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Oliver Stone's penchant for overindulgence as a director was never more evident than in the 1991 biopic The Doors, an overblown look at the rise of the 1960's counterculture rock group, but more specifically, at its charismatic front man, Jim Morrison that provides some insight into its controversial subject, but not enough to sustain interest in a film of this length.
The film follows Morrison from his days as a UCLA film student to his early fame at the Whiskey a Go Go in California to his eventual passing at the age of 27 in Paris. Set during the turbulent 1960's, Stone mounts an effective canvas for Morrison's story that perfectly conveys how Morrison's "it's all about me" songwriting and poetry was perfect for the hedonistic 1960's and the hippie sensibility that pervaded everything in the day. Like a lot of biopics about musicians, Morrison is presented as a guy who became an instant success even though commercial success wasn't really on his radar...what seemed to be on his radar was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, and he definitely imbibed to the point of excess which was his eventual downfall.
Oliver Stone has taken a great deal of care and expense in bringing Morrison's story to the screen and his respect for the subject is evident in every frame. His screenplay with Randall Johnson is a little too talky at times but is rich with 1960's sensibilities, but what this film has above all else is an Oscar-worthy lead performance from Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, an unapologetic and charismatic performance that haunts long after the credits roll. He also gets solid support from Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, and Kevin Dillon as the Doors and mention should be made of a surprisingly stylish cameo from Kathleen Quinlan as a Satan worshiping reporter with whom Morrison has an affair.
Stone employs some striking camera work in bringing southern California and Manhattan to the screen and also employs a great deal of care in bringing the music of the Doors to the screen. I read somewhere that the real Doors had hard times distinguishing between original Morrison recordings and Kilmer's recreations. Kilmer's electric performance does make this worth checking out, but as a film experience, the
movie is a little long and rambling to be truly effective.
Oliver Stone's penchant for overindulgence as a director was never more evident than in the 1991 biopic The Doors, an overblown look at the rise of the 1960's counterculture rock group, but more specifically, at its charismatic front man, Jim Morrison that provides some insight into its controversial subject, but not enough to sustain interest in a film of this length.
The film follows Morrison from his days as a UCLA film student to his early fame at the Whiskey a Go Go in California to his eventual passing at the age of 27 in Paris. Set during the turbulent 1960's, Stone mounts an effective canvas for Morrison's story that perfectly conveys how Morrison's "it's all about me" songwriting and poetry was perfect for the hedonistic 1960's and the hippie sensibility that pervaded everything in the day. Like a lot of biopics about musicians, Morrison is presented as a guy who became an instant success even though commercial success wasn't really on his radar...what seemed to be on his radar was sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, and he definitely imbibed to the point of excess which was his eventual downfall.
Oliver Stone has taken a great deal of care and expense in bringing Morrison's story to the screen and his respect for the subject is evident in every frame. His screenplay with Randall Johnson is a little too talky at times but is rich with 1960's sensibilities, but what this film has above all else is an Oscar-worthy lead performance from Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, an unapologetic and charismatic performance that haunts long after the credits roll. He also gets solid support from Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, and Kevin Dillon as the Doors and mention should be made of a surprisingly stylish cameo from Kathleen Quinlan as a Satan worshiping reporter with whom Morrison has an affair.
Stone employs some striking camera work in bringing southern California and Manhattan to the screen and also employs a great deal of care in bringing the music of the Doors to the screen. I read somewhere that the real Doors had hard times distinguishing between original Morrison recordings and Kilmer's recreations. Kilmer's electric performance does make this worth checking out, but as a film experience, the
movie is a little long and rambling to be truly effective.