Customer Reviews

Elvis Presley Gladiators: The 1974 Elvis Karate Legacy Project

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Several years back I bought a video from Rising Sun Productions titled the New Gladiators.I largely purchased it because it was supposed to have had more than 30 minutes of Elvis Presley practicing karate on it.At least that's how it was advertised.However when I recieved it the "king of rock and roll" was nowhere to be found.He had put up the money for this documentary about the 70s karate scene,but he didn't appear in it.Buyers were then informed that Rising Sun did in fact have the Presley footage,but they were going to release it in an entirely different package.Can you say "rip-off"? Hey I liked the documentary.It featured some of the best martial artists from that era.But once again I bought the tape for the Elvis footage which is what Rising Sun used as the selling point.Well that footage has turned up on this DVD.And if you're an Elvis completist I don't see how you can't add this to your collection.This is more or less a home movie of Elvis,his bodyguards,and several martial artists,including Bill Wallace,giving a demo at a Tennesee dojo.The audio is awful and it's the major reason I don't give this DVD more than 4-stars.It has a commentary by Wayne Carman but that should have been kept seperate because with it we can hardly hear what Elvis and the other particpants are saying.The disc has a few really cool extras.There is an illustrated booklet about Elvis'involvement with karate and six picture postcards with Elvis in his custom-made gis.There are even outtakes from the famed '68 Comeback Special with Elvis rehearsing a martial arts routine.Once again if you're an Elvis fan you should own a copy of this DVD.

I have been a fan of Elvis for many years.. never heard him sing a bad song..I waited for the video to come out for many years in the beginning it was billed as Elvis contribution to the martial arts I for one thought it was going to be a documentory of some of the legends of martial arts back in the day...This is a discrace to the man himself...it was footage of the king doing the same karate moves over and over again. to the point of getti just plain sickening..To say that I was dissappointed would be the understatement of the year...Back when he was with Sensei Ed Parker he looked good I would have liked to see some of his karate from that era..there is no doubt that he did study the martial arts.. but for how long I have no idea...some of the people in the movie were very good at martial arts. noteably Mr. Bill Superfoot Wallace...they shouold have shown more footage on him and another of the young martial artists instead of on Red West and Elvis doing the same moves over and over again..that is my opinion..and as much as I loved Elvis. I feel this was a waste of his time and my money...just my opinion..Sensei Frost Florida..

While it was very interesting to see Elvis in some capacity other than concert footage or in a character role on film, the sound quality is terrible. The film is narrated by Wayne Carman (karate expert involved with Elvis and his guys during the filming of this "project")who mentioned NUMEROUS times throughout the disappointing 49 minutes in runtime of the film that being around Elvis in this time was a "mountain-top experience". I did understand before purchase this was raw material. I did not understand that the viewer WOULD NOT be able to actually hear Elvis and the other people (Red West, Dave Hebler, Kang Ree..etc..)

On a more positive note, I did enjoy the "out-takes" from Elvis' 68 Comeback Special, and the souvenir postcards included in the package.

Wayne Carman is a martial artist out of Branson, Missouri and did train with Elvis and really was a fan of Elvis as a person. The Elvis he knew was a young, healthy, polite southern boy without the weight or, as far as Wayne knew, the drugs. I first met him 10 years ago and he'd been trying to get this footage out for years even then.

My understanding was that Elvis wanted this footage to be part of a documentary about the expanding full contact scene in the 70's. What we see is as far as it got. My old home footage would be laughed at, we only care because it's The King. Not an awesome video but take it for what it's worth. It's a chance to see Elvis off the stage and as a human being.

I didn't want to rate this since I know Mr. Carman but it won't let me post without it. I'm going to give it 3 stars but only out of neccessity, not a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Just thought potential buyers might like some background and context.

This is a great video of the private Elvis. We see Elvis off stage involved in one of his great passions, truly demonstrating that he remained loyal to his roots. He could be on a million dollar yacht with wealthy celebrities but here we see him in his off time with `regular' people. We see him performing karate, instructing others and enjoying being a member of the audience. The only problem with the DVD is you will faintly hear Elvis talking but a narrator drown this out. Elvis is the ONLY King of music and is as much alive today as he was when this video was shot.

Heard so much about this never completed film project over the last 35+ years and after seeing it, it was fun to recognize some of the selected clips that had been used in other Elvis documentaries (mostly Linda Thompson). It is really a series of home movies and the guy doing the narrating keeps repeating the same comments over and over. After 10 minutes of his repetitive comments, I finished watching it with Elvis music in the background, I had to "mute" the narrator. I very much enjoyed the film.

I usually love all of Elvis's dvds but this one did not come up to the standard I like. Elvis looked tired or medicated and you could tell he was talking but you couldn't hear what he was saying as the dvd was being narrated by someone else and the narrator was all you could hear. I was a little disappointed in the dvd.

Many are speculating that Cirque Du Soleil will include the newly discovered song "Take Me Away," in their "Viva Elvis" show. At the 2:00 mark the song really gets interesting when he begins karate kicking across the stage. I hope they include this footage on the dvd: [...]