Taglines: The ceremony is about to begin.
The Doors movie 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, France at age 27 in 1971. 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.
The Doors is a 1991 American biographical film about the 1960–70s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson (Morrison’s companion). The film features Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger, Kevin Dillon as John Densmore, and Kathleen Quinlan as Patricia Kennealy.
The film portrays Morrison as the larger-than-life icon of 1960s rock and roll, counterculture, and the drug-using free love hippie lifestyle. But the depiction goes beyond the iconic: his alcoholism, interest in the spiritual plane and hallucinogenic drugs as entheogens, and, particularly, his growing obsession with death are threads which weave in and out of the film. The film was not well received by his band mates, close friends, and family, due to its depiction of Morrison.
About the Story
The film opens during the recording of Jim’s An American Prayer and quickly moves to a childhood memory of his family driving along a desert highway in 1949, where a young Jim sees an elderly Native American dying by the roadside. In 1965, Jim arrives in California and is assimilated into the Venice Beach culture. During his film school days studying at UCLA, he meets his future girlfriend Pamela Courson, and has his first encounters with Ray Manzarek, as well as the rest of the people who would go on to form the Doors, Robby Krieger and John Densmore.
Jim convinces his bandmates to travel to Death Valley and experience the effects of psychedelic drugs. Returning to Los Angeles, they play several shows at the famous nightclub Whisky a Go Go and develop a rabid fan base. Jim’s onstage antics and occasionally improvised lyrics raise the ire of club owners; however, the band’s popularity continues to expand.
As the Doors become hugely successful, Jim becomes increasingly infatuated with his own image as “The Lizard King” and degenerates into alcoholism and drugs. Jim meets Patricia Kennealy, a rock journalist involved in witchcraft, and participates with her in mystical ceremonies. He joins her in a handfasting ceremony. An elder spirit watches these events.
The rest of the band grows weary of Jim’s missed recording sessions and absences at concerts. Jim arrives late to a Miami, Florida concert, becoming increasingly confrontational towards the audience and allegedly exposing himself onstage. The incident is a low point for the band, resulting in criminal charges against Jim, cancellations of shows, breakdowns in Jim’s personal relationships, and resentment from the other band members.
In 1970 after a lengthy trial, Jim is found guilty of indecent exposure and ordered to serve time in prison, he is however allowed to remain free on bail pending the results of an appeal. Patricia tells Jim that she is pregnant with his child but Jim convinces her to have an abortion. Jim visits his fellow Doors members one final time, attending a party thrown by Ray where he wishes the band luck in their future endeavors and gives them all a copy of An American Prayer. As Jim plays in the front garden with the children, he sees that one of the children is his childhood self. Jim comments “This is the strangest life I’ve ever known.”
The Doors (1991)
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Starring: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, Michael Madsen, Billy Idol, Kathleen Quinlan, Dennis Burkley, Gretchen Becker
Screenplay by: J. Randal Johnson, Oliver Stone
Production Design by: Barbara Ling
Cinematography by: Robert Richardson
Film Editing by: David Brenner, Joe Hutshing
Costume Design by: Marlene Stewart
Set Decoration by: Cricket Rowland
Art Direction by: Larry Fulton
MPAA Rating: R for heavy drug content, and for strong sexuality and language.
Distributed by: Tri-Star Pictures
Release Date: March 1, 1991
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