Elvis Presley, an American singer born on January 8, 1935, in Mississippi, became a national sensation by 1956. He was known for his talent, good humor, and charisma. He created music unfamiliar to society, which consisted primarily of rock and roll, with incorporated elements of pop, blues, country, and gospel. His success within the music industry earned him the nickname the “King of Rock and Roll.” His extremely versatile, newly introduced music quickly caught fire to individuals of all ages. However, the audiences most captivated by his music were teenagers and young adults. Although he passed away in 1977 at the young age of 42, his music has continued to impact the music industry. While Presley’s death resulted in the hault of his music production, people of all ages are still fans of the music he previously released.
Due to his continued popularity, hundreds of movies have been released in hopes of captivating Presley’s interesting, but dramatic life. Elvis is one of the most recent movies about the singer and was released in 2022. The film follows Presley’s life while under the management of Colonel Tom Parker. Presley had multiple love interests, one of the most famous being Priscilla (Ann Beaulieu) Presley. Their relationship had many conflicts that Presley’s fans were aware of. Their controversial relationship inspired movie producers to create another movie solely based on Elvis’s relationship with Priscilla entitled Priscilla. While the two most popular Elvis inspired movies were released within a year of each other, the two films have many differences.
The film Elvis was a biographical drama, or biopic, taking a deep look into the singer’s life. It explores his upbringing and his life leading up to his fame. The film also describes his influence on popular music. While the movie displayed his clear impact he had on many fans, and the individuals he came into contact with during his short-lived life, the movie also delves deeply into Presley’s mental health issues. The film reveals that Presley often coped by using drugs and other narcotics. While Elvis shows many complicated relationships Presley had, the most covered relationship was with his manager Colonel Tom Parker. The film showed that Parker often prioritized his own financial gain, typically disregarding Presley’s wishes and mental health, while also restricting Presley’s artistic growth. While the two had many disputes and conflicts during Presley’s career, they still worked together for a significant part of Elvis’ career. In an article written by the New York Times, A.O. Scott states that the interesting and versatile soundtrack enhanced the quality of the music as songs of all genres were included such as pop and techno. By having many different genres, the movie had many unexpected songs that kept the audience captivated.
While the movie Elvis quickly became popular, many people argued the problematic relationship Priscilla and Elvis had with one another deserved its own film. Priscilla’s narrative came from Priscilla herself, unlike many other Elvis films. The film was released October 27, 2023. Priscilla begins by displaying the initial start of her relationship with Elvis. Beginning at the age of 14, their ten year age difference inherently caused issues throughout their relationship. The film follows the beginning of the relationship as the two settle down, madly in love, and with few issues with one another. As time progresses and the couple becomes more comfortable, Presley’s erratic and violent behaviors slowly becomes present in Priscilla and Elvis’ relationship. The biggest obstacle that worked against both of them was their age gap and difference in maturity from one another. This predictably gave Elvis a power dominance over Priscilla. While tensions were already high, Presley’s growing influence, power, and wealth from music further diminished Priscilla’s sovereignty as she was forced to conform to Elvis’ preferred image. In an article by The Spectator, the author states the film was extremely complex and interesting although the movie required the audience to make lots of inferences.
The largest difference between the two films were that each covered a different part of Elvis’s life, as well as two entirely different relationships he had. Priscilla focused primarily on Priscilla as it explores her life before Presley, and during and after her relationship with Elvis. It displays her own experiences, emotions, and her personal journey in the entertainment industry. Elvis focuses on Presley himself as he struggles with his mental health issues. It displays his complicated relationship with his manager, often restricting him in the music industry. The time taken to film both movies were drastically different as Elvis was filmed throughout multiple years with a budget of $85 million, while Priscilla was filmed in around two months with a budget of around $20 million.
The two films were extremely successful; however, they had many differences from one another, consisting of the time put into each movie and the budget. The largest difference between Elvis and Priscilla is the perspective provided for each film. Priscilla provides the commonly overlooked perspective of a young girl struggling in a harsh society, while Elvis depicts aspects of Elvis’ life that are often misunderstood.
