One of the quintessential West Coast bands of the late ‘60s, The Doors played their last filmed concert in 1970 at England’s Isle of Wight Festival before some 600,000 fans, taking the stage at 2 a.m. to perform a subdued seven-song set. Still under the threatening shadow of a Miami obscenity trial for alleged public weenie-wagging (a highly questionable charge), lead singer Jim Morrison looks and acts more or less straitjacketed but sings well as the group—Robby Krieger on guitar, Ray Manzarek on keyboards, John Densmore on drums—plays a handful of key Doors songs, including "Back Door Man," "Break on Through (To the Other Side)," "When the Music’s Over," and the perennial classic "Light My Fire." The show fittingly wraps with an alternate version of "The End," performed as a medley with interesting segues into "Across the Sea," "Away in India," and "Crossroads Blues." Less than a year later, the music was truly over and Morrison was dead at 27. Not the most dynamic of Doors concerts, this is still one in which the music hypnotizes. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include a retrospective featurette with the band, and a bonus audio CD. Recommended. (R. Pitman)
The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
(2017) 67 min. DVD: $21.98, Blu-ray: $26.98. Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 4
The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
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