How Newly Found Footage Became ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’
The New York Times • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Baz Luhrmann discovered a large collection of unused footage from Elvis Presley’s 1970 and 1972 concert films while researching his 2022 biopic "Elvis."
- The footage was stored in an underground salt mine in Kansas, where Warner Bros. archives its materials, and Luhrmann personally funded the costly retrieval process.
- Researchers found 69 boxes of mostly mislabeled and damaged 35mm and 16mm film, containing backstage and onstage performances but no synchronized sound.
- The restoration team faced the challenge of matching the 59 hours of silent footage with audio, as sound and film were archived separately.
- This extensive rescue and restoration effort led to the creation of the new documentary "EPi
