<p id=”par-1_68″>In 1972, Bob Abel and Pierre Adige began following <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/elvis-presley/?swcfpc=1″>Elvis Presley</a> on tour. The pair had recently released a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/movies/”>film</a> following Joe Cocker on tour, and Elvis was their next subject. Abel was a bit wary about filming Elvis after seeing him put on a lackluster performance in Las Vegas, but he quickly grew to like the singer. He said there was much to admire about Elvis, but he also noted a peculiar hollowness to him.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-director-of-nbsp-elvis-on-tour-nbsp-noticed-a-sadness-to-the-nbsp-singer”>The director of ‘Elvis on Tour’ noticed a sadness to the singer</h2>
<p id=”par-2_20″>When Abel met the singer, he informed him that he wanted to do his best to portray the real Elvis. This required cooperation on Elvis’ part.</p>
<p id=”par-3_46″>“I want to shoot the real you but the trade off is, you’ve got to be <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/reporter-warned-push-luck-elvis-asking-innocent-question.html/”>open with me</a>,” Abel said, per the book <em><a href=”https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/careless-love-peter-guralnick/1101355819″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley</a></em> by Peter Guralnick. “If I feel that you’re posing or doing something, I’ll just turn the camera off. And then MGM will just be out a lot of money.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_20″>Elvis appreciated Abel’s honesty and opened up to him as best he could. Because of this, Abel came to understand him well.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” width=”1200″ height=”1117″ src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?strip=all&quality=89″ alt=”A black and white picture of Elvis standing with his hands on his hips.” class=”wp-image-3659079″ srcset=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg 1200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=537&h=500 537w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=1024&h=953 1024w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=768&h=715 768w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=376&h=350 376w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=182&h=169 182w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=200&h=186 200w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=545&h=507 545w, https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Elvis-film.jpg?w=64&h=60 64w” sizes=”(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px”><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Elvis Presley | Earl leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-5_24″>“He had incredible native intelligence, and the ability to read a human being, to watch someone’s eyes and look inside their soul,” Abel said. “He was very good with me.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_14″>Abel believed Elvis presented many different sides to himself, including a private, sad one.</p>
<p id=”par-7_106″>“I think there was a part of him that felt hollow, that he was a nobody, there were parts of him that he could not explore,” Abel said. “I went into the rehearsals in a parochial sense, trying to get to know him, and the gospel part of it was a real insight. But I realized [after a while] with all of the musicians and bodyguards and sycophants around, that these guys had been around for seventeen years now telling the same stories and jokes, and what kind of a life is this? And do I film it? And if I film it, do I show it more than once to make a point?”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-the-director-of-nbsp-elvis-on-tour-nbsp-had-colonel-tom-nbsp-parker-s-nbsp-express-nbsp-approval”>The director of ‘Elvis on Tour’ had Colonel Tom Parker’s express approval</h2>
<p id=”par-8_38″>Abel felt he had captured a melancholy side to Elvis’ life. Still, the documentary had the approval of <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/colonel-tom-parker-want-elvis-sing-army.html/”>Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker</a>. Initially, Parker appeared wary of the filmmakers’ youth, but he quickly grew to appreciate them when they showed him their work-in-progress.</p>
<p id=”par-9_27″>“[After this] he pretty much gave us carte blanche, he said we had his blessings,” Abel said. “I said we needed more access, and he said if we delivered, he’d deliver.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_22″>Still, he gave them a warning, saying that if they tried to betray Elvis in any way, they’d be “up to [their] ears in elephant s***.” </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-abel-shared-one-of-his-favorite-scenes-in-the-nbsp-film”>Abel shared one of his favorite scenes in the film</h2>
<p id=”par-11_46″>Of all the footage Abel and Adige captured, the former thought the defining scene came <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/elvis-fans-left-1-disastrous-concert-shaking-heads-speculating-wrong.html/”>after a concert</a>. Elvis sits in the back of a limousine with a towel over his head, reflecting on the show and harmonizing to “For the Good Times” with members of his entourage. </p>
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<iframe title=”Can’t Help Falling In Love (Live at Hampton Roads Coliseum – Official Audio)” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/-kCyAlJNHU0?list=PLsjnHfb07M8asMRyicZ6_UvaOIVwFgsWP” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-12_23″>They also captured him gazing out the window in reflection. Abel viewed this as a “small, private” moment for Elvis that captured his spirit well.</p>