‘Elvis & Nixon’ on Blu-ray

Category: Blu-ray's and DVD's


elvisnixon
Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon were two of the most famous men in the world in 1970. One was a president and one was a king. When the President of the United States met the King of Rock and Roll, history was made. The photograph of the two together is the most requested photograph in the National Archives. Elvis and Nixon is the untold story that resulted in that historic photo.

Michael Shannon stars as Elvis and Kevin Spacey is Nixon in this story about two very different and equally quirky men. According to this, Elvis decided he wanted to work undercover for the United States after realizing the country he loved was heading down a perilous path with drugs and rock and roll. He wanted to infiltrate the youth culture as an undercover agent-at-large.

So what did this guy do? He wrote a letter to the president and hand delivered it to the White House asking for a meeting with Nixon. For the White House staff who were used to seeing the rich and famous, Elvis presented them with a difficult situation. And they were all agog about meeting him –all except the president. He turned down the request for a meeting. His advisor Krogh (Colin Hanks) thought it would be good PR for the two to get together.

Through some manipulation with the president’s staff and Elvis’ friends/staff (namely Jerry played by Alex Pettyfer), and the insistence of Julie Nixon, the meeting was scheduled. While Nixon only wanted to spend a maximum of five minutes with Elvis, he ended up spending a lot more time after hearing Elvis expound on the ideals that were important to his own ways of thinking. Outwardly it would seem that these two men had nothing in common, but when it came down to it, they held many of the same positions.

What viewers see in this movie are an excellent portrayal of Nixon by Academy-award winner Spacey and an inside look at the strangeness and self-confidence of Elvis presented convincingly by Shannon. The filmmakers could have gone with an actor who looked more like Presley, but the performance by Shannon is worth noting. The quirkiness and weirdness of Elvis is front and center. We all know how unusual Elvis was, but this film emphasizes that to the hilt.

The result of their meeting on December 21, 1970 is the photograph that merges two completely different men into one historic event. The bonus feature on the Blu-ray, titled “Crazy but True,” focuses on the actual Oval office event with the actors and filmmakers. Yes, it was crazy but as the photo shows, it was true.

Elvis & Nixon is rated R for some language.

About the Author

Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for 20 years. She also writes about products and travel. She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. She has written her own book, Beyond the Red Carpet The World of Entertainment Journalists, from Sourced Media Books.

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