Joel Gilbert’s Elvis Found Alive is a sensational, evidence revealing ‘mockumentary’ supplemented by stunning new recordings by Elvis!! It is the follow up release to his fab 'mockumentary', Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison.
The promotional material reveals that the sensational evidence presented in Elvis Found Alive arose out of Gilbert’s Freedom of Information Act request for US Government files on Elvis (which eventually led him to the home of "Jon Burrows"). The early scene of producer/director Gilbert and his staff receiving the ‘faulty’ FBI files is a scream!
Gilbert has taken the original Elvis conspiracy theory and ‘value added’ by incorporating new information and conspiratorial elements to its evil web of deceit and intrigue including:
- Elvis’ look-a-like comic book hero, the influential Captain Marvel Jr (the comic book covers of Captain Marvel Jr’s life which mirror events in Elvis’ life is striking)
- the violent and radical left Weathermen/Weather Underground Organisation
- the revolutionary Black Panthers
- and a few US Presidents, including one Barrack Hussein Obama
.......and you thought Elvis was only a singer!! |
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The outcome is a rollicking ride with enough incredible claims and amusing one-liners to detract from a few periods when the narrative sags under the weight of its polemic. The incredulity of some of the claims or situations is part of the fun of watching
Elvis Found Alive.
During its 128 minutes running time we also learn new things about the King’s life. Did you he was an extra in Avatar or that Colonel Tom Parker was a pimp for the disc jockeys who first played Elvis’s records? A laugh out loud moment is “Elvis” describing Vernon copulating with his new wife and Elvis’ step-mother, Dee, as sounding “like they was killing hogs upstairs” (what a randy old devil Vernon must have been).
Elvis aka Jon Burrows with the former president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in the US. Apparently he was also President of something else as well. |
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I’m not going to give anymore away about the narrative except to say that Elvis Found Alive is well constructed and certainly has its moments (as long as you suspend rational thought and enjoy it for what it is – a parody delivered without a hint of being a parody). Gilbert’s Paul McCartney conspiracy ‘mockumentary’ has a slight advantage over Elvis Found Alive in gaining viewer engagement in that it is more ‘out there’ and its conspiracy tale more complex.
Surely a testament to its production qualities, some buyers of Elvis Found Alive actually believed the producer/director was presenting a serious documentary!
| The CD Album: Some fans claim the voice on the album is Belfast postman James Brown, whose two albums using the moniker, The King, were excellent entries in the world of “I sound like Elvis” releases.
Whoever it is, there is a vocal resemblance to the King but it is not Elvis, if only because an Elvis now aged in his 70s would exhibit a somewhat different singing and speaking voice to the younger voice on offer on both the album and DVD (damn, I’ve done it again……introduced a factual element which is dissonant to the conspiracy story!)
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The 15 tracks make for enjoyable listening with their strong vocal and good arrangements. They are a generally aurally pleasing mix of Elvis standards and new material:
- Every Breath You Take
- Heartbreak Hotel
- Lisa Marie
- After Loving You
- Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
- Do You Know Who I Am
- Big Boss Man
- The Dance
- Reconsider Baby
- Blue Hawaii
- That’s All Right, Mama
- Right Here Waiting
- Are You Lonesome Tonight
- Hawaiian Wedding Song
- Elvis Is Back Rap (for mine the weakest song on the album)
Technical Bits:
The video is a sharp anamorphically enhanced, 1.78:1 widescreen transfer. In keeping with its nature, the archival footage exhibits more grain and undergone a few formatting changes to meet the 1.78:1 ratio.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio is similarly strong and clear with no discernible imperfections. But who is that singing?? Surely it’s not Elvis???
DVD Bonus Extras: The DVD includes several audio samples from the CD album which complements it. There is also a music video made by “Elvis” for Lisa Marie.
Both the DVD and CD of Elvis Found Alive are released by Highway 61 Entertainment.
Verdict: If you are looking for an Elvis related something a bit ‘out there’, Elvis Found Alive could be the tonic. With its deadpan narrative delivery, over-the-top premise and delicious one-liners, you could do much worse than spend a rainy day mulling over this unusual offering. (Source: Nigel Patterson/EIN, Jan 2012)
Visit the "Elvis Found Alive" website and view the DVD trailer!!
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