Product Details

• Actors: Harvey Keitel, Johnathon Schaech, Bridget Fonda
• Directors: David Winkler
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• DVD Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0767837762
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,248 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Finding Graceland" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As this lonelyhearts fest begins, guilt-ridden young widower Byron (Johnathon Schaech) picks up hitchhiker Elvis, who is either the aging, regretful real thing or a sadly deluded impersonator. Director David Winkler plays the "is he or isn't he?" game for most of the movie, which is essentially a road trip to Memphis. Meanwhile, he allows Byron's story to unfold and introduces him to a Marilyn Monroe mimic (Bridget Fonda) with both a heart and dress of gold. As usual, Fonda is good, and Keitel gives an interesting portrayal of a soft-spoken southern mama's boy gone to seed. In the film's centerpiece performance, Keitel dons full Vegas-era Elvis regalia and belts out a rousing version of "Suspicious Minds." Unfortunately, Schaech turns in a rather wooden performance in the lead role. Priscilla Presley gets an executive producer credit, making for authentic shots in and around Graceland. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Product Description

Some guys have all the luck. But this year, Byron (Johnathon Schaech) isn't one of them. While driving away his past in a beat-up old Cadillac, he picks up an eccentric (Harvey Keitel) on his way to Memphis. Normal enough, except that this drifter believes he is the real Elvis and that he's headed home to Graceland. During the surreal and intense collision course that follows, this odd couple side swipes every emotion in the gamut. And after Byron unmasks a Marilyn Monroe look-alike (Bridget Fonda), there's no denying the most powerful emotion of them all.

An exceptional cast adds extra grace and heart to this original and moving film, which also boasts one of the most memorable "Elvis" performances of all time!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elvis lives no matter what shape he comes in, October 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding Graceland [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I rented this because I am always fascinated by what Harvey Keitel is capable of. He's an extraordinary chance-taker which he proves admirably here. After I stopped laughing until I was in tears at his Elvis impersonater competition, I replayed the scene several times. How far from the real Elvis can one be? And yet, and yet.....what passion and fun he created bumping, grinding, posing, flying around the stage in his too short cape, making fun of himself, the actor, yet commanding the situation with such assurance and verve that he revived the Elvis he was parodying in a vivid portrait of a man in love with his song. The story line was good. But something was missing. Maybe we should have learned more about the man who thought he was Elvis. More about the woman who chose to be Marilyn Monroe. We imbue icons with eternal life, and if we become them, even for a little while, maybe some of that rubs off on us. But then, if the movie went that route, it would be a different movie. This one is fun - interesting - and will leave you with a good feeling. Kind of rare today. Watch it. You'll like it.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a sweet story about the return from an injured soul, August 17, 1999

By 

Fettastic "Full screen is a drool cup for the... (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding Graceland (DVD)

ok, so I'm a little sappy. It's just that movies today are so cynical, it's refreshing to see a movie about overcoming demons instead of indulging them. A hitchhiker who calls himself Elvis (Harvey Keitel) meets a traveler (Schaech) who reluctantly gives him a ride. Despite many rejections, the two develop a kind of odd friendship. They look out for each other. Schaech is morning the loss of his wife in a car accident, when he meets a Maralyn Monroe impersonator (Bridget Fonda) who is part of a lounge act at a casino on their journey to Memphis. The real fun of this movie is Keitel's performance. No matter what the role, he always gives you something of interest. He doesn't look like Elvis, he doesn't really talk like Elvis, and there is a definite question as to if Elvis would ever act like this; but it is fun. Schaech is a good straight man, and Fonda gives us more reasons to daydream about meeting her. All in all this was a good movie with top notch performances, that didn't feel the need to weigh itself too heavily with a message.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elvis is still "Taking Care of Business", April 11, 2004

By 

Ron Wise (Cleveland, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Finding Graceland (DVD)

This is one amazing little gem of a movie. It came and went without much fanfare, but a lot of movies worth seeing do that. They can't all be blockbusters.

Harvey Keitel as "Elvis" only goes to show the genius of Keitel the actor and the man. The exterior of Keitel's character believes he's Elvis up to a point, the interior knows there is something spiritual inhabiting his very being. That spirit could very well be the real spirit of Elvis who has come back to earth to right a few wrongs and continue to change lives.

Keitel was never meant to look, talk, act, or sing like Elvis. That's the beauty of it all. Where Keitel becomes Elvis is how he interacts with the people he meets and leaves them uplifted.

Bridget Fonda plays a sweet young woman who impersonates Marilyn Monroe for a living, mostly in Vegas, but sometimes traveling around the casino circuit. At Robinsonville, Mississippi's Hollywood Casino (yes, these places are real), she meets Keitel and the emotionally shattered Johnathon Schaech, still mourning the death of his young wife from a year ago.

Eventually, all make it to Memphis only a few miles from the Hollywood Casino where the spirit of Elvis also lives in his home and grounds known as Graceland. This is a film authorized by the Presley Estate, so the viewer will get to see the real interior of Graceland from angles that tourists don't get to see.

This movie will make most viewers laugh and cry. There's a little something here for everyone. In fact you don't even have to be an Elvis fan to enjoy this film. I recommend it highly.