8mm footage gets new life

When I first watched the DVD Tupelo's Own I was fascinated by the way silent footage of Elvis performing in Tupelo in 1956 had been synced together with a recording from the same show, making the whole thing come alive with sound! Now it seems we're about to experience another example of this technique.

This time around it's 8mm concert footage from 1974 that is getting similar treatment. The footage is included as extra material on the forthcoming Elvis, The Beauty Queen & Me, featuring Linda Thompson's friend Jeanne LeMay.

The editors of the DVD are promising lots of unseen footage in splendid quality, where the reels have been digitally transferred and restored, the speed corrected, the picture quality enhanced and the brightness and colour re-worked. Finally a soundboard recording has been added.

On Youtube there's an example of this 8mm restoration, done with footage from Kansas City, June 29, 1974 (lasting 13 minutes on the DVD):



Makes your mouth water, doesn't it? The only misgiving I have is that the footage, as opposed to what was used on Tupelo's Own, won't feature any music, as it's supposed to be a "100% legal DVD." If that's the case, then I guess our hope for a similar product that has Elvis not only talking, but also singing, is spelled F-T-D.