The Doors (1991)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Randall Jahnson (written by) and
Oliver Stone (written by)

Release Date:

1 March 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

The Ultimate Story of Sex, Drugs & Rock 'N' Roll

Plot:

The story of the famous and influential 1960's rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Paris | Rock Band | 1960s | Bar

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Val Kilmer	...	Jim Morrison
Meg Ryan	...	Pamela Courson
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Ray Manzarek
Frank Whaley	...	Robby Krieger
Kevin Dillon	...	John Densmore
Michael Wincott	...	Paul Rothchild
Michael Madsen	...	Tom Baker
Josh Evans	...	Bill Siddons
Dennis Burkley	...	Dog
Billy Idol	...	Cat
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Patricia Kennealy
John Densmore	...	Engineer - Last Session
Gretchen Becker	...	Mom
Jerry Sturm	...	Dad
Sean Stone	...	Young Jim

MPAA:

Rated R for heavy drug content, and for strong sexuality and language.

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (analog 70 mm prints) | CDS (digital 35 mm and 70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (analog 35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Iceland:14 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:MA (DVD re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A (video rating) | Canada:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (cut) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bill Graham Films

Trivia:

During the filming, Doors music was constantly being played on the set.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the Miami concert Jim Morrison is seen first with a boom stand for his microphone then they cut to an audience shot. When the camera goes back to Morrison there is no microphone stand. Another audience shot and then when the camera returns, there is the microphone stand again.

Quotes:

Jim Morrison: This is the strangest life I've ever known.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Val Kilmer" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Carmina Burana

The Lizard King

We all know how legendary The Doors were and still are, and sooner or later someone was going to make a film about them. Might as well be Oliver Stone. Given the subject matter, Stone was able to go off the deep end with his imagery here to the point of making one have an epileptic seizure OR think they just dropped some acid. Either way, it's great to watch in my book.

The film is flawed in that it's not titled correctly. It's not about The Doors, it's about Jim Morrison and basically just the wild and crazy side of him. That's ok I guess, Morrison was The Doors. Many have criticized Stone for not depicting Jim in the proper light, but given how many people knew him it had to be an almost impossible task to please everyone as everyone knew him differently. I think we all can attest to this through the friendships we have with our friends. Some know us as one way, and some know us as another. I respect Stone for trying and feel sorry for him about the flak people have given him as I know he is a very talented director. I think his intentions were spawned out of true admiration and that he made this film for himself and to pay tribute, and not to win any awards. More of this can be found on the Special Edition DVD from Stone himself.

Even if one does not enjoy the trippy qualities of the film such as I do, or any part for that matter, one could not avoid admitting how well Val Kilmer portrays Morrison. It's simply amazing and is one of the best performances that I can bring to mind, and is the best example of how to literally become someone else, bar none. He doesn't act like he's Jim Morrison, he becomes Jim Morrison. He is Jim Morrison. This is no doubt helped by the uncanny facial similarities the two have. Not only that, most of the singing that's in the film was done by Kilmer himself and even a few of the original band members admitted that they honestly could not tell the difference between their two voices. Even if you hate Val Kilmer, this performance jumps in your face and screams for respect while trying to strangle you.

As mentioned earlier, some do not like the film for several reasons. One is that it makes Jim look like a monster and that it only glorifies his wild and uninhibited behavior. Two is that it's basically just one big acid trip into bits of history about the band. For one, Oliver Stone said it best....when you have to condense a person's life, a legend at that, into two measly hours you must take the highlights. Everyone lives longer than two hours, even Jim. We all know Jim was crazy, and with so many of the insane stories Stone heard while trying to piece together the script for this, a lot of what he heard was simply what you see. The wild and crazy side. As a result, what we're left with is not an accurate depiction of The Doors or of Jim Morrison. It is entertaining, yes, but it is not accurate. I think it could have been done perfectly, but it would have been excruciatingly difficult...and still not everyone would like it. And as far as the trippiness of the film, well that's Oliver Stone for you. We saw the same thing in Natural Born Killers a few years later. I personally like the style of it and felt that it was in place here but that's just my opinion. The '60's, drugs, and rock and roll equals trippy.

Overall a decent attempt at one of the most difficult subjects to cover, legends. And even though it's not entirely accurate and even though Morrison is one of my idols and he deserved a little better, I do enjoy the film greatly. The film should have been named Pandora's Box.