Because of the severity of Elvis' health problems at the time the special was shot, Elvis was far from his best in the way he looked and the way he performed, though there are some truly brilliant moments in the footage. The true fans look at this through the eyes of love, respect and understanding, and see the great historical value - as do all the members of our staff. But, this not so with much of the general public and the media. It's not that we don't want the fans to have this footage or that we don't know how much it would mean to them. We do. There just simply is no way to get it only to the real fans (and we've exhausted all kinds of ideas) without also having Elvis served up to the general public and press for ridicule. They already emphasize and exaggerate the tragedy and sadness of the last years of his life too much. Right now, the emphasis for us is to remind them of all that came before.
We receive many calls, letters and E-mails from fans pushing for us to release this footage on home video. There is not a single argument in favor of our releasing it that has come from fans that hasn't come up amongst our management team. We talk about it at length periodically. Up to now, some members of the management team who decide these things have not become comfortable with releasing it. Perhaps that could change someday. For now, our position remains as explained herein. 'Not now' does not necessarily mean 'not ever'. We'll see. In the meantime, we truly understand, respect and appreciate and share on so many levels the feelings of those fans who want the 1977 material released.
In the meantime, we continue to use clips from the 1977 special as appropriate for historical context and completeness in documentary projects and exhibits.
- Elvis In Concert CD
- Elvis In Concert DVD - 1977 CBS TV Special
- Elvis In Concert DVD (The Final Days)