Content Warning: The following article contains discussion/depictions of domestic abuse.
For a movie that clocks in at 2 hours and 39 minutes, Baz Luhrmann's Elvis covers a lot of its titular protagonist's life including his early years, claim to fame, and eventual downfall. His turbulent partnership with manager Colonel Tom Parker has also been covered in-depth.
Yet just like any other musical biopic, Elvis misses out on certain aspects of Elvis Presley's life that might not suit the glamour of the big screen or might be too specific to incorporate into the general narrative. These details include his troublesome relationships with women, meetings with iconic personalities, and a lot more.
Getting A Guitar At The Age Of 11
An important reason behind Elvis Presley's fame was the legacy that he had inherited from major Black artists of the time. The movie also shows how a young Elvis got his first musical inspiration from a Black Gospel performance. However, when it comes to actually sitting down and learning music, a starting point can be the time when he got his first guitar.
In a retrospective look at his mother Gladys Presley by Express, it is mentioned how his overprotective and god-fearing mother gifted him a guitar on his eleventh birthday. While Elvis initially insisted on getting a bicycle, Gladys feared for his safety and got him a gift that was more suited for an indoor environment.
Domestic Abuse Allegations
While his artistic legacy is undeniable, Elvis Presley was far from perfect as a family man as the Baz Luhrmann movie itself shows. This version of the story depicts him as an absent father and husband given his increased dependency on drugs. However, as Priscilla Presley's memoir Elvis and Me and a profile on The Guardian reveal, he could also be violent towards his wife. While she seems to still think positively about her husband, the book does delve into times when Elvis would just slap her or even force himself upon her.
As reported by Express, his fiance Ginger Alden also revealed how physical his outbursts could be. In her book Elvis & Ginger, it is revealed that Presley even went on to shoot a bullet above their bed's headboard just because she had refused to give him more yogurt to eat.
Meeting Richard Nixon
In an official White House photograph, Elvis Presley can be seen shaking hands with infamous American President Richard Nixon. This brief meeting took place on December 21, 1970. While not much is known about what went down in this conversation, Presley's letters to Nixon indicate that he wished to become an undercover Federal Agent to the war on drugs.
Michael Shannon as Elvis in one of his most underrated roles. As for Luhrmann's Elvis, the only Presidential connection with the movie is a scene where Presley grieves during John F Kennedy's assassination.
Colonel's Reactions To Elvis' Death
One of Tom Hanks' least likable characters of all time, Colonel Tom Parker was a sly salesman and a manager with no concern for his clients. Even though he succeeded in building Elvis Presley's brand, he also contributed to the artist's constant onstage fatigue and financial instability.
According to Cinemablend, director Baz Luhrmann said that Parker allegedly had money on his mind even after Presley's death. To quote Luhrmann, "It’s not in this movie – I didn’t put this bit in – but when Elvis dies, and the Colonel gets the phone call, the first thing he does is pick the phone straight up and rings RCA and says, ‘Print more records.’"
Interactions With Lisa-Marie
Elvis Presley's only daughter Lisa-Marie Presley has a brief role in the movie but it is hinted that despite his divorce from Priscilla Presley, he had a loving bond with his daughter. In a detailed piece on this father-daughter relationship on The Things, it is mentioned how Lisa-Marie had fond memories of her father such as him being the only person who could convince her to take a bath.
At the same time, she has had harrowing experiences such as staying in the same house on the night of her father's death. Because of the screenplay's focus on the parasitic relationship between the lead characters of Elvis, Colonel Parker, and Elvis Presley, there wasn't much room left to explore the star's fatherly side.
Meeting The Beatles
Beatles fans would agree that "The King" did have a major influence on the British band's early music. Both Elvis and The Beatles have been some of the best-selling artists of all time, and only a few would know that they even met once, an incident that has unfortunately not been recorded on camera.
As per BBC, the Fab Four met Presley at his Beverly Hills mansion on August 27, 1965, when they took a break from their US tour. This was at the height of Beatlemania when The Beatles were cementing their presence overseas. They even indulged in an impromptu jam session which The Beatles deliberately avoided revealing to the press. It was George Harrison's idea to keep this encounter under wraps as it would otherwise come off as another "dirty publicity stunt".
The Conspiracy Theories
Ever since Elvis Presley ed away, he has been the subject of fancy for many an urban legend. There are myths about how he faked his own death with many believing that he continued to live on for the years to come. This eventually lead to the phenomenon of "Elvis sightings".
In a list compiled by Smooth Radio, the wildest conspiracy theories suggest that Elvis has been in Home Alone or he is a groundskeeper in Graceland, and so on. Obviously, these sightings are more suited for a true-crime documentary than a biopic.
Karate Skills
In the performance scenes from the movie, there are moments where Austin Butler's Elvis Presley seems to be engaging in karate poses on stage. It turns out that this is one of the things that the movie got right about Elvis's life. Presley did harbor a fascination for the Japanese martial art getting introduced to it during his military service in .
Mental Floss mentions that he did earn a first-degree black belt later on in his life but his actual karate skills are up for debate. While he was praised by the karate practitioners around him, it is still doubtful how true their claims are. Wayne Carman in his book Elvis's Karate Legacy documents his time training under him and praises him as "Elvis the Black Belt, with 15 years of experience".
Love Life After Priscilla
Priscilla and Elvis Presley's marriage lasted for only six years following which Presley went on to date songwriter Linda Thompson for four years. The other major relationship that he indulged in was with model Ginger Alden whom he dated for nine months until his death.
Alden was also his fiancée in his final days and as an Express report reveals, he seemed to be optimistic about his future with her. In Alden's words, "Elvis was looking forward to many things, marriage, more children, serious films, and his next tour."
Death
The movie ends with a real-life performance from The King himself before his death. However, the exact manner of his death might have been too grim to include in the biopic. As many would already know, Elvis Presley's corpse was found seated on the toilet in his Graceland home. While initially the cause of death was ruled as a heart attack, the exact cause has been hotly debated in the subsequent years.
Even though stock footage of the funeral procession has been incorporated in the movie, that in itself was a cinematic event. According to an Express report, around 300 people had gathered for his funeral in Graceland and a speeding car even ended up killing two women in the crowd.
