Best Doors DVD

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Not much to choose from really and extras are pathetic but make your choice.....

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Okay, you have read all the books, heard the music, and listened to the lore and legend of concerts attended by family and friends. Therefore, what else could there be left to see and hear about the legendary rock group of the sixties The Doors? Well, a lot more than you could possibly imagine and more. Thanks to some successful boxed sets released over the last several years the group is enjoying a full blown resurgence prompting them to launch a website and start pumping out previously unreleased live recordings one after the other. I smell reunion around the corner. Well, as a matter of fact they may be getting together again to record or play live (check the band website for news), unfortunately without their front man Jim Morrison. It is too bad that the excesses of the music business and all its trappings pushed him into a life of misery with alcohol and drugs, then eventually his demise.

Soundstage Performances is a digital time machine. This enlightening and absorbing DVD is all about the sixties, which chronicles a time when people wore flowers in their hair, believed in free love and protested against the Vietnam War. Music was the driving force behind young people in America and certain groups shined brightly.

This eye opening and entertaining DVD gives you a glimpse of the past and a candid look at today from the surviving members of the band - Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek and John Densmore. They discuss in a matter-of-fact way their recollections of that time, of both the making of their music and the events that surrounded them. Jim Morrison's antics onstage created many problems for the group and their ability to play live. After the famous dawning of Jim's genitals at a Florida concert, the only place the band could play live was in California. After listening to the input on that situation from all the group members, it is revealed that Jim never did any of that onstage, he threatened to do so and went through all the motions, as the truth is told today ... the press and authorities fabricated it all. Robbie mentions that at the concert that night the cops were chatting and having beers with them, then they turned around and arrested Jim. It sounds to me like a conspiracy against the group because of their anti-war stance and being generally Un-American by not supporting the politics and bullshit that goes along with the makings of a war.

Thank god the entire Soft Parade album was committed to celluloid so we could see it on this DVD. Even though the studio would not permit an audience at the taping because of the pending court case, and what allegedly happened on stage, the group jumped at the chance to promote their new album. At that time, Morrison had put on a few pounds and grown a beard to project a new persona, as if to hide the real Jim that was responsible for the antics at the infamous concert. The performance was prior to the court case so he was distracted and nervous about all of that, according to the rest of the band. Regardless, his performance was exemplary and the band sounded great.

Including all of the wonderful footage of the group, the interviews with the band are what make this so interesting. The music is hypnotic as it always was. What helps to put together all the pieces of the Doors puzzle is listening to them talk about the songs and how they were created and what was happening with the group at the time. I now have a much better understanding of the group's concepts and ideas; more specifically, what was behind the music, thanks to this DVD. In the "1969 PBS 'Critique' w/ The Doors Interview & Panel Discussion" segment I found it interesting how Morrison was talking about how the music made him feel more comfortable and secure to be the poet he was and how he needed to work on reciting poetry and the spoken word without music, which he eventually did before he died. The group looked at him as the front man and as a sociopolitical figurehead that sang about how they all felt about life and where they lived, and so did everyone that bought their music -- that is what pissed off the status quo so much.

I spent a week taking in bits and pieces of this documentary and I would not only highly recommend that you get this outstanding DVD, but suggest that you carefully pay attention and take your time absorbing and processing all of it. By watching this DVD, you can read between the lines, or music as it were, and understand the band more than any book or TV show could ever hope to accomplish. This is the genesis of a group found nestled in the music and words of the people that created it; it simply does not get more concentrated than that.
ProgressiveWorld.net 2002
Reviewed by: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck,
November 2002. Rating: 5/5

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

"The Doors Soundstage Performances DVD"
on Eagle Vision

Rarely seen television footage from 1967 to 1971, plus fresh interviews with the three surviving Doors.
Although hardly a definitive Doors item, these three lengthy television performances will fascinate the faithful. Back then, virtually any Doors television appearance seemed outrageous, pushing the boundaries of what a rock band might hope to achieve in the arenas of music, theatre, and politics. In retrospect, though, there's an obvious sense of restraint throughout, partly because of the artificiality of playing in television studios, but mostly because there's no audience to feed off. Thus the appeal of this DVD becomes intellectual rather than visceral - watching them evolve from trouser-pressed young bucks in '67 to wild-eyed hippies in '69, appreciating their complex musical interactions and savouring the new interview footage, in which guitarist Robby Krieger has the best line. Describing what looks like a well-rehearsed segue from a Morrison poetry spiel into a Doors classic, he explains "I started 'Love Me Two Times' out of fear he'd ramble on to something else."
Extras: photo gallery, capsule biographies
by Johnny Black
MOJO MAGAZINE February 2003

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

The Doors Collection
Directed by Ray Manzarek
Fullscreen(-Captioned in English
Dolby Digital Stereo Sound 2.0, English, French, Spanish
172 minutes, Supplements 57 minutes-Color and Black and White-1999-Originally released in 1985, 1986

Picture-B-, Sound C, music videos and interviews

Intro-This disc collection contains three previously released music videos released on video tape and laser disc in the 80's. It contains three complete programs-Dance On Fire, a collection of early Doors music videos put together by Elektra Records, and some newer material produced and directed by Ray Manzarek and the other Doors after Morrison's death. One highlight is an absolutely brilliant music video of LA Woman. Next is The Doors Live at the Hollywood Bowl, which shows the band in its heyday, with relatively good sound for the time, and a sober Morrison. While this is not a typical occurrence for the Lizard King, it shows what he could do with a clear mind. He shines through as a committed musician and poet, with the crowd in total awe of his works. Last, comes The Soft Parade, which includes session videos showing the Doors at work creating some of their classic songs, and live studio television performances of songs from that album. It also includes two interviews with the band talking about their music between numbers with Village Voice reporter Richard Goldstein. Morrison talks about his mixture of poetry and music to create the unique art form which is still very popular today.

Picture- The fullscreen presentation is not of the best quality, even by late 60's standards. Film portions are scratched, and video performances from Ed Sullivan and Smothers Brothers are not as sharp as they could have been. Not much extra work appears to have been done to preserve this musical treasure, which is indeed unfortunate. While it can be argued the tape and film is nearly 40 years old and it is certainly watchable, the collection looks worn and not any better than the laser disc versions I also own. A big disappointment from Universal on picture quality.

Sound-Sound recording technology of the 60's was not much better than mono and the source material for this disc used the mixes from the original recordings for most of the disc. Some enhancements are present in the later tracks, such as LA Woman, when advances had been made in recording, but overall the sound is dynamically crippled. The concert has relatively decent sound for the 60's and the acoustics of the Hollywood Bowl helped tremendously with this concert. The best portions of the disc, technically speaking are on The Soft Parade video, where the sound is clean and Morrison's vocals are clear and distinct.

Extras-The disc contains a number of extras including an intro by surviving band members, a portion of John Densmore's one man play about his experiences with The Doors, a newly discovered film of The Unknown Soldier, Ray Manzarek's two UCLA films, Evergreen and Induction, a new performance of The End by Robbie Krieger, audio commentary from all three band members, outtakes from The Doors Archives with narration by photographer Henry Diltz, and over 100 collectibles and personal artifacts. Whew! Doors heaven! This disc contains everything but Morrison rising from the ashes.

Summary-While the video is not of very high quality, knowing how old it is helps in this disc's viewing. Crank up the stereo as well, for the sound was not overly boosted or enhanced much. If you are a Jim Morrison or Doors fan, this disc is a must for your collection and truly is a bargain for the over three hours of footage you get with extras. You will be watching this one again and again, as you have played their music again and again. Timeless stuff here. Morrison's poetic genius comes through on this disc and is still fascinating to watch and hear.

[sparky]

i love the soft parade it wins hands down!!!
oh and of course hollywood bowl. i cant watch that all the time!!!!

[marklamb]

The Sound Stage DVD would have been ranked tops except for the fact that the Critique footage is flawed. For some bizarre rason they used the shittiest possible copy for the transfer. There must be better quality copies of this show circulating around somewhere. A real shame as this DVD is awesome but why the bad copy of the PBS special??

[ensenada]

The pbs performance does have a few flaws i.e. the dodgy tape but it only fucks up a coupla times and this i can put up with. perhaps they didnt have anymore tapes available. perhaps the one they used was THE only footage and time has caused the flaws. you would have thought they wuld have made copies and those would be ok. i dont know, who knows!

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

Yeah its a shame about the PBS footage....considering the CBC version of The End is superb and the Danish show is crystal clear it does spoil things. It seems The Doors never get it right and it must go to the heart of the people in charge of Doors PLC......money seems to overshadow any attempt to give fans the best available Doors experience....they make no attempt to add special features and the Morrison tribute DVD could have had an hour of the other three giving an overview of Jims legacy in the years since the video release.....maybe they were all washing thier hair that night.....
Piss poor would be complimentary to the DVD releases (except for the Collection which is an American release) the rest are pretty dire......
As videos they are fantastic but technology moved on but The Doors are seemingly just there to make a buck....sad really as bands not fit to clean the shit off thier boots make a far better job on the DVD front....

[marklamb]

Ive read it posted before that there are superior (clean) copies of the entire PBS show circulating among collectors so who knows what they were thinking when assembling the DVD. I'd like to hear what EagleRock/The Doors have to say about it but I'm sure "mum" is the word.

[TheWallsScreamedPoetry]

There has been a lot talked about the Soundstage DVD since it came out and not ONE word from Doors PLC or Eagle Vision sadly......the footage of the PBS show on the other DVDs seems different as if its a different source....I am no expert on this kinda thing but maybe the source they used was a a poorer one than they used before or maybe they tried to improve it and made a mess of it......It does not seem as if even a simple apology will ever come from the Doors bunker and once again we get the shit end of the stick......

[ensenada]

just borrowed inside the doors from jedi. the actualy case is pretty well put together and theres a nice booklet inside giving a run down of albums and tunes, with some nice photos. theres also a good write up about them at the beginning and considering its from people giving "an independant critical review" it aint bad...heres a snippet....


[glow=red,2,300]their active career was relatively brief - less than four and a half years from their chart debut until the death or disappearance of their most unique selling point, in the form of Jim Morrison. Yet the doors packed a lot of controversy into that time, of course they also made a series of timeless and unforgettable records. There has never been a band like them and, conceivably, never will be.[/glow]

its got a good run down of how the band formed and their first signing. it looks good. i will let you know what i think. bet yah cant wait!