MARIO GAUCI The unassailable reputation of this legendary TV special prompted me to acquire it regardless of the fact that I have little more than a passing interest in its subject; actually, a conversation I had on "Facebook" with the top local Elvis fan I know on the day that would have been "The King"'s 76th birthday is what made me watch it immediately! Although the IMDb gives the show a slim 50-minute duration, the copy I acquired ran for around 73 and, indeed, looking up some information on it after the fact, I realized that there are several versions available out there, culminating in the exhaustive 7½-hour "Deluxe Edition" released in 2004 spread over 3 DVDs! Presley's fans must have drawn a great sigh of relief watching their idol get back to his true métier of performing live in front of swooning audiences; what really impresses the 'infidels', however, is the sheer energy and magnetism that a totally black-clad Elvis is able to transmit in this up-close-and-personal/back-to-basics rendition of his decade old classic hits that, surely, must have been the precursor to the "MTV Unplugged" fad that proliferated a quarter-of-a-century later. And so it is that we have Presley belting out full-length or medley versions of "All Shook Up", "Don't Be Cruel", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Jailhouse Rock", "That's All Right" and even a tongue-in-cheek "Love Me Tender"(!) – performed either while barely containing himself in a chair (and accompanied by a handful of seasoned musicians) or standing up with guitar in hand as he interacts with the fans sitting literally at arm's length away from him! In spite of the stripped-down nature of the songs themselves, the show was captured on camera for posterity in as slick and flashy a manner as was possible at the time; in fact, we have here any number of suggestive camera angles and cleverly worked-out shots which, in their evident attempt to highlight the older but perfectly matured figure of its 33-year old star (a far cry from the bloated, all-white image of his later Las Vegas days), are par for the course. However, it was hard for me to accept the incongruity of a couple of truly elaborate musical numbers which, for all their intrinsically enjoyable kitsch elements (not the least of which is seeing Elvis felling his foes with karate chops!), reeked of the blandly exotic Hollywood musical vehicles that one hoped Presley wanted to fully leave behind with this startling image revamp and, basically, only served to stretch the show to feature-length standards. At any rate, his acclaimed album "From Elvis In Memphis" (which I have yet to listen to) was just around the corner...

Michael_Elliott Elvis: '68 Comeback Special (1968) *** (out of 4) This comeback special is a rather weird thing visually but when the music counts it's pretty much a home run. We see The King on a mini-stage where he's sometimes joined by a band and other times just performing solo. The performance by Elvis is pretty straight forward but it also packs a nice little punch as he goes back through several classics including Jailhouse Rock, Heartbreak Hotel, All Shook Up and Can't Help Falling in Love. Elvis doesn't waste too much time as the songs come very quickly and he doesn't take a break in between but instead delivers a fast rock show. The film also has some very funny moments including Love Me Tender where Elvis decides to play around with the lyrics at one point. While the music is great throughout the same can't be said for the silly way it was shot. I don't mind the small stage but apparently the footage was taken from a couple shows and it's edited together pretty poorly and the larger stage show, which a few songs are taken from, comes off pretty weak.

kwbucsfan This was without a doubt Elvis's best moment. Bar none. After years of bad movies and bad songs to boot, Elvis takes control in this TV Special. It immediately puts Elvis back on top where he belonged and his competion below his feet where they belonged. Elvis was way too talented as a singer and an actor to do those bad roles and songs. Those films and songs were beneath his dignity. It is nice to see the real Elvis again. From beginning to end this show has you glued to the television set. Five Stars

gierenstein After years of being miscast in run-of-the-mill romantic comedies, Elvis stroke back with an unexpected return, presenting himself as raw and energetic as ever. Still today this extraordinary TV Special fascinates the viewer, containing such classic sequences as the "brothel-scene" which was deleted first but has been added to the VHS version of the special. Another highlight are the now famous sit-down and stand-up sessions with his old bandmates Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana, of which the Special shows a few excerpts. The year after, Elvis' comeback was finally complete with his return to live performances at the Las Vegas International Hotel. But that's another story...