Meg Ryan Movie:

Editorial Review:
Thanks in large part to its meticulous re-creation of the late-1960s and early-'70s rock scene and the uncannily authentic performance by Val Kilmer as legendary Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Oliver Stone's hypnotic film biography is standing the test of time. Capturing the carefree mood of the Age of Aquarius, the film charts the meteoric rise of the Doors on the California club circuit (including a memorable scene showing the creation of the hit "Light My Fire"), and chronicles the band's exploits with hallucinogenics and Morrison's battles against charges of public indecency on stage. Kilmer's performance is hauntingly perfect, and performances by Meg Ryan, Kathleen Quinlan, and Kyle MacLachlan are similarly impressive. The movie doesn't fully probe the depths of Morrison's character, but as a portrait of excess it is vividly true to the spirit of the self-destructive poet known to his fans as "The Lizard King." --Jeff Shannon

The Doors [Region 2] Reviews:
A VIBRANT BLENDING OF REALITY AND LEGEND
2009-09-06 - This is my favorite Oliver Stone movie, and while I do think he might have been a bit over-the-top in trying to deify The Doors, and Morrison in particular ( I mean, this was also the age of Cream, The Who, Jimmy Hendrix, The Kinks, The Stones, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Creedance Clearwater, etc... ), the movie resonates with the feeling of rebellion that defined the era, and Val Kilmer's portrayal of 'The Lizard King' was extraordinary, and went way beyond a simple impersonation. It also has one of Meg Ryan's best performances in it. The film definitely rides the storm, and resonates long after it ends.

GREAT PICTURE & SOUND!
2009-08-20 - (Blu-ray version)
For only those, who just like me, when look for a review, they only hope to find technicals opinions, nothing about the movie, history, critical or something like that, so...
The picture is great and the sound is great too. Buy it!



Is the Aspect Ratio Correct?
2009-08-01 - I picked up this 2 disc 15th anniversary edition (THE ONE WITH THE PURPLE COVER) a couple years ago when it was being blown out new for $6 & just got around to watching it. It's one of those ultra wide & short wide screens, & it seems to me that the tops of people's heads are frequently cut off; I'm wondering if Lions Gate messed up on the aspect ratio during mastering as has happened with a few other films. I no longer have the original version to compare it with, but I strongly suspect this was messed up.

I'll Make This One Fast
2009-07-19 - Everyone has covered their views of Jim Morrison in more detail and length then his actual time in the limelight at this point. The Doors film is one of legendary proportions, often portraying the excessive more so then the intellectual elements that occurred. With so much coverage on Jim, as so with almost every Doors related book and article we'd think the DOORS MOVIE would maybe shed some light off the lizard king?

No, this movie is strongly centric on Morrison. As a movie though it holds up, it's interesting and lengthy. As a portrayal it has hits and rapid fire misses. Trippy effects, surreal warmly euphoric moments, bizarre lighting it's all here.

Unlike other movies there is no main underlying problem anyone sets out to fix, after all it's meant to be somewhat real right? Stone has fudged the truth to make possibly quick a buck or add the missing elements needed for a hit (like it wouldn't have been already). Jim Morrison was a funny, passionate, at times other worldly guy. While that is shown in brief amounts through speeches, we see his other capable side amplified. The side capable of inciting crowds, dangling off buildings to incite more people, and drinking heavily to incite the people around him. He was also a very deep thinker with a supposed IQ of 149, we find ourselves missing wondering where the other 49 went in this film. He's portrayed a sociopath with a drinking problem more so then the poet we've come to know him as.

Aside from my little rant the movie is rather enjoyable. Good music is good music and the Doors had a wonderful catalog of music. A good movie is a good movie, it offers a colorful view on an era so hazily colored. When combined it works nicely, but the falsities are my underlying disapproval of anything greater then average toward this film. As a movie it holds its own, as a tribute to an amazing band it's a bit upsetting.
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Quick run down:
Pros: Great renditions of a classic rock group, provides some uniquely odd scenes, insightful for quite a few Doors related things, impressive acting.

Cons: Detaches from reality, endorses a destructive lifestyle without the conscious normal views of these people, some scenes grow boring due to length.



One brilliant work of genius whose immortal spirit can never be defeated
2009-07-08 - Hello there,

THE FILM THAT BLEW THE COVER OF THE LEGEND THAT IS THE DOORS

The Doors revokes the worldwide interest of shamanism and the protection of the environment against illegal construction corporate activities and still continues to leave the lives of whoever watch it changed forever.
Watching the Doors is beyound reading the works of Bob Frizzel or Drunvalo Melchizedek or having a chat with Stewart Swerdlow.
The film touches the heart of the entire population on this planet as it continues to be watched - this time by myself , yesterday and being finished today. Jim Moors died happy - looking towards the limit of the horizon , having freed himself finally from his mortal body , in the year 1971. He was a first class self - initiated shaman who followed the Native American Tradition , according to Stone , and not Satanism , as portrayed in the rock'n roll classic documentary Hell's Bells.
So obsessed with freeing his soul from his mortal body did Jim Morrison become that nothing else mattered , sometimes not even 'the one'or his wife.
Jim Morrison taught people that in order to overcome fear you must confront it - literally. He was totally unafraid of fame and fortune and definately did not literally believe in Satan. He believed instead , according to Stone , in the Great Spirit being nature itself and loved the desert - out there , like Charles Manson , Jim Morrison felt restful and at peace and at one with his heart and the girl he loved who would grow up and become one of the most famous women of all time , who would have even silent wannabes wanting to be like her among many of America's leading politicians , such as Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton , who must have secretly desired to be wives of Jim Morrison in some of their sickest , sexcual fantasies which can only be defined as normal due to the spirit of the times.
And what's wrong with any woman wanting to be the wife of a famous rock star? What Jim Morrison exposed was the body of our once inner policeman , who is slowly being killed and whose body is still in the process of being processed. That is what he means when he says that most of us are in fact slaves. I do not even allow myself to speak profanely here when I state that , so I'll leave the spirit of Jim Morrison to once again remind us of the importance of NOT BEING SLAVES to anyone , even ourselves. But Jim Morrison ended up being a slave to the drugs that he was so quick to get addicted to , and freed himself from his drug slavery in the end , fearlessly , calmly , rationally , irrationally , spatially , happily , sexually , fantastically , and quite honestly brilliantly.
He became one of history's greatest rock stars , and as Michael Jackson died , so would his generation be resurrected. Finally Jim Morrison roams free in the spirit world - let's hope he does not end up in a place belonging to the mind of such people as Peggy Kane when it comes to talk about his hopefully happy afterlife. The film explodes the senses with it's surreal lack of special effects , and bestows upon the entire population of the people of the United States a form of nakedness and self - exposure which a worker in the black project programmes can only dream of. Jim Marrison may have been a black tulip that got eaten by drugs - but in the end he defeated his drug addiction doing it the only way he thought appropriate at that time.
He wanted to defy death , and sometimes wondered if he could defy his own fame. He believed in life , liberty , hope , love , hate , anything a man can believe in - and loved his wife and children more than anyone and anything. He was a man who had it all , and got it all in the end , got bored by it , and wanted to explore more. For the spirit of the personality that was Jim Morrison still lives on to this day. Therefore I say that this is without doupt , Oliver Stone's best film. Everything is changing now as our society chooses to abandon zealous materialism , and all kinds of extreme forms of variations of religions , and new and more forgiving varieties of spirituality are constructed , out of the ashes of the less forgiving cults.
Everything is changed in the mind of the viewer of this film - it quite literally tunes you in , then drops you out and that with more sheer quality of surreal realism than anything Videodrome by David Chronenberg had ever attempted to do , an equally fascinating and good film to watch nonetheless. This is one of a kind of a movie - and there aren't that many musical films I've seen. Way to go Oliver Stone , still receiving honest and positive criticism on this brilliant work of genius whose immortal spirit can never be defeated , and way to go for Val Kilmer.
This is the best EVER movie I've ever seen starring him.