Speedway

I saw "Speedway" on TV when I was about 10 years old, so I had only vague memories of the movie when a couple of months ago I read about it in the 2009 book  Elvis Presley in the Movies with DVD  by Timothy Knight. Since Knight made glowing comments about the film such as: "for Presley, 'Speedway' was the cinematic equivalent of a breath of fresh air; he comes across as energized and engaged by his role and seems to be enjoying himself immensely on-screen," I ordered the DVD from Amazon and eagerly watched it when it came in. I was pleasantly surprised, especially compared to his other late-60s movies, most of which are disappointing. "Speedway" has better than average music, a well-written and funny script, and a revitalized Elvis. Some reviewers on Amazon state that this is just another "formula" Elvis movie, but "Speedway" is a heck of a lot better than most of his musical comedies. For one thing, there's a decent story-line based on Elvis's character having financial problems, partly caused by his generosity in helping others. This generosity imparts a humane aspect to the film that elevates it, and it reflected Elvis's real life. Also, Elvis and love interest Nancy Sinatra have quite good chemistry together, although they don't light up the screen like Elvis and Ann-Margret did in "Viva Las Vegas." The good photography on the film is thanks to cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg, who had won 4 Best Cinematography Oscars and been nominated 6 more times. There are also other nice touches, such as Elvis only coming in THIRD place in the final car race!I mentioned that the music in "Speedway" is better than the average of Elvis's musical comedies, but just as important, it's staged a lot better too, including very good choreography for the songs sung in the groovy, late '60s looking Hangout club. Even the IRS-themed song, "He's Your Uncle, Not Your Dad," is a good tune that's given clever choreography in an IRS office, about which film historian Stuart Galbraith made the apt observation that it recalls "MGM's '50s musicals more than a late-'60s Elvis one." (That quote is from Knight's book.) Elvis's other late '60s films were not creative enough to come up with something like that. The other songs in the film are "Speedway," "Who Are You?", "Your Groovy Self" (sung by Nancy Sinatra), "There Ain't Nothing Like a Song," (duet with Elvis and Nancy Sinatra), "Let Yourself Go," and "Your Time Hasn't Come Yet, Baby." Those last 2 were flip sides of a 45 single released in 1968. (Some of this data is courtesy the book  Elvis: His Life from A to Z  by Fred L. Worth and Steve Tamerius.)I also much appreciated that the film has been remastered and restored, since it now looks wonderful in widescreen on the DVD (probably 1.85:1). The movie can be heard in either English or French, with optional subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bakasa Indonesian, and several Asian languages! The good sounding audio has no options, so I guess is not available in surround sound. The only bonus feature on the disc is 4 trailers from the Elvis movies "Speedway," "Double Trouble," "Spinout," and "The Trouble With Girls." Now, "Speedway" is not a great classic like "Casablanca" or "2001: A Space Odyssey," but if you like Elvis's musical comedies at all I think you'll enjoy "Speedway" as much as I do.

Bought for another person who really enjoys watching the dvd. He couldn't find it so I got it for him here on amazon then had it delivered to him at his address. 😃

If you are not sure if this is the right pairing, then watch the movie. You will be pleasantly surprised. These two heat up the screen and have a lot of fun with each other in the process. Bill Bixby and an adorable little girl steals the picture right away from Elvis and Nancy Sinatra. This picture is a joy to watch from beginning to end. I especially love when Elvis and Nancy when they are all dressed up in white. I love her white dress and how her hair is fixed in this particular scene sequence. And Elvis looks perfect in this white dinner jacket. A perfect match on screen. I just wished that they had more musical numbers together in this film. Enjoy and have fun watching. You will be entertained.

I had seen this as a kid and wanted to see it again. Still good.

It's one of my favorite movies to watch

It was really gracious of Nancy to throw a baby shower for Pricilla when she was expecting Lisa Marie. It was a good funny movie. He really needed to fire the "manager'.

I GREW UP LOVING ELVIS PRESLEY MOVIES AS A TEEN & ENJOYED WATCHING THEM AGAIN. LOVED ALL HIS SONGS STORY LINE WASN'T QUITE AS GREAT AS COULD HAVE BEEN BUT IT WAS THE 60S

I'm just and Elvis fan.

With an Elvis Presley movie there can be only one expectation. Hence only two stars. But then again I knew this when I bought it, as I am sure everybody who buys an EP Film does.

Great film and product. Good service and packaging. Only wished I spoke German as the cover is not in English. However, know the narrative of the film, so not an issue for me!

excellent

mum will love it.

very happy