The Doors: Live in Europe 1968

I think that this documentary is awesome and a lot of fun to watch because it serves as an excellent chronicle of the Doors on their first and only tour of Europe. It contains footage of some of the best performances of the band's career and some very good and insightful commentary from Grace Slick and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane (who once toured with the Doors). Very easily a must have for any fan of the Doors.

Man, I saw this movie three times on a flight from New Zealand to LA. It is better than most movies on concerts. I almost yelled some of the lyrics on the plane. Great ending at Morrison's Grave. I have use up more lines so the Unknown Soldier play when it looks like Morrison gets shot is good and Jeffersons Airplane's bashing of modern artist is funny.

Morrison gives an interesting interview and his moody mystical rock performance in this tour film hosted by grace Slick and Paul Kanter of Jefferson Airplane fame (they toured with the Doors that summer). All the top songs are here in this hour-long concert film that captures the spirit of the band and the times in which it was filmed. Co-directed by band member John Densmore, this is somewhat dated when compared with today's high tech video capabilities, but it still is a must for any fan of the band and a great companion piece to Oliver Stone's movie. It leaves you definitely wanting more, the key to any successful concert flick or rocumentary.

Probably the biggest disappointment about this DVD/video, the Doors on their tour of Europe in 1968, is that it's not really a full concert like with the Hollywood Bowl video. It's more of a pastiche of different clips and appearances, and interview footage from Paul Kantner and Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane, who give some interesting (if not really necessary with the rest of the footage) anecdotes on the Doors. That's not to say what's on here isn't good- there's fine performances of 'When the Music's Over' and 'Five to One' among others, but many of the numbers are shot in grainy picture with crummy sound (i.e. 'Spanish Caravan'). It's not unwatchable/unlistenable footage, but it brings to mind how much better the clarity of a filmed concert can be. That it's also not full performances (patched together at times) it's also not as fulfilling. Still, as I said, it's worth it for die-hard fans, who want nothing more than to get (rare) footage of the Doors in their prime.