Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82158 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-02-12
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
Inspired by Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman's acclaimed biography of the Doors' enigmatic, ill-fated singer Jim Morrison, this hourlong 1981 tribute is must-see viewing for anyone wishing to explore and comprehend the Morrison legend. It's certainly definitive in terms of the personnel involved: surviving Doors members Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, and Robby Krieger are joined by Hopkins, Sugarman, and the late producer Paul Rothchild, offering privileged perspective and insight into Morrison's personality and creative impulse. "Not a showman, but a shaman," says Manzarek of Morrison's controversial image as a brightly burning poet provocateur, while Krieger and Densmore acknowledge the darker side of supporting Morrison's iconoclastic charisma even as his drug-fueled intensity led to death at age 27. With revealing interview and performance clips, including two complete appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, this is a fascinating look at a truly unique artist whose legacy remains timeless, vital, and worthy of this open-eyed retrospective. --Jeff Shannon

From the Back Cover
No One Here Gets Out Alive: The Doors' Tribute to Jim Morrison is a full exploration of the controversial and quixotic singer, delving into his fascination with cinema and psychology, mysticism and sexuality, poetry and power. In addition to performance clips of the band in action, it features interviews with all of the surviving members of the Doors and many others who were instrumental in creating and maintaining the legend, from record producer Paul Rothchild to biographers Danny Sugerman and Jerry Hopkins (who wrote the bestseller No One Here Gets Out Alive, from which this programme was inspired). Features cuts from Five to One, Back Door Man, Celebration of the Lizard, The End, Moonlight Drive, Crawlin' Kingsnake, Unknown Soldier, People Are Strange, Light My Fire, When the Music's Over. Also features full-length performances of Touch Me, The Changeling, LA Woman. 60 minutes.

Customer Reviews

No surprises
To anyone who has purchased the books, videos, and other DVD releases: There is nothing new to add, outside of interviews with the remainding memebers, the producer of the records, and a couple of authors who have written books on Jim.

ALL of the footage that is shown has already been released from "The Doors Are Open", "Live In Europe", "Dance On Fire", and "Live At The Hollywood Bowl". Thats a shame, because there has GOT TO be MORE out there in the vaults !

Also, if the interview sessions would have stuck with John, Robbie, Ray, and the producer - it would have been MUCH better...But to hear from the 2 (so called) experts in journalism leaves MUCH to be desired. They should have just stuck with the people who worked CLOSELY with Jim.

Although I can never rate a Doors DVD poorly, this one is just passible at best. A HUGE disappointment.

"Someone's Got To Do It" ~ A Shaman, Not A Showman
As some of the previous reviewers have already stated, there isn't a lot of new material here particularily if you've already read the book `No One Here Gets Out Alive' written by Daniel Sugarman and Jerry Hopkins both of whom appear prominently in this 60 minute documentary/tribute to the Lizard King, Jim Morrison. Be that as it may I still found this DVD an enjoyable watch, especially the performances from the Ed Sullivan Show. I'm certain the hardcore Morrison fans will be disappointed but for those new to the Morrison legend, or the casual fan looking for a companion piece to the book by the same name this is a worthy enough item to add to your DVD collection.

My Rating: Nothing definitive here but certainly a good place to start: -3 ½ Stars-.

a bit trite and rehearsed, but interesting
the remaining members of the doors (i think this was filmed in the 80's) and dubious hanger on danny sugerman are as enthusiastic as ever talking about the mysterious former frontman of the most important band of the 60's. however, one gets the sense that they were coached in some of their dialogue (the expression "jim, who was always on the edge of reality" becomes annoying and even suspicious as each doors member utters it about three times every interview) and we learn absolutely nothing new, as usual, about morrison. his approach to life was frenetic, insane: we knew that already. he was a man with a commitment to authenticity in his art and life: we knew that already. he took a lot of acid and drank too much: we knew that already. miami was the culmination of many difficulties in morrison's personal life and his frustration with the sharp divorce between the effect he intended his music to have and the effect it actually had: we knew that already. he was extremely photogenic: we knew that already. in accordance with nietzsche's idea of the dionysian, he constantly changed his personal appearance and approach to his audience: we knew that already. he was moody, erratic and prone to aberrant behavior:we knew that already. he was very intellectual: WE KNEW THAT ALREADY. and yeah, "the end" was used at the beginning of apocalypse now. a lot of people have seen that movie. perhaps the redeeming quality of the documentary are the clips from the roundhouse show, which blend perfectly with the intense portrait of morrison as 'shaman, not showman' in manzarek's overdone terms. well, it's worth watching just because it's about him i guess.