The Doors (1991)

	Directed by: Oliver Stone	COUNTRY USA GENRE Biopic/Music NORWEGIAN TITLE The Doors RUNNING TIME 141 minutes
	Produced by: Bill Graham Sasha Harari Mario Kassar A. Kitman Ho
	Written by: J. Randal Johnson Oliver Stone

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Jim Morrison	Val Kilmer
John Densmore	Kevin Dillon
Ray Manzarek	Kyle MacLachlan
Patricia Kennealy	Kathleen Quinlan	½
Pamela Courson	Meg Ryan
Robby Krieger	Frank Whaley
Bill Siddons	Josh Evans	-
Andy Warhol	Crispin Glover	-
Dorothy	Kelly Hu	-
Dog	Dennis Burkley	-
Cat	Billy Idol	-
Tom Baker	Michael Madsen	-
Magazine photographer	Mimi Rogers	-
Paul A. Rothchild	Michael Wincott	-
Jac Holzman	Mark Moses	-
Okie girl	Jennifer Tilly	-
Indian in Desert	Wes Studi	-
Macing Cop	Titus Welliver	-

Review

In Oliver Stone's vision of 1960s California – the time and scene that fostered Jim Morrison and his band, The Doors – every image and sensibility associated with the era is amplified and embellished almost to the point of mockery. Yet there is nothing satirical in Stone's angle, which is all about nostalgia and idealism, as if Morrison were absolutely right: drugging, boozing, philandering, and rebelling was and is the way to live. And maybe it is. The problem with The Doors, in many ways a complete and engrossing biopic, is that it doesn't offer an alternative view. We never truly get to know the person behind the myth. Instead, we get an uninhibited celebration and hyperbole of that myth. Stone's visionary approach also has its advantages, however, one of which is that it connects his imagery closely to The Doors' music and Morrison's lyrics. For large portions of its running time, the film plays like a continuous music video, with a thematic line pulled from a certain childhood experience of Morrison's. There is an abundance of snakes and moons and death, and if we don't really get to know the everyday man that Morrison also must have been, we certainly get to know some of the demons that eventually led to his demise. And we get to revisit some brilliant music and a couple of legendary live performances, most notably The Doors' famous rendition of "The End" at the Whisky a Go Go nightclub. Val Kilmer gives an invested, near-complete performance as Morrison – a performance that could also have been moving had Stone given him more emotional material to work with.