Frequently Asked Questions

Status of the MGM concert films Elvis, That's the Way It Is (1970) and Elvis on Tour (1972).

Warner Brothers owns Elvis Presley's MGM film catalog, including all the Elvis MGM concert footage and all the movies Elvis did for MGM as an actor.

MGM produced two theatrically released Elvis concert documentary films during Elvis's lifetime. They are Elvis, That's the Way It Is (1970) and Elvis on Tour (1972). Both were released on home video in the 1980s. Elvis, That's the Way It Is was released on DVD in the 1990s and new special edition DVD releases followed in 2001 and 2007. As of 2008, Elvis on Tour has yet to be released on DVD, but it is expected to happen in the near future.

Some footage that had been shot for these films but not included in the original releases was assembled for a 1992 home video and laser disc release called Elvis, The Lost Performances. Copies of the home video are still in circulation, but there was not a DVD release.

The following sections detail the continuing story and current status of DVD releases of the Elvis MGM concert film material.

Elvis, That's The Way It Is, Special Edition (2001)

The year 2000 marked the 30th anniversary of the MGM concert film Elvis, That's the Way It Is. Warner Brothers introduced an exciting, long-anticipated new edition of the film, entitled Elvis: That's the Way It Is - Special Edition. The film premiered on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel in 2001 in widescreen "letterbox" format and was released on Warner Home Video and DVD that same year. This version contains many of the performances you know and love, but around 40% of the content is previously unreleased material. Eliminated are the documentary-style interviews and other non-Elvis-himselvis material so prevalent in the original 1970 release. All of the footage and the sound are splendidly re-mastered. Even the performances you have already seen look and sound different due to the re-mastering and re-editing. Both the video and DVD include a "making of" section entitled Patch It Up that tells the fascinating inside story of the creation of the new program.

Due to music publishing clearance obstacles, budgetary decisions and whatever other complications, Warner Brothers chose to cancel the 60 minutes of additional footage planned and previously announced to the Elvis fan base for inclusion in the 2001 DVD release.

The goal of the excellent production team brought in for the new special edition was to put together, in their opinion, the best-paced, best-all-around show for the 94 minutes allotted for the version to be presented on home video and television. The choices regarding what to include in those 94 minutes were made with the expectation of putting any other great material into a collection of 60 additional minutes of footage that had been planned and announced as an extra feature for the DVD release. Otherwise, it’s highly unlikely that performances like Bridge Over Troubled Water and several others we all just LOVE, would have been left out of the 94 minutes. The edit had been finalized and was beyond the point of reworking it by the time the decision was made to cancel the additional footage component for the DVD.

Elvis: That's the Way It Is, Two-Disc Special Editon (2007)

In August 2007, Warner Brothers released a replacement for the 2001 special edition DVD. It is Elvis: That's The Way It Is, Two-Disc Special Edition . It contains the re-mastered/re-edited version of the film released in 2001, the complete original version of the 1970 film, and bonus features including some additional song performances.

Will there be more releases of footage from the production of this concert film? We hope so. At every opportunity, EPE continues to encourage Warner Brothers in that direction.

Elvis on Tour - As of August 2007

Elvis on Tour continues to be available on home video, no DVD release at present. Warner Brothers has indicated the intention of releasing Elvis on Tour on DVD sometime in the near future, but there is not a project officially on their publicly shared calendar at the moment.

As with the Elvis, That's the Way It Is footage, Warner Brothers has EPE's continuing encouragement to go forward with new Elvis on Tour releases and they know they will continue to have our full, enthusiastic cooperation and support.

Further Updates

Anytime Warner Brothers gives us any updates to share with the fans regarding new releases of material from Elvis's MGM concert films , we will post information in News on Elvis.com, revise this FAQ page, and include the information in mailings from our FREE e-newsletters service.

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