Change of Habit
(By
(By
As shocked as I was to realize it when I first popped this disc into my player, it dawned on me that I've never, ever seen an Elvis movie. Sure, I've seen clips and heard a tune or two (legend has it he had a few hit records in his day), but somehow I've missed the entire cinematic canon of Elvis Presley, master thespian. Admittedly, I plopped down on the couch ready to laugh; I had no idea if Change of Habit was considered a classic or not in the Elvis camp-ography, but figured it just had to be bad. So I was as shocked as anyone to discover that after 93 minutes of pure delight, I not only highly enjoyed this musical farce, but came away as something of a fan.
Had I not actually seen the movie with my own two eyes, I never would have believed the following plot synopsis. Sister Michelle Gallagher (Mary Tyler Moore!) and fellow penguins Sister Irene (Barbara McNair ) and Sister Barbara (Jane Elliot) are on a mission from God: Go undercover as common folk in the inner city, and spread the Good Lord's word to the growing ranks of non-believers. Posing as nurses, they end up at the sin-infested doctor's office of one John Carpenter (Elvis Presley), the world's only singing M.D. Although their visit is initially sanctioned by the church, the influence of the "real world" soon prays on the weaknesses of the sisters, with Moore falling in Love with Presley, Elliot staging a "sit-in" at the local supermarket, and McNair even borrowing money from the local bookie! The church soon demands they have a "change of habit," and the moral quagmire gets real messy. But all that's needed to save the day is a little prayer, the Lord's good graces, and - of course! - an Elvis song or two.
Originally released in 1969, Change of Habit is one of those odd films that falls somewhere between the innocent pop aesthetics of the 60's and the more politically-minded, social issue seriousness of the 70's. If it wasn't for the presence of Presley and Moore, this would likely be considered "progressive" - the film tackles gangs, drugs, prostitution, gambling, violence, patriarchy, even autism! It's hardly serious fare, but does challenge the outmoded notions of the Catholic Church with surprising ferocity. The goofy musical numbers are ludicrous in the context of the film, but somehow still work, perhaps because they are so charming? And I was expecting the worst from Presley - granted he's not a brilliant actor - but he knows his range and has great charisma, while Moore shows the same impeccable comedic timing she would display years later in her massively successful sitcom. Change of Habit isn't a classic, but I sure got suckered in by its charms. Who knew?
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Presented in a nice new 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, this is a spiffy little remaster courtesy of Universal Studios Home Video. The print is in surprisingly good shape, with a few patches of dirt and print damage here and there, but generally it's sharp and clean. Colors are nicely saturated, although a bit bland for a film shot in Technicolor, and this certainly isn't up to the standards of the better Technicolor remasters I've seen on DVD lately. But blacks are nice and solid with little fading, and contrast is pretty dang good, too. Detail is impressive with even shadow delineation in the nighttime sequences robust, while compression artifacts and edge enhancement are minimal. Overall, this is a very sharp new remaster and quite a surprise.
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
Presented in English Dolby 1.0 mono only, this soundtrack is merely adequate but perfectly fine considering the material. Dynamic range is limited as one would expect for a film over 30 years old, and some of the poor dialogue recording means you should have the subtitle button handy. The music comes across just fine, with a lively and natural sound that's just peachy. No great shakes, despite the presence of Presley's swingin' hips. Also included are English Captions and French and Spanish subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Nothing exceptional here, just the film's highly amusing theatrical trailer in anamorphic widescreen and mono, some onscreen production notes, and fairly detailed filmographies for the main cast and crew.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
An cute and charming little Elvis flick, fans of The King
will want to snap this one right up, while all others should give it a rent one
night for some retro fun. A nice disc that's low on extras, but delivers with
the spiffy transfer. Worth a look.
You can 
this DVD on-line
for only $18.74