Customer Reviews

The Doors: Live in Europe 1968

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Any lack of polish in this production is pretty much due to the available video and film equipment of the day. That said, much of the old camerawork is quite creative and nicely done. In fact, I was riveted to this film from start to finish.

The onstage performances have a beautiful, timeless quality to them. The musicianship of the band comes across very nicely, this being a time before bands had stylists, directors, choreographers, and wardrobe masters.

Just amazing to see how, more than Morrison's charisma, more than any stoned-out vibe, the music itself was the true source of the Doors' power and energy. So seldom do we get to see excellent rock music performed without a lot of record company b***s***. Nobody told the band how to behave onstage, nobody but Jim dictated what he was going to wear, and so on. This footage was a revelation in that way.

To observe, on this DVD, Ray Manzarek hunched over his keyboards, fingering some amazing riffs, is to see a rather amazing illustration of rock performances that were all about THE MUSIC.

An absolute "must" for all Doors fans, and a real treat for fans of west coast rock. Recommended to anyone who has an interest in classic rock or sixties culture.

The Doors were a great band and here we have some great film documentation of their performances during the 1968 European tour that captures the visceral energy Jim Morrison and the rest of the band captured on stage. The songs are great and on this DVD, they sound magnificent. Well, I was a bit disappointed that the performances of "Light My Fire," "Backdoor Man" and "Spanish Caravan" are a bit crudely recorded. They still work though. The best piece of film here is when the band performs "When The Music's Over." The performance captures the viewer with the intricate playing, provocative lyrics (as in "The End") and Morrison really comes off as an impressive rock artist. I especially loved it when he says, "We want the world and we want it now." "Unknown Soldier" and "Love Me Two Times" are also magnificently done. The fault of this DVD (and video for you VHS watchers) is that we really don't get THAT much information on the tour itself. Jefferson Airplane give a few interesting insights, but nothing very fascinating that keeps your attention. All we really get are the good performances, and that's it. Yes, The Doors are the greatest rock band of all time, but this film deserved a wee-bit more work.

This is one of my favorite DVD's. I have always liked the Doors, but being only 22 years old obviously never had the oppurtunity to see them live. Well, now I can. The audio and video are in great condition considering it's three decades old. Morrison truly becomes part of the song and he definitely sets the mood. The organ will shake the walls with home theatre. Grace Slick provides a mini-interview, it shows the band and fans showing their respects to Morrison at what I assume is his burial site (it had a bust where people threw flowers), and there is even a music video.

SONGS INCLUDE: Light My Fire/ Love Me Two Times/ Back Door Man/ Spanish Caravan/ Hello, I Love You/ When the Music's Over/ Unknown Soldier/ Five to One/ Alabama Song

This is The Doors, i was to young to see them on stage but this dvd is just like being there and captures all of the bands mystique and essence. a must see for any Doors fan!

Contrary to some other reviews, the sound is okay. All the tracks came across clearly on my speakers without any audio adjustments. However, I've noticed on this DVD that the bass is pumped up and tends to overpower the vocals in certain spots.

As for the video quality, the B&W soundstage segments are bright and crisp and the Roundhouse show (also in B&W) isn't that bad. The extreme contrast between lights and darks makes the Roundhouse segments seem murky at times but you can still see all figures clearly. Plus, the camera work is definitely livelier than the famous Hollywood bowl show.

The audio and video flaws are easily overlooked, but the most annoying faults come at the end of the DVD. Because a Jefferson Airplane segment leads straight into "Five to One", the start of that track is cut. This last track "Alabama Song" is NOT shown in performance but rather laid over a Pere-Lachaise montage which, after Grace Slick's comments on Morrison, makes it seem like he expired at the end of the European tour! If not for this silliness, the DVD would rate 5/5.

Had this documentary been in color,I'd have given it a five-star rating.I've heard other fan's comments on this DVD and personally I didn't really think the camera work/angling was ALL that bad.Not for a 1968 production,anyway.Paul and Grace of Jefferson Airplane pops in several times to narrate the concert film.Enjoyed seeing Jim Morrison's onstage antics,energy and the way he interacts with the crowd.Best songs performed were "Light My Fire",the boot stomper "Back Door Man","Spanish Caravan","Unknown Soldier" and "Five To One".A should-have for most Doors fans.

Firts off I would like to say that I'm a HUGE Doors fan, and when I watched this, it just simply blew me away! ENOURMOUSLY ENTERTAINING! It also has two members from the band Jefferson Airplane come on and talk about the tour that they did with The Doors, very intersting. I loved it and you will too!

The Doors. Rock revolutionists. This is The Doors in a 1968 live performance; Everyone is here; Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger, John Densmore, and of course Jim Morrison. The songs featured are two Light My Fires, Love Me Two Times, Back Door Man, Spanish Caravan, Hello I Love You, When the Music's Over, The Unknown Soldier, Five to One, and
Alabama Song; the latter which is played while we see Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore visiting Morrison's grave while everyone follows. The performances are great; everyone is at the top of their form; Morrison has a great stage prescense and seeing Paul Kanter and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane recount their time touring with The Doors is also very interesting. Morrison sounds great live; their performance of "When the Music's Over" was my favorite. It's also interesting to see the band introducing themselves.
Krieger & Densmore come out and just say their names, birthdates, and what instrument they play; then you have Manzarek come out and say in this deep voice "Raymond Daniel Manzarek. 2-12-39. Musician/ Organist." Then there's Morrison who simply says "Jim." Overall it's great; there are a couple of songs that I wish they would have done (Break on Through, People Are Strange, The Crystal Ship etc.) but looking past that, it's good. A-/

This DVD covers The Doors' European tour in late 1968. They were accompanied by The Jefferson Airplane on the tour, and The Airplane's Grace Slick and Paul Kantner are the commentators. We see Jim Morrison get off the airplane (an actual one) and flash a great eye-contact smile at the camera after saying he is "Jim." It is cool how, before the same camera, Ray Manzarek, in dark glasses, looks just like Chuck Norris did in "The Way of The Dragon" (in which Chuck faced off against Bruce Lee).

Most of Slick's and Kantner's comments are delivered early on. Grace pays tribute to Jim as a singer and performer, citing his natural manner vs. the posturing of other performers. However, she points out that while they were in Amsterdam, Jim accepted any drug offered to him by fans on the street and got so stoned that he could not perform that night except to interrupt The Airplane's performance of "Plastic Fantastic Lover." Some footage of Jim dancing around is cool to see.

Setting aside that lapse, Jim is shown performing with skill in various locales, intensely posing and gripping the mike, and using his whole face and head to bellow the words out. His eyes may be closed or open, he may be still or moving, but he is always interesting to watch. He does some pretty wild roaming around the stage performing "Light My Fire" at London's Roundhouse Theatre. By contrast, the Denmark TV performance of "The Wasp (intro)/Love Me Two Times" shows Jim at his professional best.

The last sentence of the Amazon.com Editorial Review above states The Doors performed a "silly version" of "Hello I Love You" before "a baffled crowd on a London street." How does the reviewer account for the West German flag in the background? Jim is lip synching the song for the "4-3-2-1 Hot & Sweet" West German TV Show on September 13, 1968, and the crowd is certainly not baffled. Do an Internet search for "Frankfurt Romer Square" and see for yourself.

All the Roundhouse clips that dominate this DVD (along with the de-planing scenes I referenced above) are in "The Doors Are Open." Also, "The Wasp/Love Me Two Times" and the Romer Square performance are on "The Doors Collection." If you already have those, you would essentially be purchasing this DVD for the non-Roundhouse parts of "When the Music's Over" and the mixed clips of "The Unknown Soldier"; there are no rare performances of songs. The passage of time and aggregation of Doors material have eroded my rating for this DVD from four stars to three.

This video is narrated by two members of the band that toured Europe with the Doors; Grace Slick and Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane. This video captures wonderful concert footage, tells fantastic stories and even, goes backstage to get the dope on the Doors. If you even like the Doors a little bit, you'll enjoy this one. Also check out Live at the Hollywood Bowl.................