I am back and ready to force my opinions on you all once again.
I am back and ready to force my opinions on you all once again.
Member since:18.04.2001
Reviews:47
Members who trust:13
Many things have been given the Oliver Stone treatment. From Vietnam in 'Platoon' to presidential assassination in 'JFK'. So what happens when one of the greatest rock bands of all time are immortalised on celluloid by one of the greatest directors of all time?
I am one of the few amongst my generation. I loved The Doors before I had seen the movie. I had read the two books that it is based upon and I had naturally sample all the music that they had to offer. So I could watch this movie with a little more knowledge than most.
OK I was not alive during the summer of love. I have not experienced the ‘revolution’ or the free love society (God I wish I had). The Doors and Jim Morrison were world leaders in these causes however. How well did this movie portray this?
The first thing that strikes you about this movie is how much Val Kilmer looks like Jim Morrison. I do not know how much make up was used (very little by all accounts) but if the Jim Morrison of the late sixties/early seventies was placed in the same room as Kilmer’s Morrison then I think you would have trouble picking the real one.
Yet the important thing with a biopic is not that the actors look like the people but that you can believe that they are the people. I think that watching Kilmer playing Morrison is about as close as I will get to watching Morrison (well he is dead).
What is the story I hear you ask? (Well only if you have no musical knowledge)
Jim Morrison is a young poet keen on experimenting with music and drugs. He joins a band, The Doors, where he is given the opportunity to do both. The movie is primarily the story of the band, centring on Morrison and his relationship with the rest of the band, Pamela Courson his girlfriend and the set of people he finds himself drawn to.
The movie is a roller coaster of emotions. Visually spectacular it is a joy to watch. What else could you expect from Oliver Stone? Well what you cannot expect is an unbiased movie; you cannot expect a movie that tells the story, as most of the people close to Morrison would say it happened.
The movie skirts round the issue of alcoholism and focuses heavily on the issue of drugs. I realise that this makes a far more interesting subject matter but the fact of the matter is Morrison was an alcoholic before a drug taker. Many would state that if he were given the choice of one or the other then he would take booze over dope.
The movie also paints a strange picture of Morrison’s personality. It portrays him as an entity beyond normal man. It shows him as a kind of enigma who was beyond normal feelings. If you read any of the countless books on Morrison you could easily see that this is not true. He was to put it bluntly a dickhead. Self-obsessed and less of a free thinker and more of a control freak. Yet it also skirts around the fact that he had a gentler side. He loved many people and became a father figure to at least one teenager.
OK leaving this aside this is a spectacular movie. It is compelling and bold. It does show the man as the legend that has grown around him. The drug taking scenes have been shot with an amazing eye for the absurd. The soundtrack is of course immense. Filled with Doors hits and other blockbusters of the era.
This is a modern classic that will be around as long as the timeless music of The Doors. If you have not seen it then watch it tonight. If you have seen it then watch it again. (Just be sure to have your pinch of salt with you)
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
The Doorsis Oliver Stone's epic, typically portentous homage to the band that soundtracked ... more
his youth. As is generally the case with Stone's films, its scope is impressively wide. He places The Doors at the eye of a 1960s cultural and political maelstro...
Postage & Packaging: £1.24 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
![The Doors - Special Edition [DVD] [1991]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78525315.jpg "The Doors - Special Edition [DVD] [1991]")
May 25th, 2001
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