DS, signed “Ray Manzarek,” two pages, 8.5 x 11, July 2, 1979. Agreement between Ray Manzarek of The Doors and American Zoetrope, concerning a royalty agreement regarding the "use of certain masters in the motion picture 'Apocalypse Now' and the soundtrack album thereof." In part: "You have informed the undersigned that the only Composition covered by said agreement which actually appears in the soundtrack of the Photoplay is the Composition entitled 'The End,' which appears twice in the Photoplay. In order to induce you to include said Composition in the Album, the undersigned hereby agrees that said Paragraph 3(d) is amended so that the figure 'five percent (5%)' in the limit on proration for a double disk album as described…is replaced, by the figure 'two percent (2%).'" Signed at the conclusion in blue ballpoint by Ray Manzarek. In fine condition. Accompanied by a full letter of grading and authenticity from PSA/DNA, evaluating the autograph as a "9."
The Doors' 'The End' features prominently in the film's opening scene, playing in the background as the film opens sans credits, the whirling of Huey helicopters in a hellfire landscape interspersed with the whirring of a ceiling fan in the hotel room of Captain Benjamin L. Willard, played by Martin Sheen. He lies contemplatively, cursed by memories. A handgun, an empty glass of cognac, a smoldering cigarette. Willard rises, peers through the blinds, and exclaims: 'Saigon…sh*t. I'm still only in Saigon. Every time, I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle.'
