The New Gladiators (film)

The New Gladiators is a documentary movie by Elvis Presley and Ed Parker centered on the fights of the United States Karate team in London, England and Brussels, Belgium.[1] Narrated by Chuck Sullivan, it was filmed between 1973 and 1974 but finally remastered and later released in 2002. The movie was financed by American singer and actor Elvis Presley, who began to practice karate during his duty years in the United States Army.

The New Gladiators
Elvis Presley's The New Gladiators poster.
Directed byBob Hammer
Produced byDon Warrener, Isaac Florentine
Written byElvis Presley, Ed Parker
StarringEmil Farkas, Darnel Garcia, Roy Kurban, Ron Marchini and Benny Urquidez
Narrated byChuck Sullivan
Music byDavid Crosby, Graham Nash
CinematographyAllen Daviau, John Hora
Edited byIsaac Florentine, Don Warrener
Distributed byRising Sun Productions
Release date
  • 2002 (2002)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Production

In 1974, George Waite presented the idea of the film to Ed Parker, Presley's karate instructor. In the film, Presley was playing the main role, introducing Karate arts divided in narration and demonstrations. Parker presented the idea to Presley, who subsequently liked the idea.[2] There was a meeting organized at Graceland, but no major details were arranged because Presley had to leave for travel to Las Vegas to perform on a show. The next morning Presley called Waite and sent his private plane to fly Waite and his wife to Vegas to complete the meeting. During the show, Presley extended a $50,000 check for beginning the production of the film. In 1977, after Presley's death, the movie was stored in a garage in West Hollywood inside the bed of a truck, along with other memorabilia objects. In 2001, the footage was found, restored, and later released on August 17, 2002. On August 16, 2009, Elvis Presley Enterprises released a new version of the film with extra footage of Presley in Karate training sessions.[3]

Sources
  1. King, Susan (2002-11-17). "When Elvis bowed to karate's kings; A Presley-backed documentary on the sport is finally out — minus footage of the black-belt singer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
  2. "New Gladiators to be Released on DVD". Elvis.com.au. August 20, 2003. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
  3. "The New Gladiators: The Elvis Presley Gladiators Movie". Retrieved November 1, 2010.

See also
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