The Doors (1991)

The story of the famous and influential 1960's rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers:

Randall Jahnson, Oliver Stone

Stars:

Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Val Kilmer	...	Jim Morrison
Meg Ryan	...	Pamela Courson
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Ray Manzarek
Frank Whaley	...	Robby Krieger
Kevin Dillon	...	John Densmore
Michael Wincott	...	Paul Rothchild
Michael Madsen	...	Tom Baker
Josh Evans	...	Bill Siddons
Dennis Burkley	...	Dog
Billy Idol	...	Cat
Kathleen Quinlan	...	Patricia Kennealy
John Densmore	...	Engineer - Last Session
Gretchen Becker	...	Mom
Jerry Sturm	...	Dad
Sean Stone	...	Young Jim

Storyline

Oliver Stone's homage to 1960s rock group The Doors also doubles as a biography of the group's late singer, the "Electric Poet" Jim Morrison. The movie follows Morrison from his days as a film student in Los Angeles to his death in Paris in 1971, at the age of 27. The movie features a tour-de-force performance by Val Kilmer, who not only looks like Jim Morrison's long-lost twin brother, but also sounds so much like him that he did much of his own singing. It has been written that even the surviving Doors had trouble distinguishing Kilmer's vocals from Morrison's originals.

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Plot Keywords:

jim morrison | the doors | singer | 1960s | drugs | 

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Taglines:

"There are things known and things unknown and in between are The Doors." -- Jim Morrison

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for heavy drug content, and for strong sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate [us] The Doors Official Website

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ha-Dlatot

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$35,183,792 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bill Graham Films, Carolco International N.V., Carolco Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (analog 70 mm prints) CDS (digital 35 mm and 70 mm prints) Dolby SR (analog 35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cave scene where Jim is wandering out in the New Mexico desert was shot at the Mitchell Caverns in the East Mojave Preserve in California. According to the tour guide there, Oliver Stone and the art dept. painted Indian petroglyphs at the site that wouldn't wash off. This upset the state park, Stone was fined, and which prompted that filming unfortunately could no longer be done at the caves.

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Goofs

In the UCLA film school scene one of the students stand up to leave and the film shines on his back, but there is no alteration to the film being shown on the screen

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Quotes

Jim Morrison: I think I'm having a nervous breakdown.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 5 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"L.A. Woman"
Written and Performed by The Doors
Elektra Records

User Reviews

Great visual film that concentrates on one aspect of a brilliant but troubled rock legend.

Jim Morrison wrote many of the Doors songs and was a complete drunk by the time he died in 1971. This film depicts Morrison in a very one sided view. Yes he was an alcoholic with a disregard for authority, yes he was on self destruct mode and burnt out quickly reaffirming the James Dean "Live fast Die young" motif. But what is missing from Stone's depiction of him was his great intellect,his absurd humour and his natural talent as a composer and vocalist. However it is a wonderfully visual film that takes the viewers on a hallucinogenic ride through drug hazed Los Angeles in the late 60's. It was the first of many films that Stone created in the 90's using an almost dream like quality to evoke the feeling of the turbulent times.

Although this picture is not a 100% accurate account of who or what Jim Morrison was it is still very engaging and enjoyable. A good place for someone who is new to the Doors to start.