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| Special Features: |
Widescreen anamorphic format.
Chapter selection.
Commentary by director Oliver Stone.
Deleted scenes.
Documentary: "The Road of Excess"
Featurette: Behind the scenes.
Featurette: Cinematographic moments.
Production notes.
Cast and crew bios and filmography.
Trailers.
Production notes.
Jump-to-a-song access menu.
4 page booklet.
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| Video Format: |
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
[SS-DL]
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| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
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| Subtitles: |
None.
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| Captions: |
Yes
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| Casing: |
2-Disc Snap Case
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Agree with his philosophies or not, you can't deny that Oliver Stone is one of the great American film visionaries. He has written and/or directed some of the most interesting and controversial American films of the two decades. Jim Morrison could not have been brought to cinematic life by anyone other than Oliver Stone. While the film is an overindulgent exercise in excess at times, it is a visually and aurally stunning work.
Oliver Stone's film "The Doors" is one man's vision of the short but influential career of one of the greatest rock bands of the 60s. The movie is a wild mixture of fact, conjecture and mysticism. Anchored by a star making performance by Val Kilmer as iconoclastic lead-singer Jim Morrison, "The Doors" flies across the screen like an alternatively good and bad acid trip. Stone comments on fame, love, music, freedom, religion, Vietnam, drugs and tons of other topics.
The large cast is excellent. Along with Kilmer, the band is portrayed by Kyle MacLachan as Ray Manzarek, Kevin Dillon as drummer John Densmore and Patrick Whaley as guitarist Robbie Krieger. Meg Ryan is great as Jim's true love Pamela Courson, Kathleen Quinlan as Wiccan priestess Patricia Kennealy is another stand-out. There are numerous great cameos including Doors drummer John Densmore and a very whacked out Crispan Glover as Andy Warhol.
The music is outstanding. Kilmer does an uncanny imitation of Morrison. Kilmer submitted a demo tape of three songs for director Stone and Doors member Robbie Krieger to see if they could tell the difference between his singing and Morrison's. Neither could tell the difference.
Some purists were upset with the myth building approach taken by Stone. The heck with them. If you want an "A&E Biography" approach to this subject, watch VH1's "Behind the Music." "The Doors" is a celebration of the 60s with the Lizard King as your psychedelic tour guide. Come in, the celebration is about to begin.
Good movie. Great picture and sound. Outstanding extras. Unbelievable price. A must have for fans of the era.
Picture Quality: 10/10
Stone and DP Robert Richardson create some indelible images in this film. The kaleidoscope of colors ranging from the brightest brights to the most despairing darks are on display with no delineation problems. My longing to return to the American West was ignited by the powerful desert scenes.
Sound Quality: 10/10
Sound is king. This is a movie about Rock music. The music sounds great. This is a DVD that should be played loud during many scenes. There is a nice balance between the low-end sounds and the mid-range. The film's aural highlight has to be the song "The End." Cutting between a desert scene, to the band playing the song at the famed Whiskey a Go-Go for the first time, the dark anthem builds to a tidal wave of power and emotion that is riveting.
Menu: 10/10
Nice intro section before the actual menu pops up. Great 60s concert poster design. Easy to navigate through the myriad of features. The menu on Disc 2 is superior to the one on Disk 1. Disk one includes the movie and a couple of extras. Most bonus features are on the second disk.
Extra Features: 10/10
Outstanding extras. There are 43 minutes of deleted scenes. 14 scenes all together. Many of these would have enhanced the film had they been a part of the final cut. It would be nice to have them reincorporated into the body of the film on a future DVD! There is a great scene in a LA motel between Val Kilmer, Jennifer Tilly and Meg Ryan. There are also a couple of very good concert scenes.
The documentary "The Road To Excess" deals both with the career of the actual band and the making of the movie. There are numerous interviews with cast and crew and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger. I met him when he played a Beale Street club in Memphis several years ago. He was a very open and friendly person. Mr. Stone is lambasted by Patricia Kennealy (portrayed in the movie by Kathleen Quinlan). Mr. Stone makes an apology for the way she was dealt with in Ms. Quinlan's performance. There are some good shots of actual Doors concert footage. Much of this was taken from "The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl."
The commentary track is fascinating. Mr. Stone has an ego, but he has the talent to back it up. I don't always like what he says, but I always enjoy listening to him talk. Non-fans might not like it as much.
The cast and crew bios are OK. There are several trailers and TV spots. The behind the scenes featurette is nothing more than a 5 minute glorified trailer.
The Final Word:
This isn't my favorite Oliver Stone film, but I still consider the DVD to be worthy of a permanent spot in the library. The price is great for a loaded DVD. Can't beat it.
Rusty White
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