Elvis Presley's Lost Film Footage Was Hidden in 69 Boxes Until Baz Luhrmann's Discovery

But the big thing Elvis fans want to know about is the four-hour cut of Elvis, which he first told us about back in 2022. Lurman says he isn't interested in being the one to finish the longer cut, saying:

"I would hand it over. I'm not precious about things I've made. I don't touch it. You like to give it to younger people to work on. I'd be like Uncle Baz. I’d put someone on it who had my sensibility, because it's already rough cut, and I’d let them work on it, and then I'd come in and give notes."

Weintraub followed up by asking how fans could make this longer cut happen. Lurman told us:

Let me get audiences out to see EPiC, and if that goes well, then probably Warner's will come tapping on my door and go, “We better get the four-hour version going.”

So if you want to see the longer cut of Elvis, make sure to see EPiC in IMAX this week, or in your local theater when it’s released on February 27.

Check out Collider’s full interview with Luhrmann in the video belw, where the filmmaker explains the process of EPiC, from Warner Bros.’ underground film vaults in the Kansas salt mines to working in tandem with Jackson and IMAX to breathe new life into this chapter of Elvis Presley’s life. He also discusses how audiences can make it possible to retrieve and restore more footage from the Warner Bros. vaults, and the status of his next feature film, Jehanne d'Arc.

Baz Luhrmann Isn’t Doing the Director’s Cut of ‘Elvis’ – But It’s Not Off the Table

“I’d be like Uncle Baz.”

COLLIDER: I'm thrilled to be talking to you again. You're two for two on Elvis movies. They're both fantastic. So what's going to be the three for three? What's the next Elvis project after this?

BAZ LUHRMANN: Well, I don't know if I'm supposed to announce it, the cat's out of the bag, but there is an Elvis musical being done based on the first film. That's being worked on. But look, honestly, right now, my big focus is this. I've got the albums coming out on Friday, the double album from this film, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert. It was so hard to pull this all together, working with Peter Jackson to get the imagery at this quality in IMAX, and showing that Elvis can be in the theater and see him on the big screen, and getting the audience in, fans, but also new fans, and if that happens, then all this other footage we've got, maybe we can do more.

That leads me to my next question. When we spoke a while back for Elvis, you revealed to me that you had a much longer cut of the film. You were talking about how you did have a lot of other footage. Do you think there's any chance that you are going to go back in and do a longer cut and use the footage that you cut out and do a director's cut or an extended cut?

LUHRMANN: Yeah. I did a little experiment on Australia, where I did this other version called Faraway Downs, and I don't know if I would do it, but I might. But I realized that there is a world now where you make a film that's cinematic, but because it's streaming later, much later when time has passed, I think saying to someone, “Look, there's the four-hour rough.” Because it isn't just like you take it and you put it out. There's a year on turning that four hours into episodic versions, and it kind of plays as four hours. It's just very different. So, I would hand it over. I'm not precious about things I've made. I don't touch it. You like to give it to younger people to work on.

I'm wondering, if Warner Bros. said to you, “For HBO Max, we would love to release your longer cut of Elvis,” if you would have the ability to be like, “Yeah, you can go do it,” or if you'd be like, “Nah, I have to do this?”

LUHRMANN: I'd be like Uncle Baz. I’d put someone on it who had my sensibility, because it's already rough cut, and I’d let them work on it, and then I'd come in and give notes. Like the Moulin Rouge stage musical. I just went, “I can't be myself at 40,” so I gave it to Alex Timbers, and I would come in, I'd give notes. It's a bit like being a grandparent. “I love the child, but now I’ve got to go.” And what was great about that was he did things I wouldn't do, and I really love trusting other directors.

I would really appreciate it, as a fan of your Elvis film, if you would find someone so I can see all that other footage that you shot, and for all the Elvis fans.

LUHRMANN: That's a fair request. Let me get audiences out to see EPiC, and if that goes well, then probably Warners will come tapping on my door and go, “We better get the four-hour version going.”

Yes, please.

Their team went to great lengths, including working with the black market and gangsters, to retrieve it all.

So one of the things that I learned when researching to talk to you for your new film is that you said, “I had researchers go into Warner Bros.’ film vaults buried in the underground salt mines in Kansas, and to the astonishment of all, we uncovered 69 boxes, 59 hours of film negative, that hadn't been seen.”

LUHRMANN: Yes.

What the hell was that like, discovering all that footage and then realizing, “Wait, where's the sound?”

LUHRMANN: Well, it was a bit Raiders of the Lost Ark. I mean, I didn't think it existed. I thought we might use it in the film, knock on the door, and get pictures. “Oh my god.” They bring it all back to Warner's cutting lot. It smells like vinegar because it's falling apart, and some had been stolen, and boxes were mixed. So, first we just had to sort it out. Then we had to get some money together because it wasn't like anyone said, “Yeah, go make a concert film.” And then, we got a little bit of money. But then we found mag tape, and the good thing about sound is it's separate, so we kept that.

Then, on the black market, we had to go to gangsters and buy stuff on the black market — seriously — like in car parks, and some lovely collectors who were really very quiet and very private would help us. Then, eventually, we got it all synced up. Then we found this one amazing audiotape of just Elvis talking about his life, which you never hear, and that was the light bulb, which was, why don't we get out of the way and just let Elvis tell and sing his story to us? And that is the big breakthrough, and I think it’s why people are reacting to him, the human being, the man, more than the myth.

I've talked to you before about editing and how it's really where it all comes together, but what I'm so curious about with this project is that you have all this footage, but you really can't start editing it until you know exactly what you have.

LUHRMANN: Yes, exactly.

What is it actually like in the editing room on this one? Because the final film is, like, 95, 96 minutes. Again, like the Elvis movie you did for Warner Bros., did you have a much longer cut? How did you figure out what the cut was going to be?

LUHRMANN: Jonno [Redmond] and I, once we got this idea that it should be Elvis telling his story, we would take themes, and we only had him saying a few things, there and there, and then we’d make parts, like thematic beats. So, quite long, thematic beat, because we wanted it to be more like a poem. Also, we knew we couldn't just take what was on the stage sonically and put it into 5:1 — the voice, yes; the band, yes; some of the orchestrations, no, because they were just damaged.

Then, as we find more of him talking or find ways of sewing it together, we would then carve it down until it really felt organically like he was just telling his story, and the music was complementing that. It wasn't, “Now let's stop.” I mean, there are terrific songs in it, but you couldn't really stop, otherwise, because it's the 1970s and the tour, well, the film would be 12 hours long, and we couldn't afford to do that either. It's quite heavy financially to refurbish this kind of material and then put it in 5:1 to make it IMAX-ready.

So basically, there was a limitation with the budget, and you could only go so far.

LUHRMANN: I think if I'd said I wanted to make it a little bit longer, no problem, but you wouldn't want to just put it in because you had it. We were telling the story, his story.

Was AI Used for ‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’?

Luhrmann discusses working alongside IMAX and Peter Jackson to restore and remaster the lost footage.

I saw it in IMAX last night, and it is spectacular.

LUHRMANN: Oh, I'm so glad you saw it in IMAX.

It is fantastic. How did you decide when you wanted it to go full-frame IMAX? Because some of that stuff is like, oh my god.

LUHRMANN: Early. In fact, IMAX came to us. The CEO of IMAX, and John [Turner], and all the guys from IMAX said, “Look, this just sounds like it's right for us.” They did experiments. We got some footage, and they did some early experiments to see if the 16 would hold up, would the eight hold up. We came back, and we were astounded.

Then Peter Jackson got involved. I went down to New Zealand, and I love Peter and his team. They just give so much love and hand care to bringing it back. Some people are misinformed when they say, “Oh, it's AI or it’s visual effects.” There's not a frame of AI. It's just the quality of the neg and Peter's way of machining it back to giving you the best possible print and taking out aberrations and things like that.

It's so interesting with Peter Jackson because he literally saved all that Beatles stuff, and now he's saving Elvis.

LUHRMANN: Same thing. For sure. Thank goodness for Peter and his magic and his magicians. So hard working. And it's so amazing to see Elvis working on Beatles songs. The documentary Peter’s is called Get Back, and right in the middle of “Little Sister,” Elvis just slides into “Get Back.”

Yeah, that's actually some of my favorite stuff, seeing him sing other songs.

LUHRMANN: You don’t expect it.

100%.

Baz Luhrmann Is “Deep In It” With His Joan of Arc Film

“I shall be disappearing into medieval France.”

I'm a fan of your work, and I'm definitely curious what you're thinking about next in terms of a narrative.

LUHRMANN: I'm deep in this film on Joan of Arc.

I was going to ask you if that's definitely your next thing.

LUHRMANN: I'm deep in it. I have a wonderful young actor to play the role. Yeah, I'm deep in it. I've got to build the Loire Valley and the whole medieval world. That doesn't happen that quickly. I'm big on that. Right now, though, I just want to get as many people in to see this and see it on the big screen, to prove the validity of what we've done. So, that's a big part. And I've got a few other smaller things I need to do, but soon, I shall be disappearing into medieval France.

So, with the Kansas vault, when you found all that, for me, that is almost like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

LUHRMANN: It felt like that.

So I'm just curious, at any point, have you asked Warner Bros. or other people, like, “What the hell else do you have in this vault that maybe we need to save and look at?” Because it's possible that there are tons of other stuff in there.

LUHRMANN: I'm glad you bring it up. On the Elvis stuff, part of the thing this weekend, of it being in IMAX, and I say this to the EP-Core, that's the hardcore fans with their foot soldiers out there, you’ve got to get people to come out and see it in a theater, because as long as we do well enough, then we have the funds to make sure that they don't put it back in the vault.

Then, your question leads to… I think about it, too, because I wasn't physically there. They showed me pictures. But there's so much that MGM shot. I'm sure Gone With the Wind is looked after, but what about obscure films? And this is a thing of film preservation. We managed to scan all of the Elvis footage. All of it.

Listen, I think someone needs to go in there and start scanning.

LUHRMANN: Scan away! I'm with you.

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is now playing in IMAX for a one-week engagement and then in theaters on February 27.