I watched Elvis :The Searcher recently with friends and we all enjoyed it . As Russell G states, it concentrates on the most important aspects of Elvis's career . Highly recommended!
I haven't seen enough of Elvis' movies to agree that he is underrated, but I can say from what I know, he was vastly underused. He was offered a string of what-became highly successful and classic films all because Colonel Parker didn't want any other "names" competing with Elvis on the screen, or because the salary could not be reached. Of course, most of know he was wanted for WEST SIDE STORY and Streisand's remake of A STAR IS BORN. He was also slated for a 20th Century-Fox movie called THE WAY TO THE GOLD in 1957. Sheree North, a capable actress the studio was molding in the Monroe fashion, agreed to the film only after she learned Elvis would be her co-star. Once the agreement between Fox and Parker fell through, North wanted to back out, but the studio wouldn't let her, and she later recollected her frequent quarrels with Presley's replacement---Jeffrey Hunter.
After he returned from his tenure in the service, Elvis had intentions on sidelining his music career and focusing on a more dramatically inclined career in the movies. After G.I. BLUES (1960), he made two dramas for Fox: FLAMING STAR (1960) and WILD IN THE COUNTRY (1961). Both receives favorable reviews and enjoyed reasonable box office success, but following the hit that was BLUE HAWAII (1961), the Colonel convinced the King to stick to the formula of bright, modestly budgeted musical comedies that would be a staple for the "actor" over the next decade. So familiar was the type of films Elvis made that the genre was nicknamed "the Elvis formula". All of these films were popular, but almost all of them were critically derived. Aside from VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964), and perhaps a few others, none of these films are particularly noteworthy. I would probably that the majority of them are remembered today for being "Elvis movies" instead of genuine "classics".
It is a common theory that Elvis' pre-service acting career showed considerable promise. There were even talks among the press that he perhaps had a glowing future ahead of him, and some of them he predicted he would be a successor to James Dean. Of course, we know that never happened. Could it have happened? Well, no one knows for sure because the King was never given the proper material to prove it right or wrong. He excelled in the cheesy, flashy, and bright musical romantic comedies and there was no turning back when Colonel Parker saw those dollar signs.
Yes! I haven't seen all of it, but what I have been able to see was beyond good.
