Rating: 
Summary: Doors fan or not, see it for Kilmer's performance alone
Review: Thanks to the unbelieveably meticulous direction from Oliver Stone and the hypnotic sublime performance of Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, The Doors is an undeniable masterpiece of film. The late 60's and early 70's era is re-created brilliantly as we see the rise of a young Morrison who went from a poet to being the frontman of one of the defining bands of the century. Kilmer's performance must be seen to be believed (he looks, moves, and sounds exactly like the late Lizard King), and he is clearly the most underrated actor of his generation. An all star cast is brought together with Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction) as Robby Kreiger, Kyle MacLachlan (Blue Velvet) as Ray Manzarek, Kevin Dillon (The Blob) as John Densmore, and Meg Ryan as Jim's long time girlfriend Pam. The rest of the ensemble cast includes Michael Madsen, Michael Wincott, Billy Idol, and Kathleen Quinlan. All in all, this is one of the definitive films of the 90's, and is a must own for fans of The Doors or Kilmer alike.
Rating:
Summary: A Chance to Peek Into the Past
Review: I've noticed that people enjoy slamming this movie, deriding Kilmer's ability to turn in an accurate portrayal of Jim Morrison's frenetic energy and bravado. I loved it. Not only does Kilmer look strikingly like Morrison, right down to those full lips, he also manages to capture that ... nonchalance of Morrison's. Sure, he was a total nut sometimes, and he treated the people that loved him the most like ..., but the man could work a crowd like no one before or since. Stone's adaption does not provide any striking insight into the world of the Doors or the era. The soundtrack is, of course, phenomenal and a great backdrop for the vision of Kilmer/Morrison generally making a huge mess of his life. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Decadent, Vibrant, Stylish And Visually Brilliant.
Review: "The Doors" is the greatest of all rock movies, in the years since it was first released in 1991 it has gained a weird kind of cult status, it is popular among young rockers and teenagers as it is among the adults who belong to the generation first grabbed by "Light My Fire." The film is directed by cinema madman and virtuoso, Oliver Stone, who was a Doors fan when serving in Vietnam and here conceives a movie that is big in scope and excess, in other words, it stays true to the spirit of it's subject. People (including Doors organist Ray Manzarek) have attacked Stone and movie for dramatic license and fictional inventions, but the Morrison myth has grown so large that it is hard to even trust the accounts of people like Manzarek (who enjoys pouring gasoline into the myth's fire) and so the movie should be taken for what it is, a MOVIE. And man, it is one of the great rock spectacles ever dramatized on film. Val Kilmer gives his greatest performance, dressed in the black leather pants and long hair, he gives a stunning performance because we never doubt it is Jim Morrison dancing around on the screen, the effect is even more enhanced because Kilmer sang most of the concert scenes (in the DVD commentary, Stone informs us Kilmer sang ALL of the 1969 Miami concert sequence) and as a performer, he has a pretty good voice. The movie captures not only the madness of Morrison, but also the atmosphere and lore of his music. The movie uses no score, it imploys the Doors songs to create the mood (while squeezing in "Venus In Furs" by Velvet Underground and the classic opus "Carmina Burana"). There are moments of insansity and excess that create a hypnotic intensity driven by the rich, dreamy photography by Robert Richardson, and there are even, amidst the sex, drugs and rock n' roll, some moments of romantic sweetness in a poetic way when Morrison rhymes for his girl Pamela Courson (played by Meg Ryan). Stone used completely live audiences for the concert sequences, which are exhilarating and stunning, especially a gothic sequence in San Francisco when the band performs "Not To Touch The Earth." Any Doors fan will love this film, especially since the soundtrack, featuring all the greats like "Break On Through," "Backdoor Man," "Light My Fire," "Strange Days," "The Crystal Ship" and "Five To One" pulses with the Doors sound, and hearing Kilmer deliver his own performances is a treat no Doors afficionado or rock enthusiast should miss. "The Doors" is thrilling, hypnotic and a fiery experience of great rock n' roll.
Rating: 
Summary: Rock And Role
Review: Director Oliver Stone's biopic of 60's rock legend, Jim Morrison (Val Kilmer) and the rock group THE DOORS, is a very good film. My knowledge of Morrison and the group was intially limited to information from archival footage. I was always interested in music of the 60s and its history, but I never really was a fan of this group, per se. Kilmer emerses himself in the part and gives one of the best performances of his career. The rest of the cast includes Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan Frank Whaley, and Kevin Dillion, all are solid in their respective roles. Because of the film's rock and roll subject matter, this allowed Stone, to not only recreate key performances from concerts, but also uses striking visuals for the scenes of Morrison's hallucinations. As with many of Stone's films, the soundtack becomes an important element, and in this movie, that is the case, even moreso, of course. The extras on the 2 disc DVD set are as good as the film. Stone's audio commentary is part production information and his take on his subject as well as the era in history. The documentary mixes real life and the film version; a well produced effort. There are no less than 43 minutes of deleted scenes, the original making of featurette, theatrical trailers, cast/crew information, and additional production notes, to top off the supplements. Overall. this is a fine biopic, with a lot to like. Recommended for Kilmer's perfomances and then some...
Rating: 
Summary: great movie, but...
Review: I guess everybody has a surround sound receiver but me. It sure would be nice to be able to choose between 5.1 and regular old stereo in the menu features. Also I wouldn't mind being able to choose to watch the movie in full screen mode in case I don't own a huge tv. Would these two simple things require a third disc? No. Other than that, great movie. Four star movie.
Rating:
Summary: Surreal take on mythic personality
Review: Somewhere in the beginning of the movie, Ray Manzarek, keyboard player for the Doors, says to Jim Morrison that "we've gotta make the myths". If Morrison by the end of his life wasn't a myth already, he sure is now, thanks to Oliver Stone's take on his short but shall we say intense life. As always, there's been a lot of controversy about Stone's historical inventions (cfr. JFK and Nixon), but then I don't think that reality was really the point anyway. What Stone pulled off here was to make a movie out of the music of The Doors, using its sensibilities and surreal images. Morrison's life is just the thread that runs through it all, and where the facts are given a wide berth, atmosphere takes over. Boy, does it ever - I think that watching The Doors is about as close as you can get to experiencing an acid trip without actually taking LSD. It's visually kinetic and obviously there's all of that music - 135 minutes worth of it. Don't watch it to get to know Jim Morrison; watch it to understand the music and the era from which it came. And watch it to see Val Kilmer's uncanny portrayel of Morrison, arguably one of the finest acting jobs ever done based on a real person. DVD treatment is fine, with a crystal clear transfer of the movie - just too bad it wasn't enhanced for 16:9 tv's. Extra's include a surprisingly honest making-of, The Road Of Excess, director's commentary with Oliver Stone still thinking himself a genius (hey, watcha gonna do?) and 43 minutes worth of deleted scenes - most of which deserved their fate.
Rating:
Summary: Inaccurate, but still an adequate biopic.
Review: Yes, there were inaccuracies in the movie. In some ways, I think that Oliver Stone had kind of betrayed Jim by turning him into some sort of clown or a disloyal misogynist who drank and took drugs, and led a band, and flashed his little Jim to a crowd of many in Miami. While all of those were true, there was a certain charm to Jim, and a certain amount of intelligence I don't think Oliver Stone got.
The sadomasochims frenzy between Jim and Patricia never really happened, the Ed Sullivan performance was exaggerated, the band never sold the song to a car commercial and God knows about the whole "THE DUCK IS DEAD" thing went. As for the dead Indian following Jim around, to quote Jerry Hopkins, the author of "The Essential Lizard King," "sorry Oliver, but if that's your hook, I'm the fish that got away." Stone took a quote that Morrison said ONCE and made a whole movie out of it.
Parts of it were accurate, like the New Haven arrest, and the fateful encounter between Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek. As for the acting, Val Kilmer did a magnificent job of portraying the doomed Morrison. He looked like him, and even sung like him. The Doors should have used him instead of Scott Stapp for that VH1 Storyteller special they did a few years back. I also thought that Kyle McLachlan's portayal of Ray Manzarek was very accurate as well. And despite its many flaws, it is still an interesting movie, but I recommend reading "No One Here gets Out Alive" for more accuracy.
Rating:
Summary: The Door to The Doors
Review: The best die young. That is a cliche', but when you think of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Mama "Cass" Elliot and Jim Morrison, there is truth in that wisdom as you look back upon the late 60's and 70's music genre. This film, a classic by Oliver Stone and what should have been an Academy Award winning performance for Val Kilmer, is a revival of one of the most remarkable rock musicians of all time - Jim Morrison... Morrision was a charismatic wizard of rock...and mesmerized his audiences not only with music...but with his poetic talents and mastery of the English language. Yes...Morrison defined his life with the statement - "I am the Lizard King...I can do anything" - and this film captures the essence of that statement. Val Kilmer was perfectly cast in this film. He was either kin to Morrison or found a piece of his soul when trying to emulate the influence JM had on the youth of the Sixties. I'd give this film a rating of "6" if it were within the rating scale. Meg Ryan is so convincing, I asked my friends if she ever had a romantic relationship with Val Kilmer outside of this film. No one knew. And the soundtrack (of course) is awesome. If I had led such a tragic life as JM...and had wallowed in the mire (no pun intended) with alcohol and drugs like he...I would have been honored to have such a film pay a tribute to my life. This is, by far, the best film ever produced on the life and times of the Sixties.
Rating:
Summary: The Music and a little bit more
Review: I might be the perfect audience for this movie. I like the Doors music, but I haven't read any of the books about them. I'm hot and cold on the excesses of Oliver Stone's film style, but it seemed to work in this case. I don't know what is truth and what is fiction, but the style of the film blended into the music made for an entertaining experience. In many ways the movie opened up their lesser-known songs to my enjoyment and the performances in the film are excellent. Being somewhat tired of Meg Ryan's Romantic Comedy per year output, it was nice seeing what might happen to such a sweet girl in the throes of the 60s, Rock music and the decadent scene. You also have to wonder why Val Kilmer wasn't nominated for an Oscar after his great performance. What's interesting about hippie movies is that film makers inevitably identify with this period and have to contain themselves not to romanticize it, but I still come away glad that I wasn't a part of it. As for the Special Edition DVD, Oliver Stone provides insightful commentary about the making of the film and the meeting of Jim's and Pam's parents. He points out and explains the symbolism of the Shaman and death and all of the things that seem in your face on first viewing. I have always thought that Stone is a top-notch filmmaker mired in his own fascination with the 60s. But you have to give the guy credit for movies like this. No one anywhere could have made a big budget movie about The Doors except for Oliver Stone.
Rating:
Summary: a mystical shine to the film
Review: The life of misunderstood rock star/poet Jim Morrison is delivered through a hazy 1960's filter and the remaining Doors given the sketchiest of treatment. A movie worth seeing if only to hear the timeless music and feel traces of the the free tumultuous time. Though little insight is given into Morrison (he is lightly shaded as an obnoxious drunk, musing poet, charming wit and lost soul) there is a mystical shine to the film. Val Kilmer is an astonishing doppelganger of Morrison.
|
