'Priscilla' Is a Stellar Look at Priscilla Presley's Relationship With Elvis (Movie and Blu-ray Review)

Sofia Coppola gives a glimpse inside Graceland.

By John Connor Coulston - March 2, 2024 09:37 pm EST

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The Priscilla Presley biopic Priscilla stirred up lots of conversation when it came to movie theaters in October. Now, the A24 film has dropped on physical and digital platforms via Lionsgate.

The film is based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon, with Presley also serving as an executive producer. The movie comes from Sofia Coppola the writer/director of many acclaimed movies, such as The Bling Ring, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides.

It's centered around Presley's teen years (when she met Elvis Presley) and her 20s when she started a family with the ill-fated rock icon.

Priscilla movie review

Priscilla is a stunning and intimate film. Cailee Spany's performance is masterful, truly disappearing into the role of the shy teen smitten with a rockstar who gradually grows into a confident, independent woman. Even though Spany was in her early 20s when it was made, she — with the assistance of top-notch costume, makeup and hair departments — passes as a teenager early on, coming out of her shell on-camera as Priscilla ages up in the movie. It's so easy for biopic performances to become caricatures, but Spany fully avoids that.

Another highlight performance is Jacob Elordi's turn as Elvis. He is the right Elvis for this movie; he's not the in-depth portrayal many saw with Austin Butler in 2022's Elvis, but he gets all the key aspects right. Elordi is able to show the extreme charms of the man, while also showing the darker, infuriating sides of him — especially as a husband.

Coppola's take on their relationship is fascinating. It's not heavy-handed and she doesn't just sloppily condemn the relationship of a 14-year-old girl and a 24-year-old rockstar. She shows how swept up Priscilla was by the situation and shows the dreamy moments that explain why she was so infatuated with the much older, unfaithful man. She allows the viewer to see and judge the clearly not-right decisions by Priscilla's family, Elvis and Elvis' friends/handlers for themselves. Then once Priscilla starts to wise up to the situation she's in, we see her loneliness, her hurt and her frustrations. It's a perfect example of "show, don't tell."

Priscilla Blu-ray review

Lionsgate (via Team Click) sent us a copy of the Blu-ray to review. Obviously, we're a fan of the film itself, so we think it's worth checking out on digital, at least. But is the Blu-ray combo pack worth the upgrade?

You get the Blu-ray version, the DVD version, and the digital version in the combo pack. We love this setup, as it offers high quality, but also gives you some leeway if you're traveling or just lazy and don't want to swap out a disc.

While there is no commentary track on the home release, we get something even better. The half-hour short documentary The Making of Priscilla: A Film by Liv McNeil is included with the release. While there's also a 10 -minute studio-backed featurette, "Brushed with Beauty: Creating Priscilla's Story," McNeil's piece is so much richer. The teen filmmaker shares intimate shots behind the scenes of the shoot, all while pulling out some great interviews with Coppola, Spany, Elordi and others. Everyone seems so much more relaxed and interested in speaking with McNeil than a standard PR doc team. This short is a fantastic accompaniment to Coppola's work.

And for the spec-heads out there:

Subtitles: Spanish, English SDH
Blu-ray Format: 16x9 (1.85), 1080P 23.98 High Definition
Blu-ray Audio: English 5.1 DTS HD-MA
DVD Format: 16x9 (1.85)
DVD Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital

How to order Priscilla written/directed by Sofia Coppola

(Photo: Lionsgate Home Entertainment / Barnes & Noble)

If this movie sounds like something you'd like to see or gift to a loved one, Barnes & Noble is offering Priscilla right now so the movie can be in your hands in just a few days. Or you can purchase/rent the digital version of Priscilla and watch it right now.

The movie is all about the real-life love story and eventual split between Priscilla Presley (née Beaulieu) and rock icon Elvis Presley. The cast includes Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen, Dagmara Domińczyk, Tim Post and Lynne Griffin. Sofia Coppola served as writer and director.

A24, the studio behind the film, calls Priscilla a "deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame."

Priscilla is available on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack or as a digital purchase.

Order 'Priscilla' at Barnes & Noble

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