Description
Laurel Canyon is a two-part epix documentary series, directed by Alison Ellwood, that features an intimate portrait of the artists who created a music revolution through a wealth of rare and newly unearthed footage and audio recordings. What documentary filmmaker Alison Ellwood does is tell a story through mixing interviews with archival footage. The end result is a beautiful documentary. It isn’t without its sadness given the time period. The film also serves as a reminder that many of these songs don’t happen without the counterculture of the time.
Featuring all-new, original interviews with Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Michelle Phillips, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Roger McGuinn and more, the uniquely immersive and experiential docuseries takes us back in time to a place where a rustic canyon in the heart of Los Angeles became a musical petri dish.
Part One of Laurel Canyon Air Date May 31st 2020: original footage and narration by the singers and songwriters themselves, thinking that there could not possibly be anything left that had not been shown elsewhere before. The show does a very creative job of joining that particular place – Laurel Canyon Road – with stories about the people and music that came out of that one location. Not to be missed if you love the music of that period in time.
Running Time 1 Hour 19 Minutes
Part Two of Laurel Canyon Air Date June 7th 2020
Running Time 1 Hour 18 Minutes
Features: David Crosby & Graham Nash of Crosby Stills & Nash, Jackson Browne, Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, Linda Ronstadt, Don Henley of The Eagles, Chris Hillman of The Byrds, Bonnie Riatt, Steve Martin and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees along with Photographers Henry Diltz and Nurit Wilde
Total Running time for the 2 DVD Set: 2 Hours 37 Minutes
Sound is Dolby Digital
Cynthia House (verified owner) –
Fantastic documentary about the music and musicians who lived in Laurel Canyon in the 60’s and 70’s. This double DVD set is highly recommended.
Kimberly Miller Taylor (verified owner) –
I love this DVD! I saw this two part documentary on cable and knew that I had to own it. Great sound, great picture. It took me back to the late 60’s and early 70’s musically and historically. Great documentary about a great time in our music history in southern California. Thanks MVR!!!! K Taylor
Scott Eastin (verified owner) –
Great service and price. The picture quality on each DVD is outstanding. Highly recommended!
macpherson.don (verified owner) –
Hard-to-find DVD Set of the complete two-part documentary on the prominent rock musicians who formed a community in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s. Good video and audio quality, attractive graphic on the two discs, well-packaged, arrived in the mail from MVR in perfect condition.
jackson.laramore.smith (verified owner) –
This was the most revealing, sensitive and complete treatment of the Laurel Canyon story that I have had the pleasure to view! I would dare say that the spirit and soul of that place and time managed to be communicated. MVR has done us all a service making this available and they do business in the best possible way. Thank you MVR! Jackson
J. Mac (verified owner) –
How cool it must have been back in the day to walk down the street to David Crosby’s house and then back up the street to Jackson Browne’s house. And then to head over to the Whiskey and take in a show by The Doors the same day. A great documentary that captures a truly wonderful time in music in Southern California. Beautiful sound and picture as always from the magicians at MVR. Highly recommend!
Steve in Virginia (verified owner) –
I’ll give you the bottom line of this review at the very start: The two-part documentary Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time is endlessly fascinating and a thrill to watch, and the company from which I ordered it – Music Video Resource (MVR)- is a first-rate, classy business at which one can purchase nearly 1000 DVDs (and counting) of just about any rock musician, as well as musicians and artists from some other genres.
Now the rest of the story.
I read the reviews of Laurel Canyon when it was released in theatres a few years ago and though the reviews were excellent, I figured I had better things to do than watch a bunch of old rock stars sit around and talk about themselves (every rock star’s favorite topic of conversation) and what it was like “back in the day.” Then by pure luck I came across the documentary on a cable channel.
I watched both parts and was astonished by how informative, interesting and, yes, addictive it was. It tells the story of the LA community Laurel Canyon from the mid 60’s to the early 70’e when it was inhabited by numerous then-unknown rock singers who would go on to fame, fortune, and, sadly for some of them, ruin. It is all there: the houses in which they lived; the clubs in which they hung out and eventually performed; the all night get togethers of 15-20 people playing new songs and smoking marijuana living a life of peace, love and understanding. Until cocaine reared its ugly and deadly head in 1969.
[One important topic the documentary doesn’t address in detail -and I wish it had- is just how the males of the bunch, all in their late teens to mid-twenties, managed to escape the draft.]
The luminaries who make an appearance (either in home movies, photos or speaking roles) include: David Crosby; Graham Nash; Stephen Stills; Neil Young; Jackson Brown; Steve Martin (yes, the comedian); Michele Philipps and Cass Elliott; Linda Ronstadt; Don Henley; Chris Hillman; Mickey Dolenz and Peter Torkelson; Eric Clapton; Jim Morrison; members of The Turtles; and Joni Mitchell.
It doesn’t get any better than this for those who lived through, or just love, American rock music of the 60s.
I wanted desperately to buy the DVD set of Laurel Canyon and thought for sure it would be available on Amazon. But every site I checked was the same story – Part 1 but no Part 2. I had just about reconciled myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to purchase the set, when, again by pure luck, I found the web site of MVR (www.MusicVideoResource.com). [Well, actually, my wife found it for me; she can find just about anything on the internet, and I do mean anything.] and MVR had both parts.
Then I faced the question of whether I really wanted to do business with a company I had never heard of; I certainly wasn’t going to give it my credit card information. Solved that problem by purchasing a VISA gift card. That way, at most I’d be out $30.
I sent my order and figured I had about a 50/50 chance of getting a Laurel Canyon DVD set that was in good condition.
Turned out I had nothing to worry about. I got a small package within a week, played both Parts of Laurel Canyon on our DVD player, and they were in perfect condition. Thank you, MVR, for having a product that I very much wanted to buy.
Based on my experience, I can say unequivocally that there is no need to have any doubts about dealing with MVR, and as I indicated earlier, it has over a thousand DVDs from music performers, including many who are household names and scores from groups only true believers have heard of.
Good luck. I hope you enjoy your purchases as much as I enjoyed Laurel Canyon 2 DVD Set.
dennisdlynch (verified owner) –
Like others, who have written reviews for Laurel Canyon A Place in Time, I have search for several years attempting to purchase a DVD of this documentary. Even Amazon, where one can buy a small Pacific island, did not offer a common non-Blu-Ray DVD playable in Region 1. At last, I found MVR and ordered a set. Although there were issues with Disc 1, My Main Man Adam@MVR, quickly fixed the problem. I cannot stress enough in these trying times: What Great Service! My only regret is that I wish MVR could offer similar Docuseries for a number of older Artists that I enjoy. However, I understand that they are constantly building new collections. Have patience.