Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii (Deluxe Edition DVD)

Far superior to any previous home-video version, the huge deluxe edition of Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii captures over four hours of footage from the King's historic televised concert from January 1973. The main concert is presented in its entirety for the first time since its original worldwide satellite telecast, and reedited to remove the now-dated split-screen "montage" look. But that's not all--as a prelude to the concert, the first disc includes 17 uncut minutes of the "Elvis arrives" footage (only 2 minutes of which appears in the concert film) followed by the complete rehearsal concert that took place two days before the telecast. This rehearsal, which was released separately on video as The Alternate Aloha Concert, is rougher than the official show, but more relaxed and often more satisfying musically.

Leading off disc 2 is footage of five songs ("Blue Hawaii," "Ku-U-I-Po," "No More," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," and "Early Morning Rain"), including multiple takes, recorded after the performance, four of which ("No More" was the exception) were incorporated into the American television special that was shown a few months after the live telecast. Those four songs are not included in the uncut version of the concert on disc 1, but the original version of the American television special is also on disc 2 so you can watch the concert the way you've always watched it for the sake of nostalgia, or you can compare it to all the other pieces you've seen and decide which you like better. Either way, Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii is an embarrassment of riches that's rivaled only by its companion release, the three-disc deluxe edition of Elvis's '68 Comeback Special. --David Horiuchi