Elvis Presley - He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of (2000) (2 Disc Set)

Interesting on Elvis's Link to Gospel Mu

By Bill  Aug 17, 2002 | 1 out of 1 found this Elvis Presley - He Touched Me: The Gospel Music of (2000) review helpful

If there's another documentary about the gospel music of Elvis Presley, I haven't seen it. That alone makes this one valuable, and fortunately it's quite well-made. The highlight is the chance to hear those who knew Elvis, mainly members of gospel groups such as the Jordanaires and The Sweet Inspirations who sang with him, talk about his gospel singing and his religious beliefs. I do wish there were more music run here. Video and audio of many of Elvis's gospel recordings are included, but are often not run in their entirety. Admittedly, there were probably few video recordings made of him singing gospel, as most were made for audio-only release, so of the roughly 13 video songs here, why edit some for a 3-hour program? It would have helped too to run at least a few of the best audio ones unedited, but segments of them are nicely interspersed throughout the film. This is a 2-DVD set, with the first being the stronger of the two in focusing on the music itself. Disc two includes many personal stories about Elvis, which are interesting but less pertinent, and are unbalanced in presenting only anecdotes favorable to Elvis. However, it is refreshing to see a program that presents Elvis as the serious and intelligent person he essentially was, since so many people view him as silly and shallow. The many bad films he made probably created this false image. So, after watching this documentary, you'll need the albums HIS HAND IN MINE, ELVIS' CHRISTMAS ALBUM, HOW GREAT THOU ART, and HE TOUCHED ME to get most of his great religious recordings.