"American Masters" The Doors: When You're Strange (2009)

Director:

Tom DiCillo

Writer (WGA):

Tom DiCillo (written by)

TV Series:

"American Masters" (1985)

Original Air Date:

17 January 2009 (Season 24, Episode 3)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | History | Music | Romance

Plot:

A look at the late '60s and early '70s rock band The Doors, including rare exclusive footage.

Plot Keywords:

Band | The Doors | Arrest | Trial | Drug Use

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Johnny Depp	...	Narrator (voice)
John Densmore	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robby Krieger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ray Manzarek	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jim Morrison	...	Himself (archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jim Ladd	...	Himself (voice)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Janis Joplin	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Robert F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Martin Luther King	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Elvis Presley	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ed Sullivan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Andy Warhol	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Tom DiCillo

Writing credits (WGA)
Tom DiCillo		(written by)

Produced by
John Beug	....	producer
Tim Deluca	....	supervising producer (as Tim DeLuca)
Bill Guttentag	....	executive producer
Jeff Jampol	....	producer (as Jeffrey Jampol)
Peter Jankowski	....	producer
Cory Lashever	....	associate producer
Dick Wolf	....	producer

Film Editing by
Micky Blythe
Kevin Krasny

Production Management
Mark Dragin	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Chris Carpenter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Scott Harber	....	production sound mixer
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary Hecker)
Kirk Herzbrun	....	assistant sound editor
Babe Hill	....	sound: "HWY" & "Feast of Friends"
Jeffrey Kaplan	....	dialogue editor
Jeffrey Kaplan	....	supervising sound editor
Andy Koyama	....	sound re-recording mixer
Mike Marino	....	foley mixer
Bill Meadows	....	recordist
Alex Parker	....	assistant sound editor
Derek Pippert	....	foley supervisor
Kyle Rochlin	....	foley mixer
Frank Smathers	....	supervising effects editor
Jack Snyder	....	stage engineer

Visual Effects by
Gus Comegys	....	graphic design

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Ferrara	....	cinematography: archive footage
Paul Ferrara	....	director of photography: "HWY" & "Feast of Friends"

Editorial Department
Rich Calzada	....	additional support: FotoKem
Anna Coker	....	additional support: FotoKem
Gus Comegys	....	on-line editor
Megan D'Arco	....	assistant editor (as Megan Robb)
Timothy Doiron	....	additional support: FotoKem
Lukasz Druzynski	....	additional support: FotoKem
Andy Gizzarelli	....	producer: FotoKem
Jana Lynn Gold	....	assistant editor (as Jana Carson)
Robinson Gomez	....	additional support: FotoKem
Ryanne Higley	....	additional support: FotoKem
Melissa Lichtle	....	additional support: FotoKem
Frank Lisciandro	....	editor: "HWY" & "Feast of Friends"
Oscar Rene Lozoya II	....	editorial assistant
Michael Martinez	....	additional support: FotoKem
Jonathan Newkirk	....	additional support: FotoKem
Shin W. Peng	....	assistant editor (as Shin Peng)
Anthony Purpura	....	additional support: FotoKem
Jon Rocke	....	additional support: FotoKem
Kostas Theodosiou	....	digital intermediate colorist: FotoKem
Erin White	....	additional support: FotoKem
Kim Young	....	additional support: FotoKem

Music Department
Bruce Botnick	....	music mixer
Bruce Botnick	....	music producer
Bruce Botnick	....	music recordist
Tom DiCillo	....	performer: additional music
The Doors	....	music producer
Paul A. Rothchild	....	music producer

Other crew
Deborah Ricketts	....	clearances
Deborah Ricketts	....	footage researcher

Thanks
Peter Benedek	....	additional thanks
Gayle Boulware	....	additional thanks
John Branca	....	additional thanks (as John Branca Esq.)
Emily Burton	....	special thanks
James Burton	....	special thanks
Judith Burton	....	additional thanks
David Byrnes	....	additional thanks (as David Byrnes Esq.)
Joe Carlone	....	additional thanks
Pearl Courson	....	special thanks
Kristel Crews	....	additional thanks
Christi Dembrowski	....	additional thanks
Dixie Dunbar	....	additional thanks
Dave Dutkowski	....	additional thanks
Charlie Engel	....	additional thanks
Brittany Erlbaum	....	additional thanks
Jason Forman	....	additional thanks
Robbie Freeman	....	acknowledgment: archival material provided by
Hibah Frisina	....	additional thanks
Dylan Graham	....	special thanks
Sefton Graham	....	special thanks
Tristan Graham	....	special thanks
Kathleen Hallberg	....	additional thanks (as Kathy Halberg Esq.)
Babe Hill	....	additional thanks
Lynn Krieger	....	special thanks
Murray Lerner	....	acknowledgment: "Isle of Wight" directed by
Frank Lisciandro	....	additional thanks
Jerry Mandel	....	special thanks (as Jerry Mandel Esq.)
Dorothy Manzarek	....	special thanks
Anne Morrison-Chewning	....	special thanks
Hervé Müller	....	acknowledgment: Jim in Paris photographs ©
Lou Reisman	....	special thanks (as Lou Reisman Esq.)
Raeanne Rubenstein	....	acknowledgment: archival material provided by
Danny Sugerman	....	additional thanks
Jay Sures	....	additional thanks
Randall Wixen	....	additional thanks
Keenan Wyatt	....	additional thanks
Gilles Yepremian	....	acknowledgment: Jim and Pam in Paris photograph ©

Distributors

• Abramorama (2010) (USA) (theatrical)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Interior13 Cine (2011) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• MK2 Diffusion (2010) (France) (theatrical)
• Works, The (2009) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2010) (Finland) (all media)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• E1 Entertainment Benelux (2010) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2011) (Italy) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2010) (Germany) (all media)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (2010) (USA) (TV) (on "American Masters" series)
• Rhino Entertainment Company

Other Companies

• Air Power Video and Film Stock Library  archival material provided by (as Air Power)
• ApexStock / Getty Images  archival material provided by (as Apex Stock)
• BBC Motion Gallery  archival material provided by
• Battleground Productions  archival material provided by (as Battlegrounds Productions)
• Budget Films  archival material provided by
• Classic Images  archival material provided by
• Comedic Productions Inc.  courtesy of: "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"
• Corbis  archival material provided by
• Doors Music Company  courtesy of: "Feast of Friends" (as The Doors Music Co.)
• Efootage  archival material provided by
• Experience Hendrix LLC  courtesy of: Jimi Hendrix
• FILM Archives  archival material provided by
• Florida State Archives  archival material provided by (as State Archives of Florida)
• Footage Bank  archival material provided by (as FootageBank)
• FotoKem  digital intermediate by (as Fotokem)
• FotoKem  post-production video services
• Getty Images  archival material provided by
• Historic Films Archive  archival material provided by
• Historic Films Archive  courtesy of: "The Ed Sullivan Show"
• Historical Museum of Southern Florida  archival material provided by
• Janis Joplin Estate, The  courtesy of: Janis Joplin
• Living Theater, The  courtesy of: "Paradise Now"
• Louis Wolfson II Media History Center  archival material provided by (as Lynn & Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives)
• NBC News Archives  archival material provided by
• New York Times, The  copyright owner: Kent State headline from the New York Times May 5, 1970, All rights reserved
• New York Times, The  copyright owner: Martin Luther King headline from the New York Times April 5, 1968, All rights reserved
• Oddball Film and Video  archival material provided by (as Oddball Film + Video)
• Producer's Library Service  archival material provided by (as Producers Library)
• Reelin in the Years Productions  clip courtesy of: GTK (as Reelin' In The Years Productions, LLC)
• Rolling Stone  copyright owner: cover photo from Rolling Stone Issue #30, April 5, 1969
• Rolling Stone  copyright owner: cover photo from Rolling Stone Issue #38, July 26, 1969
• SOFA Entertainment  courtesy of: "The Ed Sullivan Show"
• Saturnalia Video  courtesy of: "Paradise Now" (as Saturnalia Studios)
• Sony Pictures Stock Footage  archival material provided by (as Sony Stock Footage Library)
• Streamline Films  archival material provided by
• Thirteen / WNET  courtesy of: "Critique" (as Thirteen/WNET New York)
• Three Dimensional Marketing (TDM)  archival material provided by: The Doors Collectors Magazine
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  archival material provided by (as UCLA Film & Television Archive)
• Universal Studios Sound Facilities  post production sound services provided by (as Universal Studios Sound)
• WPA Film Library  archival material provided by

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content including references, nudity, drug material and language

Runtime:

86 min | USA:90 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #45610) | USA:TV-14 | Norway:7 | Sweden:7 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Singapore:M18

Goofs:

Factual errors: A mock newspaper clipping announces both that Sharon Tate and her friends have been found murdered and that Charles Manson and his "Family" are suspected. Manson and the "Family" were not identified as the Tate killers until December 1969, more than four months after the murders happened.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "De wereld draait door: Episode #5.172" (2010)

Footage New, Commentary Not, and Waiting for Ray to...Come Along

As an avid Doors fan for more than 40 years, and with the vast growth of the DVD/Video market and the enormous reservoir for footage that the Internet and YouTube have, I have seen almost all there is to see of The Doors. That includes Jim Morrison's own films "A Feast of Friends" and "HWY," footage from which is contained in "When You're Strange." And most everyone has seen some things on "When You're Strange," such as the scene of The Doors descending from the stairs of an airplane on their European tour, and the bright-eyed look when Jim turns and identifies himself as "Jim."

But setting that aside, this documentary film contains considerable behind-the-scenes and archival footage that I have never seen. The tone is set early with scenes of Jim driving a car through a desert. His own home movie, Doors-like atmosphere, and dialogue. And yes, there are a lot of scenes with the group together, on the road, and interacting, as well as context shots, of locations and other things. The Miami Incident? I must confess, while some people writing about this movie say it gives you a definite answer of what happened, that is not true of this viewer; actually, I don't think anyone will ever know for sure. Still, it has a good presentation.

But the narrative, the commentary? Sorry, it leaves something to be desired. It was very superficial. To have something new and insightful for a hard core fan like myself would be challenging, but still viable. However, I believe it is accurate to say that even for casual fans who know just the basics, there are no revelations. There is certainly nothing on the songwriting process, which some of the more recently released DVDs have some discussion on. Narrator Johnny Depp's words are just the same old story.

It is time for Ray Manzarek to take it upon himself to conceptualize a film containing the very elements whose absence from the Oliver Stone film he used as a basis for criticizing it: namely, Jim's fascination with various French and other literary and theatrical figures. We know many of those names: Rimbaud, Nietzsche, Blake, Artaud, Baudelaire, beat writer Jack Kerouac, and of course Celine: "Take a Highway to the End of the Night." Fans of Jim know, from the many books about him and The Doors, that he memorized many passages of his favorite authors and would challenge visitors to his dorm room to read him the passages so he could cite the page numbers, which could make for a great scene. He was really absorbed. The film could convey how those influences shaped Jim and contributed to his writing of the great songs from The Doors powerful first two albums, The Doors and Strange Days; a few songs on later albums; and his poetry. This could be combined with other elements, including Jim's acid trips in the days when he was sleeping on the Venice rooftops and seeing "television skies." I am surprised that Director Tom DiCillo did not try to find a way to include some of this in his film, whose audience would be looking for something new.