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ELVIS PRESLEY E O CINEMA MUSICAL DE HOLLYWOOD
BY - JORGE CARREGA
Through the many channels of the Internet world, Elvis 100% found out that still during the month of June 2009 a new book was going to be published in Portugal on Elvis's movie career! Its author, Jorge Carrega, defended a thesis for his master degree on this theme which resulted in this book. After directly contacting the author and several emails exchanged on this interesting project, Célia Carvalho (President of Elvis 100%) was invited by Jorge Carrega to read the book before its release with the express goal of giving her opinion, to be published on the back cover of the book. Needless to say that this was an invitation that very much honoured us, mainly for the trust involved.
In order for you to have a better idea on what you can find, here is a full transcription of the opinion given by Célia Carvalho that will be published on the back cover of the book: "The present work is completely inedit in Portugal and, I would dare to say, maybe in the whole world. It is an exempt and impartial approach to the movie career of Elvis Presley which, on itself, would already be a motive of interest to any unconditional fan of the King, but also to any person who is interested in cinema and culture in a general way. Up until now, we could only resort to written texts by movie critics of the time when the movies were out or, in the best of chances, to some quite punctual work done after the death of the singer/actor by some writer who felt interested on Elvis Presley. "What makes this work completely innovative is the correct and much needed reading of Elvis's movies in its historical, geographical and cultural context - which lead us to a better global interpretation regarding what was happening in the U.S.A and Europe of the Fifties, Sixties and even Seventies - as well as a post-modern framing, analysed by someone who is a knowledgeable person in cinema and which, without being exhaustive, presents very updated and interesting ideas on the theme. "While reading this book, I could not stop wondering how Elvis's movies will be seen in a hundred years from now and what value will be attributed to them, since due to the obvious evolution of cinema in general and of its critics, new perspectives and values keep on being given to the same works. Without a doubt Elvis Presley's movie career has bad movies, some not so good ones, but it also has some quite good movies which, incidently - or maybe not - are also the ones lesser known by the majority of the public. "I give my congratulations to Jorge Carrega for his work but, mainly, for his courage in developing it! I assure you good reading, informative and entertaining moments.
Célia Carvalho Additional information on the book (presently discontinued):
For better knowing the author and his work, as well as his opinion on Elvis, we recommend the reading of the interview to him by the Brazilian website Elvis Triunfal (this interview will be published in the next Elvis 100%'s magazine, July/August 2009). Interview with Jorge Carrega. Read a review/analysis of this book, by Francisco Pinto, member of Elvis 100%. |
