February 10 - God's Legacy Is Bigger Than Elvis

This year's nominees deal with the Civil Rights movement, the war in Iraq, the tsunami in Japan and a wave of disfiguring attacks on Pakistani women. The fifth breaks the mold; it’s about an actress who made Elvis movies and then became a nun.

It turns out that "God is the Bigger Elvis" is about an Academy member: Dolores Hart, an actress from the 1950s and '60s who starred in 10 movies, including Elvis Presley's "Loving You" and "King Creole," before leaving Hollywood to become a nun. She now lives in a Benedictine community in Connecticut, where the filmmakers speak to her about her decision to leave behind a promising career for the cloistered life.
Despite its intriguing looks at the difficulties of that life, and at her decision to leave her fiancé for the religious order, the film comes across as a little rote; the woman now known as Mother Prioress repeats her story with quiet conviction, but remains opaque.
In the end, viewers might feel closest to Don Robinson, Hart's fiancé, who never got over her leaving him, and who still visits her regularly. This is a film about spiritual devotion, but its most indelible moments have to do with human heartbreak.
The film never mentions that Mother Prioress remains a voting member of the Academy. 

The American Music Heritage 1954-1958


The Fremeaux & Associes budget label re-released the 3CD budget compilation 'The American Music Heritage 1954-1958'. 



Latest Billboard Album Charts


'An Afternoon In The Garden' jumps from 186 to 165 this week (w/e 18th February, 2012) on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart selling some 3415 copies. Total sales to date: 427,812 copies. 'Elvis: Best Of Love' also rises from 199 to 139 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart.


(Source: Reuters / Elvis Information Network / Brian Quinn / Amazon)