New Elvis Presley documentary coming to Netflix: What we know about ‘Return of the King\

“I’ve been fascinated with that guy my whole life because I know there’s a human being underneath that two-dimensional facade we see culturally,” said Hehir, on the NPR podcast, “Attribution.” “It’s always been an interest of mine.”

Presumably, Hehir’s enthusiasm is the justification for this return visit to an oft-pumped well. In recent years, Elvis’ 1968 comeback special — which marked the singer’s return to music and concert performance, at a time of historic cultural and political upheaval — has been one of the most atomized, analyzed, reconstructed and deconstructed events in popular music history.

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Just last year, a new feature documentary, “Reinventing Elvis: The ’68 Comeback,” received a theatrical release; and the drama surrounding the production of the NBC special inspired a crucial and lengthy section of Luhrmann’s biopic. Meanwhile, reconfigured reissues of the special, its outtakes and its soundtrack have appeared with some regularity since 1985, when HBO debuted “Elvis: One Night with You,” which focused on the show’s loose and intimate “in-the-round” segment, when Elvis reasserted his rockabilly rebel status by performing in a now famous black leather suit.