The film chronicles over 20 years of the life of the king of rock ‘n’ roll, throwing the spotlight on the relationship between Presley, played by Austin Butler, and his enigmatic manager Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks.

Family members felt the biopic reflected “the humanity of the man”, Luhrmann told at a packed press conference at the festival yesterday.

He recounted the reaction of the singer’s ex-wife, Priscilla Presley. “She said, “If my husband was here today, he would look him in the eye and say, ‘Hot damn, you are me’!”

Despite this, reviews yesterday were a mixed bag, from “silly” and “fun” to “deliriously awful”.

Butler explained that, across two years, he put the rest of his life on hold as he “went down the rabbit hole of obsession”, embarking on the project with the “unrealistic expectations” he could make his face identical to that of Elvis if he worked hard enough – likening this approach to going to a wax museum.

He ultimately realised that “what is really important is that his soul comes out”, Butler said.

“I think you’re always going to grapple with whether or not you’ve illuminated something real and human,” said Olivia DeJonge, who played Priscilla in the film.

Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, who presented her directorial debut “War Pony” at Cannes, told Reuters last week she thought Luhrmann did “an incredible job telling our story, our family story”.