As regular readers of the Cinema Retro site know, Warner Brothers and Paramount have teamed for major Elvis DVD promotions to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The King's passing. The Paramount side of the promotion, a boxed set titled Lights! Cameras! Elvis! showcases 8 feature films, packaged in four clamshell cases containing double features. The movies are from the 1960s with the exception of King Creole from 1958. Other titles in the collection are: Easy Come, Easy Go, Blue Hawaii, Fun in Acapulco, G.I. Blues, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Roustabout and Paradise Hawaiian Style. We received a set in advance of the August 7 release date and we were pleasantly surprised to see the films packaged in a smart, blue velvet (what else?) collector's case. The merits of the films themselves range from being among Elvis' better efforts to being weak even by The King's standards - but even the worst of the lot merit being classified as entertaining, guilty pleasures. One of the great joys of watching Elvis films is the array of gorgeous co-stars and this boxed set is a feast for the eyes, topped by Ursula Andress lighting up the screen in Fun in Acapulco. If there's a complaint about the set, its that once again Paramount has been stingy with extras. It would have been great to have film historians or Elvis experts comment on the individual films, but each title is sans extras except for a few trailers. The films are also available individually, but if you give a hoot about Elvis at all, you shouldn't be able to resist purchasing the entire boxed set, though even the most devout fan will probably have to quit their jobs and put their lives on hold for several months to get through the plethora of titles released in August alone. A good value from Paramount, but we hope to see special editions of these titles in the future.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS DVD SET DISCOUNTED FROM AMAZON!
WRITER TOM LISANTI INTERVIEWS ELVIS' SEXY CO-STARS IN CINEMA RETRO ISSUES #6, 7 AND 8. FOR ALL THINGS ELVIS, VISIT TOM'S SITE AT WWW.SIXTIESCINEMA.COM
ALSO IN ISSUE #6: THE LATE ACTOR JEREMY SLATE RECALLS STARRING WITH THE KING IN "G.I. BLUES" AND "GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!"