"Director: Alan Raymond"

• Elvis Presley - Elvis 56 | DVD | (16/10/1998) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This 1987 documentary is distinguished by both its smart narrative premise and wonderful performance footage of Elvis Presley at the dawn of his remarkable career. With the King's melodramatic life already a familiar subject for film and print biographies, producer-directors Alan and Susan Raymond instead shaped this hour-long profile around the year that saw the charismatic Memphis singer's eruption as a pop sensation. By taking that selective path, and focusing tightly on Presley's crucial transition to a major record deal, national media exposure and the first decisive steps in his subsequent movie career, Elvis '56 achieves a unique cohesion while legitimately celebrating a remarkable period of growth.With the Band's Levon Helm narrating in his salty Arkansas drawl, the story effectively conveys Elvis' Southern perspective, while evocative use of Alfred Wertheimer's celebrated black-and-white still portraits sustains a visual style carrying over to the programme's real high points: early stage and television appearances by Presley and his original trio, later augmented into a quartet. Among the highlights are historic slots on Milton Berle's and Steve Allen's variety shows: we see the joyous physicality that made the Berle performance a topic of outrage (and, of course, a swoon-worthy moment for female fans), as well as Allen's glib solution to censors' worries, forcing a static, tail-coated Presley to sing "Hound Dog" to a basset hound. --Sam Sutherland

• Elvis Presley - Elvis 56 | DVD | (16/08/2004) from £13.35   |  Saving you £-0.36 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  1956 was Elvis Presley's breakthrough year and this program takes you back including his early television performances on the Dorsey Brothers Show and the Ed Sullivan Show (where the cameramen were instructed not to shoot the lower half of his body!) and an entire hour of rare footage and performances captured during the amazing year when Elvis Presley became not only a star but a phenomenon. So slip on your blue suede shoes and step back to the beginning of an era with rare early recordings and never-before-seen footage. The reign of the King has just begun! Music featured in this program includes: 1. My Way 2. Baby What You Want Me To Do 3. Blue Suede Shoes 4. Good Rockin' Tonight 5. Heartbreak Hotel 6. Shake Rattle And Roll 7. Baby Let's Play House 8. Tutti Frutti 9. My Baby Left Me 10. Blue Moon 11. Hound Dog 12. He's Only A Prayer Away 13. Lawdy Miss Clawdy 14. Don't Be Cruel 15. Trying To Get To You 16. Anyway You Want Me 17. Ready Teddy 18. Love Me Tender 19. Peace In The Valley 20. Love Me