Product Details

• Actors: John Densmore, Kerry Humpherys, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, Jim Morrison
• Directors: Ray Manzarek, Rick Schmidlin
• Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Universal Studios
• DVD Release Date: April 13, 1999
• Run Time: 172 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0783233485
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,650 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Movies & TV > Music Video & Concerts > Artists > The Doors
  #10 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Music & Performing Arts
  #67 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Biography

• For more information about "The Doors Collection (Collector's Edition)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

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

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Of The Doors., December 15, 2001

By	Mr. Fellini "Fellini" (El Paso, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"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.

109 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Nobody gonna come up here and love me, huh?", March 14, 2000

By	J. Lucas (Detroit, MI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Three movies in one!, June 27, 2000

By	"mogwai" (Helsingborg, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This disc is loaded! The first one includes videos or concept videos, if you will. It has the infamous controversial version of "Light My Fire". Where The Doors perfoms at Ed Sullivan and Jim sings "High", even though he wasn't supposed to. Very controversial back then. Seeing this now makes it all look very funny. There's the director's cut of the L.A. Woman video. Wild stuff. Look out after the "Love Me Two Times" video, at the end you can see Jim punching a camera. On the second video there's a full live concert from the Hollywood Bowl. This is the concert where Jim was high on LSD. He looks very stiff, he walks around and looks into cameras. But it is a very good concert. Too bad the sound is outdated. The third and the last video contains some long interviews with the band. They were recorded a time after the Miami incident. And Jim is seen with a big beard and seems very burned out. But he seems to get his message out even though he takes a long time to answer. And there's also some good perfomances. Too bad this was coming to a end of the band. They sure are rocking in this video. As there are extras on DVD's this disc comes with a lot of candy. There are three full commentaries by the surviving band members on each video. Which makes the DVD more valueable. There are two movies directed by Ray Manzerek, he made those when he attended film school. Look out after a very young Jim Morrison in one of the movies. Worth looking for. There is a excerpt of John Densmore's "Riders on the storm" one-man play. He is very funny, but there's some very emotional stuff as well. To those who've read his book, you know what I mean. And last but not least there is a video of Robby Krieger playing a rocking version of "The End. Truly recommended to all Doors fans!