Elvis: Flaming Star Blu-ray (Region Free) (Elvis Presley)

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Flaming Star is one of Elvis Presley's best films and in it he proved he could ACT! It looks simply stunning on bluray and well worth the upgrade. The print of this movie looks clean and damage free. Color and definition are also wonderful. Being that this is one of Elvis' best movies, I have to give it 5 stars. A good buy for Elvis fans. It is far better than the previous DVD version.

Review

This spiffy new Flaming Star Blu-ray, which boasts an excellent transfer. Director Don Siegel tackled this Western several years after gritty '50s classics like 'Riot in Cell Block 11' (1954) and 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' (1956), but this was more than a decade before his iconic 'Dirty Harry'. Make no mistake, this is no Elvis Presley musical lark; The King meant business with this one. He knocks out a novelty tune early on, presumably to satisfy those who simply couldn't bear the thought of a Presley movie without tunes, but otherwise he is here to act.

The story centers of Presley's Pacer Burton, a settler of mixed ancestry living with his family. His dad Clint (Steve Forrest) is a white man, while his mom Neddy (Dolores del Rio) is Native American - Kiowa specifically. This catches Pacer between two cultures, frowned upon by many whites in his Texas town. Things heat up when Kiowa chief Buffalo Horn (Rodolfo Acosta) pays the Burton family a visit. Violence erupts between the white, Native, and mixed regional inhabitants. Clair Huffaker adapted his own 1958 novel, Flaming Lance, with co-screenwriter Nunnally Johnson. Though plagued by an overall sense of nagging blandness, Siegel treats the material with thoughtful respect. He also wrangles a solid, if ultimately unremarkable, performance out of Presley.

Rather interestingly, Flaming Star doesn't really announce the mixed marriage of Ma and Pa Burton or the mixed race status of Pacer in any declarative fashion, at least in the early going. Instead, Pacer and his half-brother Clint (Steve Forrest) return to the Burton ranch one night, concerned that no lights are in in the farmhouse. That turns out because a surprise party is in the offing, allowing Elvis to sing a silly little quasi-folktune ditty, the only sung moment in the film other than the under credits title song. Everything just seems to be a normal family gathering on the Texas prairie.

The late Charles G. Clarke's earthy, dusty cinematography looks absolutely fine on this Flaming Star Blu-ray.

Video Quality 4/5

Playback

  • Region ALL Regions (No coding)

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Buy Elvis Sings Flaming Star FTD CD

Elvis Presleys Movies Flaming Star
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Recorded at:
20th Century Fox Studios, Beverley Hills, California. August 1960

Musicians:
Elvis Presley (vocals), Howard Roberts, Tiny Timbrell (guitars), Myer Rubin (bass), Bernie Mattinson (drums), Dudley Brookes (piano), Jimmie Haskell (accordian), the Jordanaires (vocals).

Directed Don Siegel
Writing Credits Clair Huffaker, Nunnally Johnson

Cast Overview

Elvis Presley .... Pacer Burton, Steve Forrest .... Clint Burton, Barbara Eden .... Roslyn Pierce, Dolores del Rio .... Neddy Burton, John McIntire .... Sam Burton, Rodolfo Acosta .... Buffalo Horn, Karl Swenson .... Dred Pierce, Ford Rainey .... Doc Phillips, Richard Jaeckel .... Angus Pierce, Anne Benton .... Dorothy Howard, L.Q. Jones .... Tom Howard, Douglas Dick .... Will Howard, Tom Reese .... Jute, Marian Goldina .... Ph'sha Knay, rest of cast listed alphabetically, Henry Armago .... Brave.

Flaming Star Blu-ray

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