A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
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Elvis Presley has long been regarded as one of the most
significant culture icons of all time, thanks to his contribution to and
incredible impact on the music industry. The King is the second best-selling
solo artist in the history of recorded music, according to Business Insider,
with 146.7 million units, and along with being renowned for rock and roll was
also hugely successful in a number of other genres including blues and country.
Because Elvis is mainly remembered for his influential music, many
people may forget that he was also a prominent actor in Hollywood. The King
starred in 31 films in total, and there are some seriously memorable outings in
his collection.
The
King Lives On
Few would argue that the memory of Elvis is still going strong in
mainstream culture. Since his death in 1977, there have been 69 remixed or
re-released songs from the Elvis catalogue. There was a particular resurgence
in popularity during the noughties, after the remix of A Little Less Conversation by Junkie XL for the 2002 World Cup went on to become
a number 1 hit in over 20 countries.
While Elvis’s last film was the concert documentary Elvis on Tour in 1972, the King has
appeared or been referenced in many, many other films since then. In Quentin
Tarantino’s epic crime film Pulp Fiction
in 1994, there was an Elvis impersonator performing in Jack Rabbit Slim’s. More
recently, in Blade Runner 2049, Ryan
Gosling stumbles upon a hologram of Elvis performing Suspicious Minds in Las Vegas. In fact, the scene in this
futuristic vision of Sin City has been described by Betway as one of the best gambling
moments in cinema history.
Another great Elvis reference was in 1993’s True
Romance from Tony Scott, which is the 83rd greatest film of all time
according to a list compiled by Empire in 2017. In the picture which was
written by Tarantino, Christian Slater’s character Clarence Worley is obsessed
with Elvis and has visions of the music legend. Some conspiracy theorists even
believe the King has made posthumous appearances in certain films. For
instance, some say that Elvis was a background figure in the 1990 Christmas classic
Home Alone. The King is in the
background when Kate (played by Catherine O’Hara) is checking in for her
flight, according to the theory as described in a post on Vice. It’s clear that
many are still hanging on to the memory of the rock and roll legend.
Elvis’s
Greatest Hollywood Moments
For those who love Elvis’s music but aren’t as familiar with his
films, there are some classics that are simply unmissable. It was after the
star’s stint in the army between 1958 and 1960 that he decided to return and
focus on film. For a good few years, Elvis was a posterboy for Hollywood, and
his manager Colonel Tom Parker was trying to push the star into as many movies
as possible. Because the King was such a recognizable figure who could easily
sell films, the production companies churned them out in quick succession in
the early 1960s. By the end of 1963, Elvis had already starred in eight movies,
and another eighteen by the end of the decade. While a lot of these features
followed a simple music comedy formula, there are some that have gone down in history.
One of the best loved Elvis films is also one of his earliest
silver screen outings. 1958 picture King
Creole from director Michael Curtiz was praised by critics and also
successful at the box office. The King himself went on to later say that the role
he played of Danny Fisher was his favourite ever. The 1964 musical Viva Las Vegas from George Sidney is also considered to be up there with Elvis’s best. It
was the 14th-highest grossing film of the year and is noted for the sensational
on screen chemistry between Elvis and his co-star Ann-Margret.
Elvis’s role in Hollywood didn’t just provide a range of great
films to look back on. The fact that he made the transition from music to film
has paved the way for many more stars over the years to follow suit. Some of
the most notable musicians to have made the switch to film include Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, and Eminem.
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