REVIEW: When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors

When You're Strange: A Film About The Doors
Directed by: Tom Dicillo
(Madman)
 (out of 5)

In 1971, Jim Morrison was dead at 27 years old. His body was found in a Paris hotel room bath, heroin and whiskey having done what they do.

Certain myths and romantic notions built up, until Morrison became almost a form of saint, and more a poet and seer, than a singer in a rock band. His image ubiquitous - posters, shirts, films and his book of poetry treated as if, well, it was poetry. Books like Jerry Hopkins and Danny Sugarman’s Here Gets Out Alive sparked that whole 80s fixation with The Doors - Morrison the troubled artist, the Lizard King.

While their music remains as something special, the mythical elements have become lost, or of lesser importance. It is now more about The Doors as a band and Morrison as a man - it‘s all about the realism, which is something this film from indie filmmaker Tom Dicillo sticks to most of the time, although his real love of the music and the aura of it all lets a little iconography take hold.

It’s in the edits and the dreamy poetics of it all - he loves the band. Enthusiasm is a good thing, and it shows in this really good documentary. It is designed for old school adherents, fans when the music really meant something, so care is taken to treat this seriously - with every album talked about in detail, from the 1967 debut to 1971’s L.A. Woman. It’s fairly serious, but not overly reverential, and for me that’s the best bit about this whole project.

There are many interviews, including one with his good father, Admiral George S. Morrison, who is a bit foggy over the past, unable to name but one of his son’s songs. It’s fair enough though, he hardly saw him. The real attraction is the live footage, where Morrison could be a number of things - the break on through pop Dionysus (read: drunk), or the cabaret Brecht of ‘Take Me To The Next Whisky Bar’. Mostly, as his father said, ‘he was a good entertainer.’

You get plenty of chances to see how entertaining he was, as this is laden with music. It is certainly the grainy unseen footage originating from back in the early days of the UCLA film school that is the most interesting, and gives this documentary a sense of authenticity. The battlefield of the New Haven incident, the arrest for lewd behaviour and some riot inciting in Miami 1969 is shown - and Morrison’s penis is discussed. Was it on show in Miami or not? It is, as they say, not a ’fluff’ piece. The darkness is looked at, and certainly not like in Oliver Stone’s confused 1991 film, with its offputting mysticism and seemingly unintentional badness.

This is the best film on The Doors. It’s realistic, but lets a bit of the myth stay around. If you still love L.A. Woman or Morrison Hotel, then you better watch this.

By Kerry Buchanan