Rating: 
Summary: special edition...please
Review: I know there are a lot of viewers that are The Doors fans who hated this movie because of inaccuracy issues, but this movie, regardless of truths or untruths, turned people on to The Doors' music by intensifying a mystique already surrounding Jim Morrison. I'm sure the surviving members didn't complain about the movie when they received ballooned royalty checks from all the new sales of their material. It's all about entertainment and art (and money). Anyway, this DVD gets three stars not because the movie is average but because this special edition doesn't have an anamorphic screen. WHAT A CROCK!! Why did I even bother selling my old version to get this new version for a few unnecessary extra scenes. Thanks a lot ARTISAN.
Rating:
Summary: special edition...please
Review: I know there are a lot of viewers that are The Doors fans who hated this movie because of inaccuracy issues, but this movie, regardless of truths or untruths turned people on to The Doors' music by intensifying a mystique already surrounding Jim Morrison. I'm sure the surviving members didn't complain about the movie when they received ballooned royalty checks from all the new sales of their material. It's all about entertainment and art (and money). Anyway, this DVD gets three stars not because the movie is average but because this special edition doesn't have an anamorphic screen. WHAT A CROCK!! Why did I even bother selling my old version to get this new version for a few unnecessary extra scenes. Thanks a lot ARTISAN.
Rating: 
Summary: The Movie That Makes You A Fan!
Review: I have been a true doors fan for some years. I am 15 years old, and I first discovered doors music when I would hear it coming from the room of my older brother when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I picked up these songs when I bought the doors first album when I was about 12 and it just clicked in and I remembered how all the songs sounded. This movie was also quite an inspiration to my devotion as a doors fan. Val Kilmer is excellent as Jim Morrison. Many negative reviews are written about how Oliver Stone didn't "accurately" portray the doors. The fact is that everyone has there own opinion about how Jim Morrison was and how he acted and that is was Oliver Stone did when he made the film. It was based on what he felt the doors and Jim Morrison were like. Jim had many many sides to him, crazy, funny, caring, kind, happy, dark, etc. I believe that the doors will always be my absolute most favorite band because of there unique sound, exceptional lyrics, and incredible singer/poet.
Rating:
Summary: DVD loaded with extras ... but a historical abomination
Review: You can forgive historical inaccuracies in a film of this nature ... all in the name of dramatic license and whatnot. But what really rankles is Stone's audio commentary. He says he used the music in chronological order, which is wrong. The timeline of the music jumps all over the place (for instance, the song "Indian Summer" from 1969 is played in the background during the scene when Jim and Pamela first get together, in 1965). He talks about the nightmares of 1968 during a scene when Morrison is in court after Miami, which occurred in 1969. He says Pamela died just a couple months after Morrison died, which is wrong -- she died three years after Morrison died. And near the end of the film, when he's talking about the LA Woman album, he keeps referring to Riders on the Storm as "Killer in the Road." And he says, "I believe Killer in the Road was on the last album ... it was, as was Roadhouse Blues." WRONG! And then we figure out that he's not actually talking about Roadhouse Blues ... as the song LA Woman is playing on the soundtrack, he refers to the song as Roadhouse Blues. There are many other such silly, basic inaccuracies in Stone's audio commentary, and I do have a problem with that.
Rating:
Summary: VAL KILMER IS JIM MORRISON!!!!
Review: I RENTED THIS MOVIE ABOUT 2-3 DAYS AGO. I THOUGHT IT WAS SUCKY WHEN I FIRST SAW IT, BUT WHEN I THINK OF IT, IT WAS BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS. THAT SONG "LIGHT MY FIRE." IT IS THE MOST AWESOME SONG ON THE CDs AND THE MOVIE (THE VAL KILMER VERSION IS BETTER)! I AM A BIG FAN OF THE DOORS NOW! THIS MOVIE HAS EVERYTHING: SEX(LOTS OF IT!), VIOLENCE, NUDITY (LOTS OF IT!), DRUGS (LOTS), AND LANGUAGE (LOTS), COMEDY (LOTS). WELL, ALL I REALLY HAVE TO SAY IS THIS: THE DOORS IS THE BEST MUSICAL GROUP MOVIE EVER! I RECOMMEND IT! I AM ONLY 12 YEARS OLD AND I LOVED IT! IT IS A SHOCK TO ME! SO I RECOMMEND IT TO PEOPLE 12-ADULT (MAYBE A LITTLE OLDER BECAUSE OF LANGUAGE, SEX, NUDITY, AND DRUG CONTENT.) SO SEE IT!
Rating:
Summary: DVD extras worth the wait
Review: About two years ago I wrote a review of this movie (VHS) so I won't go into that here (you can find it in the list of reviews). This time I'm focusing on the DVD-specific features which make this release a must-have. Oliver Stone's running commentary (which does not mute the movie audio but plays over it) is fascinating and provides real insights into his creative processes. A cool feature: in addition to the scene index you can also jump directly to a particular Doors song in the film. Disc Two holds the real gems. Included here are 43 minutes of deleted scenes, some of which deserved deletion, others which could have been interesting in the final film. Either way a lot of the odd cuts and edits in the final product now make a lot more sense. The "Road of Excess" documentary features interviews with some of the cast but of particular interest here are the comments from Patricia Keneally and her take on Stone's "vision" and portrayal/malignment of Morrison. A definate recommendation for any Doors fan.
Rating:
Summary: The Doors 2-disc special edition DVD
Review: After buying the 2-disc special edition DVD, I must once again rave about how fabulous the DVD format is and the richness of detail that DVD allows.The 2-disc special edition contains the movie on disc one (including Oliver Stone's running commentary), and disc two contains trailers, a documentary, and deleted scenes. When you digest the entire opus as presented over these two discs, you begin to understand the work of art that Oliver Stone brought to the screen, and the limitations of motion pictures, primarily the issue of overall length, that forced the director to make editing decisions that had to be made, in order to properly develop the themes of the movie, but which can have the unfortunate side-effect of compromising the story's factual integrity. In the commentary and on disc two, Stone reveals the controversies between him and the "keepers" of the Morrison flame. Of primary focus is the issue of Patricia Keneally, the NYC "witch." In order to keep the movie focused, Stone used the Keneally character to distill several females with whom the Lizard King had liaisons. On the DVD he apologizes at least twice to Keneally, for ascribing to her character things that Keneally did not do with Morrison in real life. Stone states that if he had it to do over again, he would have created a fictitious character with a different name, so that the reputation of a living person would not be affected. The result of this eating-of-crow on the DVD, and the full explanation of Stone's artistic vision on this DVD is that we see Stone as the consumate artist, using the medium of the motion picture to distill the essence of his subject. The Doors is a masterpiece, full of the worldview of the '60's and a hypnotic, dream-like, symbolic exploration of the poet-rock-star-shaman that makes Jim Morrison a key figure in understanding what the '60's revolution in America was all about. The use of a Death character who haunts many scenes, was a brilliant way to expose the concept that Morrison dwelled upon the nearness of death as the energizer of his life. Beyond that, the music is marvelously rendered, and the Miami concert, in particular, with its orbiting steady-cam, is the crescendo of the music, fused with the shaman, brought to a fever pitch. The Doors is Oliver Stone's loving homage to the impact that the Doors had and continue to have on our culture. The Special Edition 2-disc DVD is *the* vehicle for breaking through the doors of misconception and arriving at a true understanding of Oliver Stone, the artist, and the mythology of the Doors.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Rock Spectacle.
Review: Oliver Stone's "The Doors" is a blistering, visually hypnotic, visceral and memorable film about Jim Morrison, that leather-wearing idol of the rock world. "The Doors" perfectly captures an era during which an enduring artist emerged. Like "Platoon," "Born On The Fourth Of July" and "JFK," "The Doors," which is less-serious than those other movies, is still an important dramatic film document of an era America, indeed, the whole world lived through. Val Kilmer gives his greatest performance as the rock star Morrison. Nothing Kilmer has done surpasses this. He seems possessed, incredibly making us forget who he is and making us believe that he IS Jim Morrison. He even sang most of the material live, especially the live concerts and went hoarse from doing the 1969 Miami concert sequence. He captures the energy and madness we see in Morrison's most wild performances. Stone's film is not an inside job into Morrison, but an outside view of the man and his times. And of course, there's some great music here. There are truly hypnotic scenes, like the one where the band performs "The End" at the Whisky A Go-Go. And on DVD the visuals look great. Of course there is a lot of unpleasantness when we see Morrison falling deeper into the trap of decadence brought by fame. But I think Stone was giving a warning of how excess can kill a great artist. The concert sequences are spectacular and have the authenticity of a documentary. I do agree that it is one of Stone's lesser movies, but still a good one. It is the best rock movie made so far. Of course it shouldn't be declared THE definitive account of Jim Morrison, but it should be seen by anyone who's either a fan of The Doors, intrigued by the 60s, or is just looking for a true rock movie. Vibrant and alive, "The Doors" is a blast.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad
Review: I know Oliver Stone has won 2 Oscars for his screenwriting...but that doesn't alter my opinion that he is one of the worst screenwriters going. This movie confirms that fact as much as anything. Norman Mailer in VANITY FAIR called this "one of the all-time bad movies." And Val Kilmer carries himself like a handsome guy, but his face actually isn't that handsome. Jim Morrison was a really handsome guy. They needed someone with Morrison's looks and charisma to play the lead. Kilmer does have the mannerisms and voice down, but it's not enough. I didn't give it one star, only because the music is so great to listen to.
Rating:
Summary: a must watch for everyone born under the sun
Review: If there is any thing bad about this movie is that it does not go on forever and ever.The life of Jim Morrison is one story that can never be portrayed in words or pictures but this effort is worth a praise.Though it does not really shows what a good company Jim was but it do keeps you goin through the worst parts of life.If you really wanna see why this man was and still is a mystery,You must watch this movie.
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