Has anybody bought that Gladiators DVD?

a lot of interesting opinions and posts in this thread. speaking from my view of the world, this is one of the better:

Elvis was mentally and mortally wounded when he lost his wife to Mike Stone. Our beloved man-child was not equipped to deal with this very rare and severe blow to his ego. ...[etc.]

sounds like a plausible analysis to me.
compliments, elvisjock!

a lot of interesting opinions and posts in this thread. speaking from my view of the world, this is one of the better:

Elvis was mentally and mortally wounded when he lost his wife to Mike Stone. Our beloved man-child was not equipped to deal with this very rare and severe blow to his ego. ...[etc.]

sounds like a plausible analysis to me.
compliments, elvisjock!

It's plausible and ..... totally Off-Topic!

a lot of interesting opinions and posts in this thread. speaking from my view of the world, this is one of the better:

Elvis was mentally and mortally wounded when he lost his wife to Mike Stone. Our beloved man-child was not equipped to deal with this very rare and severe blow to his ego. ...[etc.]

sounds like a plausible analysis to me.
compliments, elvisjock!

It's plausible and ..... totally Off-Topic!

*singing* lead him, guide him, along the way, foor if you lead him, elvisjock cahan not stray; dick, just open his ahaheyes that he mahay see, lead him, oh dick, won´t you leaheahead him ... *slow piano outro*

Last edited by Christopher on Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

a lot of interesting opinions and posts in this thread. speaking from my view of the world, this is one of the better:

Elvis was mentally and mortally wounded when he lost his wife to Mike Stone. Our beloved man-child was not equipped to deal with this very rare and severe blow to his ego. ...[etc.]

sounds like a plausible analysis to me.
compliments, elvisjock!

It's plausible and ..... totally Off-Topic!

*singing* lead him, guide him, along the way, foor if you lead him, elvisjock cahan not stray; dick, just open his ahaheyes that he mahay see, lead him, oh dick, want you leaheahead him ... *slow piano outro*

Menno couldn't do it any better.

a lot of interesting opinions and posts in this thread. speaking from my view of the world, this is one of the better:

Elvis was mentally and mortally wounded when he lost his wife to Mike Stone. Our beloved man-child was not equipped to deal with this very rare and severe blow to his ego. ...[etc.]

sounds like a plausible analysis to me.
compliments, elvisjock!

It's plausible and ..... totally Off-Topic!

*singing* lead him, guide him, along the way, foor if you lead him, elvisjock cahan not stray; dick, just open his ahaheyes that he mahay see, lead him, oh dick, want you leaheahead him ... *slow piano outro*

Menno couldn't do it any better.

thankuverymuch!

Elvis was a real 2. Dan Black Belt - and he got higher ranks, given by his teachers and I think they know why.
I agree that maybe higher ranks up to 4. dan was given by honorary.

What I have seen in the footage is mostly selfdefense-technics from diferrent Karate-styles.

Sequenz Wallace and Red West - Bill use a lot of his famous foot-technics like Mawashi-Geri, Yoko-Geri and Ura-Mawashi-Geri.

Sequenz Elvis and Red West/Big John - Elvis is using his Chi-Power, also well-known by the Shaolin Monks.

Sequenz Elvis and Rick Stanley - Elvis use mostly finger-technics like Empi-uchi, Urakin, Yoko-Geri, Age-Uke, Nukite = 2-finger-technics to face and eyes and Tettsui = closed fist to throat and belly.

Sequenz Big John and small guy in black Gi-jacket - mostly used Shotokan-Style kicks and blocks like Yoko-Geri, Kisami-Zuki, Shoto-Uki, Gyaku-Zuki, Oi-Zuki and Mae-Geri.
No real fight-technics but explanation and demonstration of selfdefense technics - that's was the footage is.

btw: Carman never said in the footage that Elvis was the greatest fighter like someone here in the topic stated. He said: Elvis was the greatest promoter for Marterials Arts and: Wallace was in this time the greatest fighter.
I can't see any insult for the world of Marterial Arts in his statement,

Why some people think that Elvis was drugged?? They believe really that somebody who is drugged could be so fast with his hands like Elvis? You can see 2 or 3 times how fast he was. Or he could use his Chi-power? No. But what is real - he had a few pound too much around his waist.
Why it's so hard to believe and to respect that he was real good in Karate, using elements of different Karate-styles. Where is the problem??

I watched the Gladiators DVD last night. It's been some time since I last saw the footage, and it is certainly nice to have it in top quality.

Hebler, West, Rhee, Wallace and the other "Gladiators" look every bit the expert. Their movements are fast, fluid and sharp. Elvis, on the other hand, looks as though he's deliberately trying to be the coolest guy in the room. His demonstrations are clumsy, to say the least. He does a good deal of posing.

The knowledge that the footage was shot between the Vegas closing and the disasterous fall tour certainly caused me to view the film skeptically. He, at times, comes off like an arrogant showoff, just like he did onstage on Closing Night, and in College Park a few weeks later. He wasn't himself.

Maybe he watched the footage and was disappointed. Perhaps that led to the disintegration of the project by year-end. (That, coupled with his shockingly distended abdomen that seemed to come out of nowhere that September.) Somehow, I doubt it. His grasp of reality wasn't too tight at the time.

And, regarding the sound, I don't recall seeing any boom mikes set up (I only watched it once and perhaps didn't notice it). Were they planning on dubbing in dialogue later? I don't know enough about the filmmaking process to give an informed opinion. As a layman, my first thought was that he must have been pissed to discover that his lectures and demonstrations were not properly recorded.

The footage seen in This Is Elvis featured dubbed audio.

Elvis was a real 2. Dan Black Belt - and he got higher ranks, given by his teachers and I think they know why.
I agree that maybe higher ranks up to 4. dan was given by honorary.

What I have seen in the footage is mostly selfdefense-technics from diferrent Karate-styles.

Sequenz Wallace and Red West - Bill use a lot of his famous foot-technics like Mawashi-Geri, Yoko-Geri and Ura-Mawashi-Geri.

Sequenz Elvis and Red West/Big John - Elvis is using his Chi-Power, also well-known by the Shaolin Monks.

Sequenz Elvis and Rick Stanley - Elvis use mostly finger-technics like Empi-uchi, Urakin, Yoko-Geri, Age-Uke, Nukite = 2-finger-technics to face and eyes and Tettsui = closed fist to throat and belly.

Sequenz Big John and small guy in black Gi-jacket - mostly used Shotokan-Style kicks and blocks like Yoko-Geri, Kisami-Zuki, Shoto-Uki, Gyaku-Zuki, Oi-Zuki and Mae-Geri.
No real fight-technics but explanation and demonstration of selfdefense technics - that's was the footage is.

btw: Carman never said in the footage that Elvis was the greatest fighter like someone here in the topic stated. He said: Elvis was the greatest promoter for Marterials Arts and: Wallace was in this time the greatest fighter.
I can't see any insult for the world of Marterial Arts in his statement,

Why some people think that Elvis was drugged?? They believe really that somebody who is drugged could be so fast with his hands like Elvis? You can see 2 or 3 times how fast he was. Or he could use his Chi-power? No. But what is real - he had a few pound too much around his waist.
Why it's so hard to believe and to respect that he was real good in Karate, using elements of different Karate-styles. Where is the problem??

I watched the Gladiators DVD last night. It's been some time since I last saw the footage, and it is certainly nice to have it in top quality.

Hebler, West, Rhee, Wallace and the other "Gladiators" look every bit the expert. Their movements are fast, fluid and sharp. Elvis, on the other hand, looks as though he's deliberately trying to be the coolest guy in the room. His demonstrations are clumsy, to say the least. He does a good deal of posing.

The knowledge that the footage was shot between the Vegas closing and the disasterous fall tour certainly caused me to view the film skeptically. He, at times, comes off like an arrogant showoff, just like he did onstage on Closing Night, and in College Park a few weeks later. He wasn't himself.

Maybe he watched the footage and was disappointed. Perhaps that led to the disintegration of the project by year-end. (That, coupled with his shockingly distended abdomen that seemed to come out of nowhere that September.) Somehow, I doubt it. His grasp of reality wasn't too tight at the time.

And, regarding the sound, I don't recall seeing any boom mikes set up (I only watched it once and perhaps didn't notice it). Were they planning on dubbing in dialogue later? I don't know enough about the filmmaking process to give an informed opinion. As a layman, my first thought was that he must have been pissed to discover that his lectures and demonstrations were not properly recorded.

The footage seen in This Is Elvis featured dubbed audio.

The bolded portions are a stark reminder of where Elvis was and where he was heading during that troublesome fall of 1974. Regarding why the project fell apart - well, it wasn't as if it was organized from the start. It was a vanity project built around loose ideas designed to meet some grand vision. Elvis had no professional direction or financing for the project. His manager bailed on him offering no assistance on any level and wanted no part of it. There is only so far this film/documentary could go with so much disorganization and elements going against Elvis and the project.

No project can be brought to a fruitful conclusion when one doesn't have a clear head. Elvis in the fall of '74 was heavily under the influence, perhaps the most obvious towards the audience, in terms of his attitude and demeanor, than at any other time during his career. In a way, the "strung out" gossip that plagued Elvis so much and that led to his on stage anger had a core of truth to it, sadly enough. Elvis didn't see it that way, because he surrounded himself with doctors and that legitimized it for him.

No good could have come out of this under these circumstances and by that time, despite the Elvis phenomenon and his grandiose ambition. If he should have done it a few years earlier, clear headed and fit, who knows?

I'm a 2nd Dan in Tang So Do. Ive seen the video and it does'nt give enough martial arts footage to show Elvis's talent. After practicing martial arts since his army years with world class instructors i would expect Elvis was very very good!!!

he looks dog rough in this.....

cool to go to inside the building and see where he was though.....and walk up the same stairs

Bought it, sold it. Quality is bad and it is boring. Something I would not watch more than once. Plus, Elvis looked stoned