MIXED MEDIA : Elvis’ Greatest...

The remarkable thing about these two 50-odd minute packages is how, from a merchandising standpoint, they overnight become the most comprehensive and appealing Presley videos--without rendering any less essential the best of the earlier Presley home collections.

Drawing largely on highlights of such films or laser and videocassette productions as “Loving You,” “Elvis ‘56” and “Elvis: His 1968 Comeback Special,” these new volumes serve as the visual equivalent of a traditional greatest-hits album. If you like a particular sequence, you’ll find more of the same elsewhere.

Rather than simply bring together Presley’s most memorable performances from various films and TV shows, however, the volumes attempt to tell the story of Elvis. And that story--at least on the sketchy level offered here--is far too familiar to warrant another airing unless these discs are being packaged for some remote part of the world where the Presley story isn’t already part of folklore.

In addition to eliminating some of the narrative to provide more performance footage, the volumes could have been strengthened by being organized more chronologically. As it is, Vol. 1 follows Presley’s career from the Dorsey Brothers TV days in 1956 through the Hollywood years and into the ‘70s. Vol. 2 then repeats the timetable, simply offering different scenes from many of the same shows.

If “Great Performances” doesn’t live up fully to the promise of the series’ title, the two volumes remain a frequently breathtaking portrait of Presley’s charisma and talent--highlighted by some classic moments not previously available. Most notable is Elvis’ first screen test (he lip-syncs “Blue Suede Shoes” and looks every bit a young superstar).

There is continuing debate about whether Presley was truly rock’s most significant talent or just someone who was in the right place at the right time. These volumes, which are also available on videocassette for $19.99, make an impressive case for Elvis as a man of extraordinary vision and musical instinct.