The Netflix documentary The Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley looks back almost 60 years, at a crucial turning point in Elvis’ career. Could he rediscover his original rizz, that performative spark that was the true source of the rock’n’roll pioneer’s energy? Or would he fade further into the homogeneity of celebrities? Backdirected by Jason Hehir (The last dance), is not the first documentary or drama film to ask these questions. But thanks to interviews – including appearances by Priscilla Presley, Baz Luhrmann, Bruce Springsteen, Conan O’Brien and late Robbie Robertson – and tracing his biography up to and including his participation in the influential TV special known as ’68 Back, The return of the king gets a real insight into Elvis Presley’s love of music, as well as his personal vulnerabilities.

The bottom line: In June 1968, when rehearsals began for a television special in which he would sing and perform, it had actually been years since Elvis Presley had done either of those things. The wild appearances of Elvis the Pelvis on television a decade before, the resonance of early radio hits like “Heartbreak Hotel,” “That’s All Right” and “Blue Suede Shoes” – all had been replaced by the safety of bland B . -the Elvis movie. With the guidance of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, Presley made a lot of money in Hollywood. But the edges – those intangible elements that made his music vital, that made him dangerous to the establishment – ​​had been completely sanded away.

In 1968, the late Robbie Robertson said in The return of the kingElvis “walked a fine line between ‘I’m the real one’ or ‘I’ve lost it.’ The special offered an opportunity to reframe his image back to that of a singer first, as a rock star and a sex symbol, and as he took the stage in his now legendary costume in black leather, surrounded by young and curious fans, Elvis was ready to remind everyone why he mattered in the first place. But it was a huge risk. Did the guy still have juice? And besides, would his manager’s overbearing nature derail the whole thing before the electric sight of a laid-back, happy Elvis playing covers and old favorites with a crack backing band even had a chance to go on the airwaves?

The return of the king gets some great quotes from Priscilla Presley about how during the special she was blown away to see her husband perform live for the first time. (“Woah,” she laughs. “Is that what it’s about?”) It puts Elvis in perspective as a musician to Robertson, Springsteen, O’Brien and Billy Corgan. And it finds a way into his soul through Priscilla’s memories – they were initially linked because she was the only one who really listened to him – and Luhrmann’s sense of the conflict that always raged within him. This exciting unpredictability of authenticity, as opposed to the safe route, where it simply existed as a commodity. O’Brien considers Elvis Presley’s third act special to be a celebrity because by reinvigorating his creative life, it made him real again. Real to the public – it’s been decades, and we still talk and make documentaries about this – but more importantly, real to Elvis himself.

What films will this remind you of? The 2023 documentary Reinventing Elvis: The Return of 1968 explores much of the same territory as The return of the kingand additionally features new, in-depth interviews with Steve Binder, who produced the Presley TV special. (It is available to stream on Paramount+.) And in BackThe footage of their meeting and early courtship that accompanies the documentary’s new interviews with Priscilla Presley also highlights the amount of fine-grained detail present in Priscillathe 2023 biopic of Sofia Coppola.

Performances to watch: Singer and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Darlene Love has a direct look at ’68 Comeback, as she was booked for the special as Elvis’ backup singer. But Love also thinks about Presley’s early days, when the Southern boy first caused a ruckus. “No one white sang like that, or even acted like that on stage,” Love says in Back. “We thought it was funny, because we were saying things like, ‘Oh, he’s just trying to be black.’ But that really wasn’t the case, it was just who he was. That was the controversy everyone had at the time. »

Memorable dialogues: Bruce Springsteen describes Elvis Presley’s headspace as The King prepared to perform for the first time in more than five years. “You’re stepping onto a stage you don’t know. You are produced and directed by people you don’t really know. At some point you reach the “shit” point. Like, I have to go, and whatever happens, “fuck it.” He’s reached the “shit” point, you know? That’s what’s going through his mind. And he was just going to go there. He was going where his destiny led him.

Sex and skin: Let’s hear Elvis from the 1968 Comeback era from an audience member. “Oh my God,” Sandi Tompkins says in an interview for Back. “He was magnificent. Her hair was so shiny and the lights were hitting it. He seemed radiant. I don’t know what God looks like, but it looks like this guy was divine.

Our opinion: After years of playing it safe in Hollywood, appearing in lots of cheap films whose scripts he hated and had to singing poorly arranged songs to animalsElvis Presley dangled, lost at the end of his frayed creative rope. It hadn’t even been a decade since he rose to stardom as one of the new faces of rock ‘n’ roll. But in today’s terms, in 1968, it was about to be washed out, and it was time to poke around and find out. One of the coolest parts of The Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley is audio that includes impromptu jam sessions led by Elvis during difficult times filming the ’68 Comeback special. It’s the sound of a guy who has space to actually enjoy singing and collaborating and playing guitar, and it’s that energy – vital, free, beyond the meddling of Colonel Tom Parker – which feeds the possible performances on television, which Back is smart to feature in extended looks as well.

In many ways, Elvis Presley defined the mechanics of pop stardom. When he was drafted in 1958, songs recorded before his arrival helped keep his voice on the radio. (This is exactly what BTS did before the Korean boy band sensation calls it quits to complete his own mandatory military service.) But what The return of the king does a very good job establishing how Elvis’ fame became the biggest liability to who he personally wanted to be. He presents the 1968 Comeback special accurately as the moment he was able to regain control of his own mystique.

Our call: Spread it. The Return of the King: The Fall and Rise of Elvis Presley doesn’t cover a lot of new ground, but it’s a well-packaged and presented look at the creative life of a legacy artist whose biggest obstacle was the nature of his own celebrity.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is a free-lance freelance writer and editor in Chicagoland. Her work has been published in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media and Nicki Swift.