If you’d had the pleasure of seeing Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic, you’ll recognise this feeling: walking out of the cinema dazed and disorientated, wondering what the hell you just went through.

Mr Luhrmann, in other words, only knows how to do filmmaking at full throttle. Elvis is chaotic, bamboozling, electrifying, and often weird. The film’s not been for everyone, but nobody can ever accuse it of being a dull spectacle.

A few months after its release, Elvis has gone viral again this week thanks to a particularly memorable scene. In the clip, Tom Hanks’ character, Tom Parker, and several other people first discover that Elvis Presley is white. Gathered around the radio, listening to the singer’s incredible voice, they’re aghast and amazed that these vocals could come from a white person.

And Luhrmann, who considers subtlety to be a defect, absolutely hammers this scene into the viewers’ mind. So many reaction shots; so many quick cuts. The director doesn’t do half measures.

The clip was tailor-made for viral success, and sure enough it’s happened this week. Twitter users have been having a lovely and hilarious time meme-ing the clip.

“Excited for the Eminem biopic to reference this scene,” wrote someone hopefully. “This is what Tom Hanks says when he sees Chet come in the house,” someone else comically wrote, a reference to the actor’s infamous son who’s strangely fond of using a Jamaican accent.

Another Twitter user made a wonderful The Lord of the Rings joke: “When the Fellowship discover Gandalf is somehow alive again after meeting ruin at the bridge of Khazad-dûm.”

“This is what I imagine what everyone’s reaction was when they heard Jack Harlow for the first time,” which is probably how Drake initially reacted.

You can see some of the other best memes below. Despite some initial criticism about taking on the biopic, Luhrmann has had the last laugh, with Elvis making over $120 million at the global box office. It even received the seal of approval from the Presley family.

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https://twitter.com/mattcrotts/status/1557118377189056516?s=21

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