Elvis ‘56

Director: Alan Raymond, Susan Raymond
Screenwriters: Alan Raymond, Susan Raymond, Martin Torgoff

Institute History

Description

In Elvis ‘56 directors Alan and Susan Raymond had the intelligence and discipline to focus on one year in the performer’s life: 1956, when Elvis would cut his first record, appear on national television and be swept up in the whirlwind of superstardom. Through archival material, rare kinescopes of early regional television appearances and hauntingly candid still photographs, the Raymonds evoke a remarkably intimate portrait of Presley—his infectious charisma, his loneliness and the impending doom of this small-town-boy on the verge of becoming a musical juggernaut.

Elvis ‘56, made to mark the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, chronicles a year in the life of the singer. It is not only about Elvis, but reflects on the shaping of our entire culture.

— Tony Safford

Screening Details

Credits

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