Overall Rating
  Awesome: 34.67%
Worth A Look: 29.33%
Just Average: 17.33%
Pretty Crappy: 13.33%
Sucks: 5.33%
5 reviews, 45 user ratings
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Doors, The |
by LitzaMo
"Not one to watch while doing any kind of drugs..."

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A trippy, sensationalized, Oliver Stone directed version of Jim Morrison's life. Who cares? It's still a great ride, and lots of fun late at night.Watching this movie was an experience in itself. It was one of those movies that I got forced into watching because my best friend is obsessed with the Doors and Jim, and in fact, when he was nine years old he looked exactly like the kid who plays Young Jim--for those of you who don't know, the pudgy-faced kid from Roseanne whose name I totally cannot remember right now. Anyway, I was really exhausted and slept through most of the movie first time through. Good thing we watched it every night for about a month. I know the movie by heart now.
So is it a good movie? If you're hardcore into the Doors, it's a fifty-fifty shot. It really depends on your attitude towards Jim. Some say it idolizes him and some say it demonizes him, so go figure. I think it showed his transition from semi-normal, eccentric poet to drug-addled, abusive psychotic quite well. And Val Kilmer as Jim....well, I love the Doors, and I get confused sometimes. The face in my head is half Val and half Jim, and Val does an excellent job of really becoming Jim. I guess I understand Jim's quandary, which was: How can one stay true to the music and poetry and be signed to a major label and have a hit song (Light My Fire) under your belt? It's my distinct impression that Jim would have been totally content to remain an underground poet without anyone to answer to artistically. The pressure he felt to (here comes 20th Century Fox on the stereo. give me a second to bask...) OK. The pressure he felt to live up to studio expectations and to write what he wanted to write was what drove him to alcohol and drugs, and I'm not sure if I saw that in the movie. Oliver Stone did a fabulous job of filming Jim's mind. That is, the movie itself makes me feel like I'm on some kind of substance from the very beginning, and that must be what Jim felt like.
If you're looking for an accurate historical account of the Doors, this is not necessarily what to go to, although it's a great start. It gives only one perspective and involves only one group of people: The Doors themselves and Jim's "girlfriend," Pam. If you want another look at things, read Linda Ashton's book Wild Child. Linda was very close to Jim, and the book tells of their relationship. I don't know how much of it is fictionalized, but the whole thing rang true in my head. And the end of it made me cry with rage. So there are other resources out there. **OKAY!!! Reading other reviewers' notes on The Doors has made me realize that people really do see Jim the way he's portrayed in the movie. DON'T buy that. Do your own damn research. Find out what else went on. Don't imagine that Pam wasn't a heroin addict. Don't think that the rest of the band was totally innocent. Don't. Just don't. God! If there's one thing that really ticks me off...**
The absolutely funniest scene in the whole movie: The Doors are in the process of writing "Light My Fire." Ray says to give him a bit to come up with an intro. Flash to Jim and the rest of the Doors walking away from the house, with organ music in the background. They've gone perhaps 25 yards when Ray yells, "Guys...Hey guys.. I got it."
The Doors is a great movie. I'm affectionate towards it. There are great concert scenes and powerful poetic moments. Jim was a fabulous poet, for the right kind of ears. Unfortunately, his star fell before those ears ever got a chance.
(PS. If you look in the credits, the priestess who does the joining ceremony between Jim and the crazy woman journalist, Patricia Kennealy, is the for-real Patricia Kennealy. Wow!) (Note: It took me almost a week to remember her name.)The Doors is a wonderful movie to bond over, but I wouldn't watch it if you aren't already into the Doors. I didn't appreciate it at all until I really started listening to their music. After that, it was fuckin' awesome!
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=855&reviewer=222 originally posted: 07/08/00 23:17:28
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USA 01-Mar-1991 (R) DVD: 12-Dec-2006
UK N/A
Australia N/A
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