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 | Rock Band | 1960s | Reference To Nietzsche | Party

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

Colour:

Colour

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 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | 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:

The film kicked around for nearly twenty years before it made it into production. Amongst other actors considered for the role at various times were Tom Cruise, Jason Patric, and John Travolta. During the time Travolta was being considered he met the band (who were initially quite involved with the possible production), and they discussed reforming the band and going on tour with Travolta on vocals. In the end the band chose not to do this because they felt John Travolta was too nice to fill Morrison's shoes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: As with most biopics, some of the events did not occur exactly as they are portrayed in the film, or may have happened at a different time. Some did not take place at all and are included purely for dramatic purposes.

Quotes:

Jim Morrison: I believe in a long prolonged derangement of the senses to attain the unknown... Although I live in the subconscious, our pale reason hides the infinite from us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Critic: L.A. Jay (#1.9)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

When the Music's Over

Hmmmm....bad, yet good.

First off, The Doors are my favorite band. EVER. No one can match up to their revolutionary style, their originality, or the music. They are truly THE GREATEST AMERICAN BAND. And one of the most influential bands. EVER. Also one of the most controversial bands. Those are just some of the reasons why The Doors are my fav.

Anyway...the Oliver Stone film is good, but not a spectacular piece of work. I did enjoy watching it and would also recommend it. If you never listened to The Doors or aren't really into them then I think this flick will get you interested in the band and their music. But for the most part the movie seems to focus too much on Morrison and in some parts when it does, it seems fake. For example, when Jim is talking or arguing with his girl he is always taking a line from one of his songs and/or from his poems. If you listened to the music before then you would know what I mean. It seems Stone didn't know what to write so he just borrowed some lines from a song/poem and put them in the script. And the preformance by Kilmer is very good, but not great. It seems as if he's trying too hard to become him and when he does he seems to go overboard. But as a movie this is good. As a biography about Jim Morrison this is mediocre. Even the fellow members of The Doors say Morrison isn't portrayed 100%, saying that the movie just portrayed the bad, drunk, disgusting Morrison and never really showed the good humored, shy, sensitive Morrison.

Well, at least there's still the music.