste Yarnall to "authenticate" this faux Elvis for example the real deal; her big dramatic show comes when she gets to give out a tear as elderly Elvis states she's the single in kind that got away (times must be real tough at the Yarnall home...).
As to any new information gleaned from Elvis Found Alive...out of the straight course from the fact that he's above ground, ferchrissakes, lots of funny one-liners and wildly nefarious claims are made without a suggest of self-parody (until they have to Elvis saying he was each extra in Avatar―Gilbert overreached badly there). We learn here, straight from the King's vociferate, that Colonel Tom Parker was a procurer for the DJs who first played Elvis' records (that may not have existence so far-fetched...). As for Elvis's time in the armed services outer in Germany, he was apparently the cully of several assassination attempts (undeserved, of path, until he made G.I. Blues), and the sound of his daddy making love to his newly come step-mother sounded "like they was killing hogs" upstairs (may have ~ing this doc's biggest laugh). Elvis in like manner never took drugs...only prescription medicine for his ailments. He still calls his Mob foes "Eye-talians," and Elvis tricked the paramedics who rushed to his second at Graceland on August 16th by "slow breathing," something he learned in karate classes. President Ronald Reagan encouraged Elvis to achieve out of the Witness Protection Program, offering his help to facilitate that...in the presence of apparently forgetting all about it (it's a ferocious joke, but funny nonetheless). Elvis was mindful of Clinton being blackmailed by the Chinese, and he's in successi~ the downlow about Obama being a "Manchurian candidate," a "socialist thug....[who] can just put two sentences together without a teleprompter." (Elvis is every equal opportunity offender here: he calls Republican officials "corrupt and untaught"). My favorite gag in Elvis Found Alive has to be Elvis' last statement, though: he'll gladly get to back into public life if Obama isn't re-elected.
Elvis, honey―I honorable changed my vote.
The DVD:
The Video:
The anamorphically enhanced, 1.78:1 widescreen transport for Elvis Found Alive looks ready, with the archival footage sometimes experiencing additional grain and formatting changes to settle the new ratio.
The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 stereo audio beaten path―completely free of any of the positive Elvis singing―is crisp and clean, with no hiss or distortions. No subtitles or cease-captions available.
The Extras:
Just to whet your appetite, samples from the tracks of Elvis' excessively latest raccord are included here, together with a music video for Lisa Marie. Screams-ville.
Final Thoughts:
Not closely as goofily twisted as his prior effort, Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison, manager Joel Gilbert's Elvis Found Alive is total too, too obvious in its sophistry...which would be fine if he had been equitable a little more outrageous in perpetrating the scam. Still...the provision footage is good, and there are laughs to subsist had here, so...I'm recommending Elvis Found Alive since all Elvis true believers who stand in want of something light-hearted near his 77th birthday this past time Sunday―but it's strictly a rental for all the other smartasses public there. Paul Mavis is an internationally published pellicle and television historian, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and the original of The Espionage Filmography.
What Do You Think?