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Rating: When you're strange
faces come out of the rain
And in the dark room, a few shadows took a seat and then another seat... until I realized we were few, but not very few, and all close together. When you're strange, and you know it, there are circumstances where you can even afford not to isolate yourself. And this was the right circumstance to try. But eventually, inevitably, you're alone again...
40 years after Morrison's death and 20 years since the release of Stone's film, "The Doors," this documentary film doesn't aim to teach us anything, enhance any fame, nor diminish any myth. It is a series of mostly unpublished footage brought out from oblivion to show us who these very young guys of the late sixties were, what they had in mind, what their background was, and with what aim or under what drive they dedicated themselves to music.
Some of this footage, a few actually, can be found online like the famous performance of "Touch Me". The director's idea was to alternate snippets of interviews, amateur footage, scenes of famous moments in American cultural, political, and civil history with scenes shot by Morrison himself, in which he is also the protagonist, during his time at UCLA. The first part of this material is narrated by Morgan's voice or often by the Doors themselves or by other characters. The narrative voice outlines a chronology of significant events, of which fans will be partially aware (the book "No One Here Gets Out Alive" by Jerry Hopkins is detailed and of great interest, also for a greater understanding of the work in question), but often insists on those very characteristics of the band both from a technical-instrumental perspective and an expressive one that made the Doors unique and yet often misunderstood.
The personal and social events intertwine so deeply that they cannot be separated in the narration, which never appears redundant or superfluous. The images of Morrison's film that break such a narrative lead to the conclusion and the very meaning of his life and the band. The purpose is clear: it explains and, in a sense, denounces the importance of a band that rooted itself in the society contemporary to it, in the blues, in pure poetry. It explains through the songs we listen to, sometimes stronger, sometimes in the background. Songs, whose very important lyrics, are indispensable from the sense of the spoken word. Because in this film, we see everything about the Doors: the genius, the humanity, the weaknesses, the megalomania, and even the end.
Before you sleep into unconsciousness
I'd.. like to have another kiss...
There was much hostility towards Oliver Stone at the time of "The Doors". Even today, the film is accused of inaccuracy (especially by the surviving band members): according to some, it shows a wild and incomprehensible side of Jim, linked to the effects of drugs and alcohol. Nonetheless, according to the same people, the other Doors are shown as victims of this brilliant but mad character. Despite this, the two films seem to complement each other today. The latter shows a decidedly more rock-side, impactful, poetic but extreme, perhaps not considering some decidedly human nuances that are somehow explored in the documentary: after all, DiCillo's documentary highlights the same poetry, this time without actors, but outlining the personalities, interests, and in part the character of all the members, certainly focusing on Jim Morrison who was and remains the core of such immortality.
I looked around many times. I needed to understand why people were there. Someone hummed a song, someone was silent, someone seemed just the right type to be there, and someone was alone. We were few, but not very few. It seemed sensible. All very sensible. In the end, whoever was there thought they knew them, had understood them. I believe you can know the Doors by singing their songs and playing their music. Listening to them, you think you have reached the truth and knowledge of those words through Jim Morrison's voice or those unique sounds, those endless journeys. It's an almost natural feeling, but in reality, I'm sure when their music is in the air, you need to leave everything behind and at the same time embrace everything.
Can you picture what will be?
So limitless and free
Desperately in need
Of some stranger's hand
In a desperate land...
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