Elvis '56 Blu-ray Review

Whether you're an Elvis Presley fan or not, you have to concede that the man had a huge impact on rock and roll. I personally don't consider him the King (Little Richard and Chuck Berry seem to have more claim to that title), but I still love the music, especially from those early years before he went into the army. This was his most exciting period. Elvis '56 is a documentary from 1987, produced and directed by Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond, and narrated by Levon Helm (yes, of The Band), that, as its title suggests, focuses on the year 1956. And what an incredibly busy, momentous and exciting year for Elvis and for music. 

The movie starts with just a little bit footage of Elvis from 1973, with him performing "My Way," then goes back to 1968, and in that footage he is rocking. But that just gets us more excited for what we know is coming: Elvis performing in 1956. "When Elvis was young, so was rock and roll," Levon Helm tells us. And we see Elvis performing "Blue Suede Shoes," and things are even better than they were in 1968. It's a nice introduction. Before getting into the main body of the film, a quote from John Lennon appears on the screen: "Before Elvis, there was nothing." We do get a bit of information on some of the Sun records, and on Tom Parker, a character in his own right, this being before 1956. But very quickly, this documentary gets into the year in question, mentioning that in January of 1956 Elvis turned twenty-one and then recorded his first RCA record, "Heatbreak Hotel." A pretty good start to the year, don't you think?

This documentary takes us through the year chronologically, mentioning specific dates, so that we always know where we are within the year. It treats us to footage of his first television appearance, performing "Shake, Rattle And Roll," and there is no denying how cool Elvis was then. Interestingly, the film puts his performance into the context of the time. And poor Perry Como. You just can't put Perry Como next to Elvis and expect Perry to come out looking even remotely interesting. He seems a sad clown next to Elvis. There is also mention of the civil rights problems of the time, positioned before footage of Elvis performing Little Richards' "Tutti Frutti." His version isn't nearly as powerful or wild as Little Richard's, but it is still pretty good, and clearly his version introduced the song to some folks who might not have otherwise heard it. There is also some great footage of Elvis performing "Heartbreak Hotel," one of his best songs. This documentary includes plenty of film footage, but also some great still photos from the period. I love the photos of Elvis walking around in New York, as Levon Helm let us know it's the last time Elvis would be able to do so without being recognized. There are many photos I hadn't seen before. I love the photos of Elvis behind a drum kit, and the ones at home with his family, as well as all those photos from the sessions for "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel."

I didn't realize that Elvis Presley had played Las Vegas for the first time as far back as 1956, and this film includes some delightful footage of him with Liberace. For a documentary that is only an hour long, there is quite a bit of great footage. I love that the camera gives us a close-up of the guitarist during his great lead in the middle of "Hound Dog," and I love that moment when Elvis slows the song down. There is also a really nice section in the film regarding the criticism that Elvis received, where we hear audio of the criticism followed by audio of Elvis' responses. And, yes, there is footage of "the new Elvis Presley," when he sang "Hound Dog" to that damn dog. Good for him for totally going for it, but it's painfully embarrassing. Still, I'm glad it was included. If you're an Elvis fan, clearly you're going to want to own this disc. But if you're not, this documentary is still worth checking out. Any fan of rock and roll should be interested in this early chapter of its history.

Elvis '56 was released on Blu-ray on March 6, 2026. The disc contains no bonus material.