HWY: An American Pastoral

A collection of some of the best performances from 'The Ed Sullivan Show' focusing particularly on the great rock acts from the sixties including The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Doors.

A look into the many lives of Christa Päffgen, otherwise known as Nico; from cutie German mädchen to the first of the supermodels, to glamorous diva of the Velvet Underground, to cult item, junkie and hag. Many faces for the same woman, whom, you realize, just couldn't bring herself to care enough to live.

In 1967 an expressive, colourful musical force painted a backdrop of social change, fashion, love, turmoil and war. The world remembers the Summer of Love in 1967 as one of those moments when a unique and creative explosion of music and popular culture arrived in the UK and USA.

A cinematic look at The Doors on the road during their summer '68 tour. Concert performances are intercut with fly-on-the-wall footage of the group in their natural habitat.

Three different TV appearances ('67-'70) including old interviews, performances and the commentaries about specific songs by band members.

A UCLA student film by Ronald Raley. Fellow UCLA student Jim Morrison (future member of The Doors) participated as the director of photography. A faux scientific film supposedly made by the "California Institute of Neuropsychiatry." An arrogant scientist, who also narrates the course of the "treatment," picks up a Hollywood street hustler and gets him to agree to a program of retraining. Using shock treatment, the patient is taught to loathe images of himself as a male escort and love the new personality created in the lab.

Three men are dangerously obsessed with the same woman.

"A Spy: Hester Reeve Does the Doors" is a videotape by Suzie Silver, performance by Hester Reeve, music by The Doors. Based on a performance created and performed by Hester Reeve on March 8th & 9th, 1991 at Club Lower Links, Chicago, for the program, Bait and Switch (organized by Iris Moore and Suzie Silver.

Jim Morrison's only surviving UCLA film, a proto-commentary on the male gaze. A woman emerges, stops at a water fountain. A voyeur attempts to photograph her from above. When she disappears from sight, he slumps to the ground and begins to fondle his telephoto lens, presented here as a phallic symbol.

A man grapples with his anxiety, attempting to calm him self in the shadow of his idols. As the ideal and the real collide.

This beginning UCLA student workshop film intercuts absurdist sequences of increasing violence, providing a fascinating glimpse into UCLA's film school in the 60s, with then student Jim Morrison as location sound man. Director Alex Prisadsky recalls that working on Morrison's student film a week earlier helped to inspire some scenes in this production. Includes footage of a bonfire celebration after a Bruin basketball victory.

Explore the exciting story of The Doors. The band was signed in 1966 to Elektra Records.  It was not until their second single “Light My Fire” that shot the band up to the top of the Rock ‘n’ Roll world, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.  To this day, it is still regarded as one of the most popular rock songs ever recorded.  Front man Jim Morrison’s poetic lyrics combined with the band’s unique psychedelic rock sound and outrageous stage performances made the Doors one of the most popular bands of their time.  We are taken on a journey from the piecing together of the band, right up to the tragic death of Jim Morrison in a Paris bathtub in 1971. Jim Morrison’s legacy lives on to this day through the music of The Doors and this is their story.

The Blu-ray disc that accompanies the expanded version of THE SINGLES features a high-resolution Quadraphonic mix of The Best Of The Doors. This 11-song compilation, available on Blu-ray for the first time, was remixed specifically for Quad in 1973 and offers a unique sonic experience on songs like “Soul Kitchen,” “Moonlight Drive” and “Love Me Two Times.”

Rock My Religion is a provocative thesis on the relation between religion and rock music in contemporary culture. Graham formulates a history that begins with the Shakers, an early religious community who practiced self-denial and ecstatic trance dances. With the "reeling and rocking" of religious revivals as his point of departure, Graham analyzes the emergence of rock music as religion with the teenage consumer in the isolated suburban milieu of the 1950s, locating rock's sexual and ideological context in post-World War II America. The music and philosophies of Patti Smith, who made explicit the trope that rock is religion, are his focus. This complex collage of text, film footage and performance forms a compelling theoretical essay on the ideological codes and historical contexts that inform the cultural phenomenon of rock 'n' roll music.

Both The Doors and Led Zeppelin were influential bands in their own right, and their impact on music history is significant. The Doors, with their poetic lyrics and unique sound, are often credited with helping to define the psychedelic rock genre. Led Zeppelin, on the other hand, is known for their powerful, blues-influenced hard rock and heavy metal music. Both bands have left a lasting legacy and have a large and dedicated fan base. Ultimately, determining which band was "better" is subjective and depends on individual musical preferences. Some may prefer the introspective and poetic style of The Doors, while others may favor the raw energy and virtuoso musicianship of Led Zeppelin.