Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• VHS Release Date: April 16, 1995
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303025668
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #246,202 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Elvis Presley's performing career, punctuated by its extra-musical achievement as the first global satellite broadcast devoted to a single entertainer. Both the broadcast and its companion album captured the King in his most grandiose persona, fueled by Hollywood scale and Vegas glitz, as a caped pop superhero.

He may have looked trim, but posthumous accounts (especially Peter Guralnick's Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley, the second volume in his definitive biography) confirm what a second look suggests--on this evening, Elvis was alternately overwhelmed and distracted, bravura renditions of signature songs (most triumphantly, the "American Trilogy" medley originated by Mickey Newbury) offset by less-focused readings. Fans may still savor a generous and diverse song list, but viewed beside Presley's earlier, more consistent performances (including a rehearsal the previous night, since released as The Alternate Aloha Concert), this legendary concert anticipates Presley's imminent decline.

In this remastered version, three songs have been deleted due to music clearance issues, while four songs taped after the actual show have been inserted. A fifth bonus track, "No More," makes its first appearance on video. --Sam Sutherland

Amazon.com

Elvis: The Concert Collection includes three shows: '68 Comeback Special, One Night with You, and Aloha from Hawaii.

Five years before he achieved broadcast history with his legendary 1973 global satellite telecast, Aloha from Hawaii, Elvis Presley brought a less grandiose but far more urgent mission to '68 Comeback Special. Isolated from his original audience after a long sojourn on Hollywood soundstages, and threatened by the vibrancy and social gravity of rock, the King sought nothing less than to reclaim his throne. Now this Christmas season network special looms as the Memphis icon's most substantial achievement as a stage performer. If the candy-colored sets and hyperactive choreography of its larger production numbers smack of its network packagers' desperation to be hip, Elvis himself rises to a riveting, assured performance at the peak of his powers. Looking fit and relaxed, and sheathed in black leather, he covers a shrewd song list encompassing early rockabilly hits, gospel (albeit rendered unintentionally hilarious by its florid dance routines), and comparatively restrained ballads.

Originally taped for '68 Comeback Special and never seen during his lifetime, the astonishing live performance One Night with You could accurately be described as Elvis unplugged. Taped in a small studio, the session is a no-frills, intimate presentation of the Memphis rocker jamming with four of his earliest band mates, revisiting early favorites in a relaxed and unrehearsed setting. With the musicians seated in a circle, facing one another while surrounded by a small but rapt audience, One Night with You is far removed from the more conventional staging seen elsewhere in his videography. Elvis's warm interaction with his old allies meanwhile refers directly back to his earliest stage and TV work in trio and quartet configurations. For fans, the comeback special itself still looms as an unsurpassed feast of Presley music at the artist's peak. But this 53-minute companion, first aired by HBO, stands on its own as the tenderloin.

Fans still remember the ambitious 1973 network TV special Aloha from Hawaii as a zenith in Elvis Presley's performing career, punctuated by its extra-musical achievement as the first global satellite broadcast devoted to a single entertainer. Both the broadcast and its companion album captured the King in his most grandiose persona, fueled by Hollywood scale and Vegas glitz, as a caped pop superhero. He may have looked trim, but posthumous accounts confirm what a second look suggests--on this evening, Elvis was alternately overwhelmed and distracted, bravura renditions of signature songs (most triumphantly, the "American Trilogy" medley originated by Mickey Newbury) offset by less-focused readings. Fans may still savor a generous and diverse song list, but viewed beside Presley's earlier, more consistent performances, this legendary concert anticipates Presley's imminent decline. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis Aloha From Hawaii, May 4, 2000

By 

Mr.Mr. (Hamburg) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (DVD)

This is the way an Elvis DVD must sound like! Yes Guys: it's truly Dolby Digital 5.1. Aloha from Hawaii is simply the best sounding Elvis DVD I own. (If only the >That's The Way It Is< DVD would have that Sound! The >That's The Way It Is< documentation is the best Elvis ever captured on film, and the sound of the DVD is a big crime.) Aloha from Hawaii is a must for every Elvis fan anyway. For the last time he looks really great again after losing weight. It's obvious that Elvis is on some kind of medication during the Concert, he's not moving a lot at all, but hey: the man doesn't need to. He's getting more and more relaxed from Song to Song, his voice is great and the Gig has lots of strong moments. >My Way< sounds wonderful and >An American Trilogy< blew me away. If the Concert would only be 3 hours longer! When it's over, I always have the feeling that Elvis was just getting warm and started to feel comfortable on Stage. Aloha from Hawaii is the last great filmed TV performance of Elvis. After that the magic got more and more lost. He's not half as good (and himself) as he is in >That's The Way It Is <, but he's great anyway. Everybody who loves this man like I do: GET THIS DVD! It's worth it!

Michael Kiske

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EVIS IS KING!, May 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (DVD)

Superb! Elvis like I've never heard him before. The sound quality is excellent in remastered Dolby Digital 5.1. It is like having Elvis perform in your living room live! The DVD has a very listenable warm sound unlike some DVD soundtracks that are overly bright.

I never noticed the tunnel sound one of the other reviewers complains about. Mind you we have Paradigm Reference speakers with a Denon Dolby Digital Receiver.

The only disappointment was that 3 songs were deleted due to problems in getting publishing clearance from the songs owners. Bonus songs include Blue Hawaii, Hawaiian Wedding Song, Ku-Ku-I-Po, Early Morning Rain and No More.

I am thrilled to have this DVD in my collection. Highly recommended to all Elvis Fans.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ELVIS, Thank YOU very much for this performance!!!, August 31, 2001

By 

Patrick Spencer (Blacksburg, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (DVD)

The year was 1973. Elvis Presley was presented with an offer to perform in the first ever satellite broadcasted concert. Why offer it to ELVIS? Because no one but Elvis could make all the eyes in the world turn in unison to view a glorious example of human art, passion, and complete intensity. That is what defines Elvis, and these traits are more present than ever in Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii. From Also Sprach Zarathustra, to Can't Help Falling in Love, this concert is a solid hour of adrenaline, art, and supreme talent. Elvis worked hard to get himself into great physical condition before this show and his work was apparent when he poured himself into the American Eagle jumpsuit designed by Bill Belew. This is ELVIS in Hawaii, the earthly paradise that he loved the most. Elvis is happy on this stage, and the fans are overcome with the joy of seeing the greatest entertainer in history. Just how many fans saw this show? Let's put it this way...more people tuned in to see Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii than they did when a man named Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. Is that historic? Or is that just Elvis?