Product Description

This amazing collection features dance on fire, live at the Hollywood Bowl, and the soft parade plus commentary by members of the Doors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12076 in DVD
• Brand: Universal Studios
• Released on: 1999-04-13
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 172 minutes

Amazon.com
If you are a new or original fan of the Doors, this spectacular DVD should give you enough incentive to jump on the DVD bandwagon without reservation. It's quite simply the finest single audio-visual source of Doors music and history, presented with the full participation of the band's surviving members (Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, John Densmore) and featuring a variety of bonus features that will send any Doors-phile into a state of rock & roll euphoria. We're not kidding, folks--this is a must-have disc for anyone who's ever been mesmerized by Jim Morrison and the late-1960s, early-'70s rock phenomenon known as the Doors.

The primary content consists of three acclaimed films, all running about an hour long and directed by Manzarek, that give the viewer a deeper appreciation of what the Doors were all about. Not only was the band filmed in a variety of live concert settings (especially at the legendary Hollywood Bowl show, included here), but they were also precociously aware of the value of film, creating music "videos" long before MTV and taking their cue from Manzarek's mid-'60s stint as a UCLA film student. Also included are clips from several TV appearances (including a PBS interview in which Morrison predicts the future of recording technology with astounding accuracy), revealing backstage footage, and, of course, some of the most hypnotic concert performances ever filmed.

Two of Manzarek's student films (Evergreen and Induction) indicate that the keyboardist could easily have become a successful director, but fate blessed him (and us) with a future in one of America's all-time greatest rock bands. What The Doors Collection conveys more than anything is that these four young men formed a unique cohesion of talent, that they all loved and admired Jim Morrison (and still do), and that they continue to share that love--along with some conflicting recollections and amiably contrasting opinions--on a commentary track that's wise, fun-loving, and refreshingly free of drippy nostalgia. Indeed, when Manzarek uses the word "atrocious" to describe Oliver Stone's 1991 film about Morrison and the band, he's merely defending the fact that Morrison was himself a sweet, lovable young man who had a dark side--no one's denying that--but who also fronted a band that continues to unite listeners and viewers in the positive spirit of creativity and freedom of expression. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

The Best Of The Doors.
"The Doors Collection" is the best audio/visual source about the band available. It is a stunning, exciting collection of the best of The Doors on film. It is the best Doors DVD out there and a must for big fans, rockers and anyone barely aquainted with the music who wants to know more. All the three segments are excellent documents of The Doors and their hypnotic music and the dynamic persona of Jim Morrison. It is clear from what you see here that he was poet, rock star, artist and genius. The first segment, "Dance On Fire" has some great material. There is the music video for "Break On Through" which is stylish and has aged well, in fact, I saw it air on MTV a few nights ago. There is also the neat video for "People Are Strange" and the legendary performance of "Light My Fire" at the Ed Sullivan Show. The video for "The Crystal Ship" is dreamy, romantic and hypnotic, with a real feel for the song which showcases some of Morrison's best poetry. The performance of "Love Me Two Times" for Danish television is especially entertaining and cool, with Jim all in leather reciting some poetry before breaking into one of their best blues tunes. The video for "Moonlight Drive" is interesting with Jim sporting some black shades and Robby Krieger doing some dreamy slide guitar. The "Roadhouse Blues" footage is especially fun with shots of some wild concert moments and Jim doing a Dionysian dance as images flash by. The second segment, "Live At The Hollywood Boal" is a nice document of The Doors in concert. They performance some of their best songs like "Backdoor Man," "Light My Fire" and "Whiskey Bar." The best performances are those of "When The Music's Over" which is epic and "The End" which is hypnotic. The final segment, "The Soft Parade" is an interesting look at The Doors as the end was coming closer. The beginning features a montage cut to "The Changeling" and shows Morrison and the band in a "superstar" tone. The interview they give is fascinating, especially when Jim predicts advancements in musical technology with incredible precision. The performance of "The Soft Parade" is better than the album version while footage of the band recording "Wild Child" is fun and interesting, not least because it's a great song. The bonus features in the DVD are also great. The commentary by the band members is funny and fascinating with lots of cool facts. Robby Krieger's new version of "The End" rocks while Ray Manzarek's student films are interesting to watch. The memorabilia section is especially fun and interesting, they even show ticket buts. John Densmore's one-man play is really silly and frankly, boring and uninteresting. It's annoying to hear him sing the songs because frankly, he can't sing. All in all, "The Doors Collection" is the best Doors visual collection. It's exhilarating, fascinating, visually alluring and filled with great music and poetry. It shows how there are certain things as timeless music and artists. Though The Doors music and lyrics are kept alive and well by newer bands (Creed, STP, The Cult), nothing beats the originals. The Doors were the first rock band to mix music with poetry and explored dark realms and set in motion things in rock n' roll that we are still living through. This DVD is a great document of how they did that.

"Nobody gonna come up here and love me, huh?"
Don't worry, Jim. This DVD is the ultimate treat for long-time Doors fans like myself, as well as recent converts. Three full hours of videos and concert footage, showing us The Doors at their best. There's also an interesting commentary track by the original surviving members of the Doors, plus some extra goodies like Doors memorabilia and one of Manzarek's short films. In a day and age when the biggest up-and-coming artists are the likes of Sugar Ray and Jennifer Lopez, it's not difficult to get a bit nostalgic for the days when - without warning - a Jim Morrison would burst onto the scene. "Best New Artist: Christina Aguillera"? Puh-leez! Give me the Lizard King anyday. The man was a true artist, a poet, and he had ideas. They may have been his own personal tripped-out ideas that the rest of us mere mortals can only hope to understand, but at least he certainly wasn't "created" by a record company. What record exec could have possibly ever thought up Jim Morrison and The Doors, anyway? This is a fantastic DVD, and no DVD-buying Doors fan should even think twice about purchasing it.

The Essential Doors DVD
For any Doors fan, this DVD is a must have. It's got essentially every piece of footage ever shot of Jim Morrison (except for performances appearing on other DVD's). It's got an audio commentary by Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, and John Densmore. And it's one of the most interesting and entertaining music DVD's ever. From a huge fan of The Doors standpoint.
It's three separate segments (Dance on Fire, Live at The Hollywood Bowl,
and The Soft Parade). "Dance on Fire" features the music videos for
Break on Through, People Are Strange, The Crystal Ship, and The Unknown Soldier. As well as Ray Manzarek's new video for "L.A. Woman" which captures the tone of the song perfectly. It also features the Ed Sullivan Show performance of "Light My Fire". The same one which was the subject of great controversy because Jim said the word "higher" on television. It also features a video for "Roadhouse Blues" which features some great shots of Morrison. The videos for Break on Through, People Are Strange, The Crystal Ship, and The Unknown Soldier are all great. Then we have the performance at The Hollywood Bowl. This is easily the greatest performance ever captured on film of The Doors. Jim Morrison puts on a brilliant performance, especially during the song "The Unknown Soldier" and
"The End" where he improvises a few lines. The final segment "The Soft Parade" begins with a montage of video clips to the background song
"The Changeling". Then we see some performances that were part of a PBS special, including the only video in existence of The Doors performing the song "The Soft Parade". There's also two interviews that were part of the PBS special where Morrison talks about his poetry/lyrics and accurately predicts the future of recording technology, which is very cool. The video of
Jim improving a tribute to Friedirch Nietzsche is very cool too. Also, during the audio commentary we're shown a video of a few girls talking to Jim through the window of a car...Watch where that girls hand goes to...Also, this PBS special was featured on another Doors DVD called "Soundstage Performances" and for some odd reason, the video quality on this DVD is ten times better than it was on "Soundstage Performances". The audio quality has improved as well. Anyway, as for the Bonus Features; we get to see the two student films that Ray Manzarek directed while attending UCLA.
One of them features a shower scene with a man and Ray Manzarek's wife,
that Ray refused to cut causing Morrison to gain respect for him. There's some excerpts from John Densmore's one man play, which is actually pretty funny. One reviewer mentioned that it sucks (I'm paraphrasing here) to hear
Densmore sing, because he can't. Well, no, he doesn't have a very good voice, but the way he's singing the songs are sarcastic to get the audience laughing. Turns out, Densmore is a pretty witty guy. Then there's an instrumental version of "The End" performed by Robbie Krieger, which is really great. It would be cool to her Jim's voice added to it for maximum effect though. There's also an interesting montage of photographs from the "Morrison Hotel" sessions with commentary by the photographer. It's pretty funny to learn how Morrison and crew went into a place called The Morrison Hotel and took some pictures when management told them not to. Another thing, I neglected to mention about the main audio commentary with Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore is that it's obvious that these men loved Jim Morrison and still do. To hear them talk about the events taking place on the tapes with such loving affection is great. Also, I forgot to mention the video's for "Wild Child". The song's not my favorite ever, but it's pretty cool to see The Doors perform the song in the studio. Overall, this is the essential Doors DVD for The Doors fanatic. This is the definition of perfection.

GRADE: A+