Info:

In September 1968, The Doors head to London, England for a series of sold-out performances with the Jefferson Airplane at The Roundhouse. Upon their arrival at Heathrow Airport, producer Jo Durden-Smith of Granada Television sets to work on what would become the first ever full-length nationally televised network special on a single rock music act. Shot in black & white for an edgy feel, director John Sheppard instructs the news station cameramen to get up close, and two of The Doors four performances at the Roundhouse are captured on film over the course of two sold out nights at the venue. Interviews with band members, a press conference held at the ICA Gallery, and a visit to the Polydor Records office are also incorporated into the special. This one hour program premieres on BBC-1/Granada in the UK on December 17th, 1968. The resulting success of this television documentary special paves the way for the Granada crew to repeat this formula for the early 1969 filming of Johnny Cash At San Quentin.

Although many modern day DVD and other digital format releases of The Doors Are Open have been made available to collectors for purchase, all of the original videotape production masters of The Doors Are Open are now lost as a result of large scale warehouse cleanups and trashings of BBC's archives. Due to the differences between Europe and North America in the PAL and NTSC analog film formats of the late 1960's, the known modern day releases all run at incorrect speeds. The Doors Music Co. and collectors all over the world are currently searching for any remaining materials that may have survived. If you are in possession or know the whereabouts of any original BBC master, production, or broadcast tapes of The Doors Are Open, please Contact Us!

SYNOPSIS:

"It was September 1968, the venue was The Roundhouse in London's Chalk Farm, by far and away the best rock spot in the U.K., and the nearest thing to a genuine San Francisco Ballroom. The sheer power of The Doors' renditions of Light My Fire and When The Music's Over convinced all that were there that we were witnessing a piece of musical history. Whilst the power of that night can never be truly recalled, by luck or judgement, The Doors' sets were filmed and the best appears herein. Watching them perform Spanish Caravan and the rest after all these years has reinforced stated opinion that the night at The Roundhouse was the best concert I have ever attended - anywhere..."

  - John Platt (1992)

A Special Thanks to Geoffrey Cannon, Michael Darlow, and Lon Goddard for their contribution to this page!

Soundtrack:
When The Music's Over
Five To One
Spanish Caravan
ICA Gallery Press Conference Interviews
Hello, I Love You (Soundcheck w/Ray On Vocals)
Band Interviews
Back Door Man
Crawling King Snake
Back Door Man
Interview with Jim Morrison
Wake Up! - Light My Fire
The Unknown Soldier

Credits:
Jo Durden-Smith - Producer
John Sheppard - Director
Martin Smith - Film Editor
Peter Walker - Sound Mixing
Geoffrey Cannon - Program Associate
Jon Cott - Program Associate
David Dalton - Program Associate
Ernest Eban - Program Associate

PHOTOGRAPH:

Jim Morrison Is Filmed For Granada's The Doors Are Open © Unknown

PREMIERE DATE - DECEMBER 17TH, 1968

ARTICLE:

Contributed By: SRapallo

Q&A WITH JOHN SHEPPARD - OCTOBER 1968

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BY CHRISTOPHER KENWORTHY

Publication: TV Times (Granada)
Issue: October 19th - 1968
Interview Date: Exact Date Unknown - October 1968
Publish Date: October 19th - 1968
Interview Location: Unknown - London, U.K.

Info:
For his TVTalk article in the October 19th, 1968 issue of Granada's TV Times magazine, Christopher Kenworthy publishes excerpts from a Q&A with John Sheppard, director of Granada's soon to air special, The Doors Are Open, who is currently in the editing stages of the television documentary. Unpublished elsewhere, the quotes refer to The Doors place in society, and John Sheppard tells the interviewer that The Doors "are the real politicians. They are not offering a manifesto, they are not repeating tired ideological phrases, but they are trying to demonstrate a way of life. The boundary between art and reality is blurred with The Doors." No recordings of this interview are known, however The Doors Are Open will premiere on BBC/Granada television in England on December 17th.

Info:

The Doors leave Kennedy International Airport in New York at 11:00pm on a Monday evening, arriving in at the Heathrow Airport in London on Tuesday. Various photographers are present, and Granada Television is there to greet the band as they arrive to begin filming for The Doors Are Open. Jo Durden-Smith conducts the introductory 'Occupation?' sequence, later re-created for the 1991 feature length film 'The Doors', by Oliver Stone.

Info:

Following their departure from Heathrow Airport, The Doors are joined in the back of their limousine by the Granada crew as they begin making their way through the streets of London. Shots captured during Q&A's with each band member are incorporated into the film. The final destination of the band and crew are unknown.

Info:

A press conference is held at the Institute for Contemporary Arts (ICA Gallery) on September 4th, two days prior to The Doors first performance at the Roundhouse. Many journalists, photographers, and record company executives are in attendance, including Jac Holzman of Elektra Records. Portions of the conference are filmed and close-up interview segments with the band members are incorporated into the program. The filmed portion of Ray Manzarek's Q&A is conducted by Lon Goddard of Record Mirror magazine. More in-depth interview material from the conference is later published throughout many British newspapers and magazines by the journalists in attendance.

Info:

Footage of the band's soundcheck at the Roundhouse is included in the final edit of the completed film, featuring Ray Manzarek on vocals in a rendition of Hello, I Love You, and Robby Krieger with an instrumental portion of Little Red Rooster. The exact amount of film shot during the soundcheck is unknown, however an audio tape with unused portions not present in the film is known to collectors.

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A conversation with John Densmore is shot backstage at the Roundhouse during the band's soundcheck. The total length of the original Q&A session is unknown.

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The Doors are captured on monochrome videotape by Granada's crew during the first set of both nights at the Roundhouse by a set of four cameras - stage left, stage right, a rolling camera at the foot of the stage, and another placed at a higher angle in the audience. Although only one performance is scheduled to be filmed, problems with the footage from the first night force the Granada crew to return the following night for re-shooting. Due to the very late start times of the second sets and the contractual obligations of the unionized cameramen, videotaping of the late shows do not occur. All original production videotape shot during these performances is now lost due to trashing of film by BBC's archives. There is a strong possibility that a surviving 8-minute roll of color 16mm film shot at the Roundhouse was in fact shot by the Granada crew, however confirmation is still needed.

Info:

A brief clip of John Densmore speaking at the Polydoor Records office is included in the program. Jim Morrison can be seen in the background wearing a striped shirt seen in other interview clips shown in the documentary (See Below). Although the exact date of The Doors visit to the Polydor Records office has not been confirmed, the nature of the questions and answers with the band during this press meeting, along with the weekend schedule, indicate that this event takes place on September 9th. The exact amount of footage shot at the office with all four band members present for the filming is unknown. Polydor Records office in London is located at 17-19 Stratford Place, Oxford St.

Info:

Two interview segments with Jim Morrison are included in the program. The exact length of film footage shot during this conversation is unknown, however cross references with published interviews indicate that these segments were filmed at the Polydor Records office in London. During this segment Jim Morrison tells the interviewer you have to be a politician or an assassin to really be a superstar.

Info:

This is the second of two interview segments with Jim Morrison filmed at the Polydoor Records office in London. Jo Durden-Smith can be heard conversing with Jim Morrison during this short excerpt. He tells the Granada producer that he likes to do a song or a piece of music that is a pure expression of joy.