Elvis Presley - Hots Shots And Cool Clips DVD Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol. 5, Vol. 6, Vol. 7
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 1 DVD
There a lot of different footage on this DVD, most of it are excellent.
-April '56 footage: I was a bit surprised to see all of this as being labelled from April 1956 when it's quite obvious it can't be from this month. We all know the footage of Elvis' backstage with Liberace and his brother George, this was filmed in April '56 while Elvis first appeared in Las Vegas. On the DVD you have footage from Elvis' second meeting with Liberace which was actually filmed on November 15th 1956. It's also obvious that Elvis' look on the footage here doesn't match what he actually looked like in April 1956. There's also some references in "Day By Day" book from Guralnick/Jorgensen (p.91) and the series of 660 cards (card #305). Same goes for the meeting with Marge and Gower Champion (clowns) that was filmed in October '57 (Elvis' look being definitely not April '56 either).It's also well documented into the aforementioned series of 660 cards (card #306).
-Tupelo '57 is among my favourite clips here and very nice to have it all together. I must say however it is very annoying to see that text appearing all of a sudden, and incidently hiding parts of Elvis' legs while moving across the stage. Why not making that appear on a shot where Elvis isn't there? The same goes for other parts of the DVD where you see those appearing.
-March and May '60 clips are pretty good. I also liked the July '61 Weeki Wachee Springs, FL. footage a lot although it's a bit shaky. The rarity wins over quality here and we don't get to see that type of stuff too often. On the other hand I can't see the interest of that film of "Follow That Dream" movie premiere since Elvis weren't there. The clips with Bobby Darin backstage is excellent and most of it was new to my eyes, excepted for a brief part included on the Good Time video "King Of Entertainment".
-The footage with Danny Thomas from 1964 is also excellent (another highlight of the DVD) and this is indeed cool to see some never before seen footage.
-May 1st 1967 : This part contains mostly stuff we've already seen but the quality is overall excellent, and again nice to have it all together. The 8mm footage taken by a fan in August 1968 at Elvis' home is of excellent quality considering the source, and most likely from the original film as the colours aren't all washed out.
-April 1969 : Elvis officially signed his contract on April 15th 1969 but this clip featured on the DVD was actually filmed on February 26th 1969. Again you can find a reference to this in "Day By Day" book on page 256. The Colonel took the opportunity to publicize the event and had Elvis to sign a contract there for the camera, yet the actual document wouldn't be signed before April 15th 1969. This is also make sense as if you look at the construction site, no way the International Hotel would had been ready for Barbra Streisand's opening prior to Elvis appearances if indeed filmed in mid-April. Overall very nice to have it as complete as possible for the first time.
-June 9th 1972 Press conference : The quality is again excellent and wished we had the complete thing. It's also one of the highlight on this DVD, at least for me. I don't know if some more will be featured on the second volume, if yes then I would seriously questioned why it wasn't put together here.
I didn't care much for some of the "News In Brief" featured in the bonus sections apart the Elvis' related ones. The September 5th 1972 (it was actually held between the dinner and midnight show of the closing night on September 4th 1972) doesn't have a great picture quality but so far I have yet to see an excellent picture of this press conference anyway. The Memphis '74 pictures are very nice.
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 2 DVD
The long-awaited Hot Shots and Cool Clips Volume 2 DVD is another look into the life and career of Elvis Presley using newsreels, home movies, and press interviews. This volume features clips from his 1957 Detroit performance, 1957 home movie footage of Graceland, Elvis 1958 Army induction (and famous haircut), the G.I. Blues premiere, excerpts from the 1971 Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men Prayer Breakfast (along with the awards ceremony from that evening), filmed footage of Elvis opening show at Madison Square Garden, more footage with Bobby Darin and the Madison Square Garden press conference, as well as footage from Colonel Parkers Birthday Party (which also shows his managers industry influence). Also included is footage of Elvis June 16 and 17 evening performances at Chicago Stadium in 1972. Collecting unseen, better quality, and more complete footage than what has been seen in the past, this second volume from JAT is a must for any fan, especially those who revel in all these pieces of the puzzle that make up the life, career, and cultural impact of Elvis Presley. A Video Documentary.
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 3 DVD
The third volume in this series is undisputedly the best till now.
This release has had so many negative reviews on some websites that I thought I'd set the record straight. Let me tell you folks, this one is a very good DVD, it offers something for everyone, Fifties, Sixties and Seventies. It's a good mixture, and being a Seventies freak myself of course I liked the Houston Press Conference the most, but more about that later.
Joe Tunzi today is one of a very select group of people who go through obscure archives, searching high and low for undiscovered, rare footage. What he turns up with simply is breathtaking each and every time. On this volume he has collected some of the most rarest footage ever.
Organizations like EPE, who have access to most of this footage and the means and money to do something with it simply can't be bothered with releasing anything like this, just because the market is too small, the sales figures for these kind of releases simply aren't interesting enough for them.
So, it is up to a few people who are willing to put up the money for this footage. If it wasn't for someone like Joe we would most probably NEVER see anything like this, except for snippets in mainstream documentaries. Lots of clips on this DVD have been seen in documentaries like King Of Entertainment and The Great Performances and George Klein's Memories, BUT, always just a few seconds.
Now you can see these clips as they are, sometimes rough around the edges, not in the best quality, but what a pleasure they are to see!
The second volume in this series got some flack also on messageboards but overall it was a damned good DVD. (Elvis Australia does not agree with this bit) We got some new clips from the Jaycees Awards (never before did we see anything from the Breakfast Prayer/Press Conference!), we got outstanding footage from a Chicago 1972 show, new Madison Square Garden footage and some more nuggets. Volume 3 is even a lot better than the previous one. There is more Elvis to be seen and there is a wider variety of clips.
No need to sum up the contents, most fans already know about that, but let's go through some of the highlights! First off, the most controversial footage here, the alledged 'screentest' for Jailhouse Rock. Joe got the footage and it had 'screentest' written over it, so he just went with that.
To be honest, I can't tell what it is, you see Elvis (in colour) posing for the camera, clapping his hands, talking, laughing, strumming his guitar, dressed in black, wearing a huge medaillon. A man can be seen, who most probably is Richard Thorpe, director to Jailhouse Rock. It doesn't look like a screentest but what IS it? No-one knows for sure, maybe someone can shed some light on it in the future, but what is more important is that it is historic and fascinating footage. Seeing rare fifties footage in colour is always fascinating so I don't care too much what it was filmed for, fact is, it's here to be enjoyed!
Some new clips of his May 6 gig at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas are good viewing, most of it is well-known though, but the few new snippets are more than welcome.
Elvis' arrival in Hawaii in 1961 for the filming of Blue Hawaii and his live gig is here in much longer form than what was seen in This Is Elvis, that is what I mean, a few seconds were used in This Is Elvis, about 27 years ago already, and only now do we get to see it in a much longer version, thanks to Joe.
His filmed arrival a year later in Hawaii is presented here also. This time the occasion was his filming of Girls, Girls, Girls. Most of it is silent, but there is a short clip with audio with Elvis being interviewed by DJ Tom Moffat. Once again, a short clip was used in the extended version of This Is Elvis, but here you get to see the whole thing, Elvis arriving by helicopter much like his 1973 arrival for Aloha From Hawaii. Fascinating footage that's for sure.
A staged contract signing for MGM in 1962 is another real treat, a very short clip was used in the King of Entertainment special years ago, but once again, it's presented here in a much longer version. Elvis was at MGM for his wardrobe for the upcoming film It Happened At The Worlds Fair. Vernon Presley can be seen, as well as director Norman Taurog and a business suit. This is outstanding footage, very clear and rare to be sure! Why this was filmed is another question. It also makes one wonder what else might be filmed in his 22 year career.
There are lots more chapters, Fifties live clips, more of the Danny Thomas Potomac presentation but I've kept the absolute highlight for last, the (near) complete Houston Press Conference in the Astroworld Hotel February 27, 1970.
I read somewhere that all footage had already been released in documentaries but let me tell you, that is absolutely not the case, there are new questions (and answers here).
Most fascinating is at the end when Elvis gets a badge pinned on him by one of the Rodeo officers, you may remember a 3 second clip of this in George Klein's Memories. But he gets the badge pinned on, the press conference is over but still reporters keep asking him questions and Elvis is only happy to oblige them. He is asked about record attendance shows and Elvis is talking about the Dallas Cotton Bowl performance for instance.
He is also asked about message songs and talks a bit about In The Ghetto but stresses that he doesn't want his whole show to be like that, that there also has to be entertainment to be considered. All the while, the camera is zooming in on Elvis, producing some of the most stunning close-up footage ever! You can clearly see that Elvis didn't shave that day yet, talk about clear close-up footage, good god!
The quality of this Houston footage is outstanding and even better than when some clips were used in The Great Performances.
This footage alone is worth the price of the DVD!
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 4 DVD
Hot Shots And Cool Clips Volume 4 DVD contains much more unreleased footage from the '50s, '60s and '70s with many extras including a historic filmed interview with Marion Keisker and vintage commercial of Elvis Presley's first RCA album. The approximate running time is 60 minutes.
1955 in Texas ( unedited)
1956 Hy Gardner Calling
1956 Curtain Call On Milton Berle
1960 Last interview before returning home from the army
1960 interview in Miami for the Frank Sinatra Show
1962 It Happened At The World's Fair
1969 color movie from the sessions in the American Sound Studio
1972 Buffalo, NY
1972 Chicago, IL
1976 concert footage from Roanoke, Va and Dayton, Oh
1977 several clips from August
and the end ... August 18th, 1977
Elvis: Aloha '73-Ho'I Hou is a new CD from JAT Records (formatted 7'' x 7'' design) and features unreleased commercials for 'Aloha From Hawaii' and the unreleased expanded version of the 'Aloha' Press Conference. All nicely formatted 7'' x 7'' similar to the FTD Classic album CDs. This CD will be released at the same time as the DVD, Hot Shots And Cool Clips volume 4.
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 5 DVD
JAT Productions have released the Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 5 DVD. This volume contains great quality footage of Elvis in Vegas 1956, the complete Elvis sails Brooklyn interview, Elvis arriving in Germany, Chicago 1972 - almost 11 minutes long, arriving in Hawaii in 1961 for the Arizona Benifit and 1962 for 'Girls, Girls, Girls', and as tribute to the 50th anniversary of the 1961 Pearl Harbor show : JAT Publishing have gathered all the Hawaii footage known and made a tribute to the 61 show. There is more Hawaii footage in great quality of the Aloha press conference in Las Vegas plus much more ...
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 6 DVD
The disc contains the following great quality footage:
- Elvis in Las Vegas 1972
- Kansas City 1972
- Chicago afternoon show 1972
- St. Louis 1973
- Last Vegas concert, december 1975
Elvis Hot Shots And Cool Clips Vol. 7 DVD
The DVD includes 60 minutes of never before seen color home movies and photographs of the making of the MGM motion picture It Happened At The World's Fair.