Customer Reviews

The Doors: Live at the Hollywood Bowl

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you buy just one video featuring The Doors, this is a "must have." Jim Morrison and the band are at their best, even though it was alleged that Morrision may have ingested LSD before giving the performance of his short, but intense life.

For those of us from that generation, the music still haunts, the lyrics still reveals and the emotions still remain unchanged by time and memory. Morrison sings, dances, and screams like no one before or since. However, for all the frenzied activity, the simple, direct lines of his poetry echo softly through the years.

Watching "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" is like being alive, then and now.

This is one of the best Doors performances ever caught on film. It is the only COMPLETE filmed concert of theirs and shows Jim Morrison at his poetic, comic and visceral best. It also shows how The Doors were great in the intricate compositions of their sound and how they were also a great band because Morrison apparently had an idea of how to make a performance visually interesting in his movements, acting and singing. The performances of "When The Music's Over," "Light My Fire" and especially "The End," show the talent these guys really had. Morrison sings the lyrics with intensity and the sense of their poetic worth. "Moonlight Drive" and "Five To One" (which is connected in medley with "Backdoor Man") are especially well-performed. There is also a curious entertained feeling when Morrison begins reciting weird, but effective pieces of poetry. This is evident in the original execution of "The End," where Morrison begins improvising (I think), adding new words instead of the typical lyrics you hear in the album version. The band is also plays incredibly well. Ray Manzarek's organ is haunting at times and the drumming of John Densmore and guitar playing of Robby Krieger are sub-par. This is an entertaining, well-done performance by a great band.

This is the legendary Doors at their peak in this, the only complete concert ever filmed of the controversial superband. The concert was filmed live at the Hollywood Bowl during the July 4th weekend in 1968. The concert includes my favorite Doors' song "light My Fire" (extended version.)

Why this footage doesn't come in a live album form is beyond me. In today's on-the-go society, the radical Doors fan doesn't have time to compulsively enjoy this show in VHS format; I personally thought it was that good. When listening to my portable Doors collection, I always wish this was on it. Easily their best whole concert, of the four, that I've listened too. But enough about me.

Almost every song here is done very close to its radio-friendly, studio track. HOWEVER, all the intensity, extra-curricular jamming, and that goosebumping grittiness, is thoroughly delivered the way live recordings are expected too. The price definitely compensates for the lameness of VHS, and the audio/visual is very decent. Basically, a serious fan will be happy with this.

you get the feeling that morrison was sorta distant and cold when the doors gave this performance at the hollywood bowl, and it's also obvious that he was tripping on acid (no surprise). this show is still certainly worth watching, though, and occasionally we hear genuine passion in morrison's voice, especially when he recites a piece from celebration of the lizard. when asked what he thought of this performance, mick jagger allegedly called it "a bore". this may be true for some of the songs, but when they start playing "the end" morrison really turns on, and any fan of his will be utterly hypnotized by probably the best recorded version of that song that they have on tape. watch how he covers his eyes with his hand during the oedipal section and then breaks out in depraved and evil laughter while expressing his frantic desire to do something a little unsavory with his mother--utterly fascinating. this should give you some idea of how complex and brilliant morrison was:even his mediocrities and half hearted efforts are totally hypnotic.

I purchased this video from Moviemars & it was shipped in just a plain sealed plastic bag without any package protection of any kind. When I received it, the case was broke & the disc was unplayable. I tried to contact them 3 times and they refused to answer all 3 e-mails, so I ended up filing a grievence through amazon. Then I finally heard from the peanut brain who ran Moviemars informing me that since there was now a grievence filed they couldn't do anything until the investigation was complete which would at least take another 3 months.

I wrote back & told them that they sold me junk and it was broken & unplayable when I first received it. They then informed me that I would have to first fill out a return form that was a mile long & full of personal questions that had absolutely nothing to do with me buying the product that was handled & shipped like a piece of garbage. Moviemars also wanted the zjunk DVD with broken case sent to them & they would refund only a fraction of the shipping cost not including the proper shipping packaging that they demanded it be sent back in.

I then wrote back & informed them that if I had to pay 1 cent to ship their garbage back yto them then I might as well throw both DVD & case seperate into my household bag of garbage & send the whole bag of garbage to them as long as they promised to open & sort through the bag of garbage on their personal desk, & in fact I could send them at least 2 bags of garbage C.O.D. per week. Then I asked them what part of simply refunding my money so I can purchase the same product from a reputable dealer that they didn't understand, & I promised that I would never purchase a single product from Moviemars in the future & that I also promised to write this exact reveiw. I also stated that I will still stand behind my promise to ship them my weekly garbage, since they like to send out garbage to their customers & refuse to sand behind their false promise of quick refund if unstatisfied.

Since all correspondence went through Amazon, I believe it was Amazon who finally stepped in & refunded my purchase price plus shipping. It it wasn't for Amazon, I probably would have received my refund, if any, long after hell froze over. Scammers like Moviemars give decent shippers a bad name & should be avoided at all costs. I would recommend passing on this product along with any other product being advertised or sold by Moviemars.

I didn't know anything about region codes. This DVD cannot be played in the U.S. or Canada! I contacted the seller and they sent me a return label. As soon as they received it back, they promptly gave me a refund.
I then ordered The Doors Collection which contains Hollywood Bowl among other video. That one is coded for play in the U.S. (Region 1). So if you are thinking of purchasing, buy the Doors Collection instead of this one unless you live in another country.

I NEVER RECEIVED IT, I BETTER GET IT OR GET A REFUND SEEING AS THEY TOOK MY MONEY W/ NO PROBLEM & NEVER SENT PRODUCT. HARD TO REVIEW SOMETHING I HAVE NEVER SEEN BUNCH OF RIP OFFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was there.... July 1968 in the Hollywood Bowl. What a show!!! When I watch this video in retrospect, I'm unsure why I was so enraptured. I'm a lot older today, my musical tastes have changed. However, it is part of my history and music's as well. This is a very fine show for the younger generation to understand what it was like in 1968. People are strange, indeed.

I love this video.
This is the first performance i saw of the doors out of the studio