Elvis

Elvis (1979) is John Carpenter's biographical drama, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Kurt Russell plays Elvis Presley from a dirt-poor childhood in Tupelo to the shy kid who picked up a guitar and rewired American music.

The film follows Presley through his first Sun Records sessions, the uproar over his hips on national TV, the army years, Hollywood, and that comeback on a Las Vegas stage. Running underneath is the private cost: a suffocating bond with his mother Gladys, deep insecurity, the loneliness behind the screaming crowds. Shelley Winters plays Gladys; Season Hubley is Priscilla.

This was the first of many Russell–Carpenter team-ups, the partnership that would later give us Escape from New York and The Thing. Made for television barely two years after Presley died, it leans on performance rather than impersonation — Russell finds the man under the legend, while country singer Ronnie McDowell supplies the singing voice. Stream Elvis (1979) online on iFILM.