Altered by Elvis

Elvis Presley is the number-one earning dead celebrity (with an estate that takes in about $40 million annually) thanks to obsessive folks like the interviewees in Altered by Elvis—mostly Memphis denizens, who have been touched by the King. The woman who left Madison, WI just to live near Elvis' remains (in an abode full of cabinets crammed with memorabilia) has a lot in common with “the King of Elvis Fans,” who we see constructing the set to Jailhouse Rock in the backyard of his bright pink house—labeled “Graceland, Too” by those who have taken the hours-long tour of his Elvis collection. Other memorable Elvis devotees here include Presley's hairstylist, first girlfriend, and various impersonators. Filmmakers Jayce Bartok and Tiffany Bartok's Altered by Elvis is compulsively watchable, despite its low-budget digital look and generic rock music. A big hit at the 2006 Memphis International Film Festival, while also winning kudos from figures as diverse as indie filmmaker Richard Linklater and comic Eric Bogosian, this solid slice of Americana is recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Jacobson)