Ryan, Bec, Gurdip and Justin pile in for a round table discussion on Baz Luhrmann's EPiC. You don't need us to tell you it's worth seeing or that it's good - there's no shortage of other opinions you've heard affirm both, so we just dive right in. We discuss our perspectives on how the film presents Elvis and his creative process, major sequences of significance, any insights we picked up along the way, as well as the contexts of our viewing experiences (including the responses of guests we took with us, and anecdotal demographics), and our major takeaways from this remarkable cinematic remix, not simply of Elvis's words and performances, but of the work left behind by Denis Sanders, Pierre Adidge and Bob Abel.

Finally, Justin wraps the episode with a sort-of Song of the Week, discussing how Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" provided him with some illumination as the Elvis fandom comes to reckon with EPiC as a new collaborative reinterpretation, unpacking the mindblowing critical reappraisal of Elvis' 1970s era in the media reviews of the film, examining a few criticisms of Luhrmann's 2022 film and EPiC from certain corners of the fandom, and bringing the "art vs archive" arc that he and Bec had begun last September after the Toronto premiere (episode 376) to a conclusion.

This episode contains excerpts from Rolling Stone Australia/New Zealand's interview with Baz Luhrmann, which we highly recommend watching in full on their YouTube channel.

Gurdip, Justin and John quickly gathered last night to discuss initial impressions of the soundtrack album for EPiC which is now available on all major music platforms for purchase and streaming. At the time of recording, John's the only one to have seen the film, so we're judging it based on how it works as its own cohesive presentation, keeping in mind that like all Baz Luhrmann soundtracks, it's a companion piece, but also a standalone work.

There's plenty of hubbub in the Elvis community about the remixing and re-recording of some elements for the soundtrack, but we have exclusive insights on some of the creative choices made for the film and album from Jamieson Shaw, music producer and supervising music editor on EPiC. Shaw very kindly responded to some questions we asked him via email, which John reads aloud for us on this episode (though without attempting Jamieson's Australian accent).

We also break down plenty of the new mash-ups and discover the component elements from across Elvis's catalogue that were utilized in devising these more artful reinterpretations.

We recommend checking out the soundtrack for yourself on your preferred music platform or choice or available physically on CD/vinyl from Sony Music!

In Part 2 of our review of "Elvis: That's The Way It Is" the gang takes a look at our Patreon supporters's votes and comments on which version of the film is preferred, then debate the merits of the inclusion of interviews with fans and hotel staff in the original, as well as the producers' reasons for removing fan favorites such as "I Just Can't Help Believin'" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water' in favor of more well-known Elvis hits like "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" for the Special Edition.

Justin challenges the commonly held belief that the Special Edition features substantially more time with Elvis than the theatrical cut, Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick's take on the film in "Careless Love" is contrasted with what we now know of Elvis's thoughts on the film, and the group looks forward to how both versions of the movie may influence Baz Luhrmann's EPiC.

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