Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (2022) was one of the few recent musician biopics to break the mold and stand as more than just a venue for convincing impressions and a middlebrow narrative hitting overly familiar ups and downs. It was a film that more than earned its Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, and six assorted crafts. And as a direct result of that film, we’ve now gotten another highlight of 2020s cinema in Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a documentary-concert hybrid that gives us the icon and legend himself like never before.

Buy EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert at Amazon.com:
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray · DVD · Prime Video

As great as Austin Butler was in Lurhmann’s biopic, and he undoubtedly was a deserving runner-up to The Whale‘s Brendan Fraser in Oscar voting, this newly-unearthed footage of the genuine article offers its own distinct and incomparable delights. Even without seeing the aforementioned narrative film, Luhrmann’s love of Elvis would be easy to understand as a director known for visual flair and his appreciation of pop music. But Luhrmann is too talented a filmmaker and too cultured a storyteller to make EPiC simply routine hagiography. The director-producer employs voiceover from the man himself, mostly straight-shooting interview answers, to convey Presley’s thoughts on his calling. The first twenty minutes of the film function as an efficient crash course on Elvis’ generations-dividing career, covering the mix of controversy and fervor that set him apart from all other solo artists of the mid-century.

It’s the perfect amount of context needed here, enough to give the completely unversed a general understanding of an icon surely before their time but not too much to bore or trigger those who have made pilgrimage to Graceland. Luhrmann does not have to do much more than giving this picture that winning structure. His subject continues to captivate nearly a half-century after his passing. Presley’s unrivaled gifts as a performer are on full display: the copious energy, the humorous crowd banter, and the music itself, which you might well be surprised by how much you recognize and enjoy it.

Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and “Seinfeld”, Elvis has always struck me as one of those larger than life entities that requires no further support or appreciation from me personally. He’s been dead longer than he was alive and still he is as recognizable and lucrative as any individual from the 20th century. So while I would never go out of my way to celebrate or endorse him musically, I also won’t pretend that I’m immune to the charms on display here. The man loved to perform, the people loved the man, and seeing the two parties get what they want in Las Vegas at the turn of the ’70s makes for exhilarating cinema in 2026.

On a technical level, Luhrmann’s documentary is remarkably well compiled. The director pulls from various sources, but both visually and aurally, the presentation leaves nothing to be desired. I suspect many people who do not identify as Elvis fans might have steadfast ambivalence as their default reaction to this project. I also suspect most of those willing to test out that ambivalence would prove to be glad they did, for this footage remains supremely entertaining and appealing to the ears all these decades later.

As a testament to the man’s enduring grip on the world, EPiC grossed $13.5 million domestically and $23.5 M worldwide, a win for North American distributor NEON. They bring the film to physical media in August in DVD and the two-disc 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray edition reviewed here

BLU-RAY DISC SPECIFICATIONS:
2.35:1 Widescreen
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (Descriptive Video Service)
Release Date: August 11, 2026
Two single-sided discs
Black Keepcase in Cardboard Slipcover
Suggested Retail Price: $39.98

VIDEO and AUDIO

EPiC wouldn’t have the effect it does if the unearthed footage was simply strung together. No, the variety of sources have been lovingly remastered and compiled with all the splendor of a 2026 IMAX concert film. In turn, the movie shines on 4K and Blu-ray with breathtaking clarity and none of the technical limitations you’d expect of something uncovered over 50 years later in salt mines. Whether you’re a Blu-ray household or full 4K, the dynamic soundtrack is the type of thing you could easily use to show off your home theater to an Elvis fan.

BONUS FEATURES, MENUS, PACKAGING and DESIGN

Although the packaging makes no mention of it, EPiC includes a theatrical teaser (1:23), a theatrical trailer (1:30), and two 30-second TV spots. I’ve always appreciated marketing materials as bonus features and though the practice largely vanished over two decades ago, I’m glad these tasteful previews are preserved here.

Sadly, that is all we get for extras here. The backstory to the film’s creation — the discovery of sixty-eight boxes of 35mm and 8mm footage found within salt mines of Kansas during research for Lurhmann’s 2022 movie — would very much seem to lend to a documentary about the documentary and I have no doubt many would have loved such a companion piece. A bummer we don’t get one here.

The discs open with a trailer for I Love Boosters.

The black 4K keepcase assigns a full-color disc to each side, with nary an insert between them. It is topped by a slipcover which applies tasteful foil effects to a cover resembling the one below.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Maybe the prospect of watching footage from 50-year-old concerts doesn’t hook you, but Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert truly gets tremendous value from its discoveries, resulting in a highly cinematic experience that will almost certainly exceed your expectations. NEON’s 4K + Blu-ray set misses an opportunity to dig deeper into this unusual project, but the first-rate presentation and the feature itself are enough to recommend enthusiastically.

Buy EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert at Amazon.com:
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray · DVD · Prime Video

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