Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Ploydsge just watch it!

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

bgordon1234 I'm truly shocked and surprised by the overwhelming positive response this documentary has received. Most of the reviews on IMD seem to lavish so much praise on what ultimately is the most underwhelming documentary about a pivotal rock band I've ever seen! I attended a showing of this documentary at the Kabuki theater in San Francisco. Very few people were in attendance. My hopes were high as I love the music of the Doors and I was expecting a tremendously engaging piece of cinema that brings you into the Doors world with Jim Morrison at its center. Well, JM is at the center of this doc but the voice over narration is absolutely AWFUL and filled with clichés and contrivances that could only have come from the mouth of the director, Tom DeCillo, who frankly shares absolutely NOTHING new about Jim or the Doors that hasn't been written about oh, for the past 30 years or so! For the Doors novice, this documentary would hold some degree of attention, especially the excellent overall quality of the footage shown. But the amount of NEW footage is so paltry that you wonder what exactly the Doors had left in their vaults when they opened them up to DeCillo when he began making the documentary. There is NOTHING exciting to watch in this documentary. It was a COLOSSAL BORE! I'd say about 20 minutes into it, I was wondering why isn't this doc holding my attention anymore? Was it because this film has barely any actual recordings of Morrison being interviewed? What about recorded poetry? There's barely ANY. You get so little that you wonder exactly what made Morrison so unique and different from other entertainers of that time? Yes, there are snippets of silent concert footage that gives you barely a taste of his sexual energy on stage but it's not enough to hold your attention span for a 90 minute documentary. I was very upset after watching this film because I had such high hopes for it. But I realized that DeCillo was the WRONG man for this job. He did not bother to interview key figures in Jim's past, in particular, Babe, and other individuals who spent a good deal of time with Jim and are still alive.More importantly, again while the quality of the footage that is shown is good, it doesn't help make the story anymore exciting to watch. I was plain bored. And two girls in front of me watching and talking to their cell phones felt the same way! What a pity. This was a major lost opportunity to capture the Doors music, what it means, why it still resonates, and why we still find Jim Morrison so captivating. This documentary FAILED on so many counts that I wanted my money back after I went and saw it in the theater.Do yourself a favor. Don't see it. If you love the Doors, go listen to the music. That's where you'll find Jim Morrison and his poetry. Don't waste your money on a poorly constructed documentary.

brando647 I love the Doors. Considering that you're reading my comments here, you're probably considering watching the film and, therefore, must be a fan as well. I have been a major fan of the band since I was first exposed to them in Oliver Stone's 1991 film. I understand that Stone had taken some creative liberties in his portrayal of the band's life (particularly Jim Morrison, himself). Knowing that Stone's film was merely his own interpretation, I sought out to learn more through other sources. Since then, I have read Jim's poetry and a handful of biographies about Jim and the band, including John Densmore's autobiography. Morrison was a mysterious individual (probably why myself and so many others are so intrigued by him) and I believe the only person to know the absolute story behind him was Pam Courson. With Pam having died shortly after him, I'm all right with the fact that the utmost truth behind Jim's existence and experiences may never be revealed (including that of his death). My intent has always been to read as much as possible and draw my own conclusions, so movies such as Stone's THE DOORS would be seen more as entertainment than information.In 2009, filmmaker Tom DiCillo completed his biographical film on Jim and the band, WHEN YOU'RE STRANGE. Based on the information I've gathered from reading about the band over recent years, I'd say his documentary is probably one of the best representations we're ever bound to get. My only regret is that, seeing as how the film must fit into a reasonable run-time, many moments are glossed over and some instances in which I wish it'd go into richer detail are breezed through. The film covers the band's life from it's origins in the mid-60s to Jim's unfortunate death in 1971. The events are depicted impartially and depicted Jim as a struggling artist as opposed to the crazed drunk Oliver Stone would have us believe. The film remembers that Jim was going through tough times over his years with the band and compensated through his drug/alcohol use, rather than stumbled around as a belligerent idiot, and gives us some insight when possible behind his troubles.Johnny Depp narrates the film and his mellow delivery is perfect for the material. My primary complaint with the film is the lack of interviews. Despite the surviving members of the band supporting the film, we are never once treated to interviews with Densmore, Krieger, or Manzarek. In fact, the only interview included with the film is with Jim's father George and it comes in the form of a special feature on the DVD. Jim's relationship with his father (a Navy admiral) was always strained and his interview would've added some excellent insight to the film. Regardless, the film is loaded with information for the casual Doors fans and contains some fantastic footage of their concerts, TV appearances, and even behind-the-scenes footage of the band at home or in the studio recording.DiCillo's film is an absolute must for the fans and provides some great information to those who might be interested in learning more. It's a reasonable 90 minutes and never once did it bore me. If anything, it's made me want to revisit the books and dive once again into the chaos and mystery that was Jim Morrison.

JustApt Lately I've begun to forget how crucial The Doors were for me once. Well didn't Jim Morrison himself preach: "learn to forget"? But When You're Strange is a perfect reminder. There is the news on the radio that Jim Morrison is dead but somewhere in the American desert his revenant gets out from the crashed car – Mr. Mojo Is Rising – time is reeled a way back and the story begins. There is a lot of rare original footage I haven't seen before and the tale is painstakingly told in all details – from the uprising: "into this world we're born, into this house we're thrown" to the downfall: "this is the end, my beautiful friend, the end". So when the music's over turn off the lights.

Kakueke As an avid Doors fan for more than 40 years, and with the vast growth of the DVD/Video market and the enormous reservoir for footage that the Internet and YouTube have, I have seen almost all there is to see of The Doors. That includes Jim Morrison's own films "A Feast of Friends" and "HWY," footage from which is contained in "When You're Strange." And most everyone has seen some things on "When You're Strange," such as the scene of The Doors descending from the stairs of an airplane on their European tour, and the bright-eyed look when Jim turns and identifies himself as "Jim." But setting that aside, this documentary film contains considerable behind-the-scenes and archival footage that I have never seen. The tone is set early with scenes of Jim driving a car through a desert. His own home movie, Doors-like atmosphere, and dialogue. And yes, there are a lot of scenes with the group together, on the road, and interacting, as well as context shots, of locations and other things. The Miami Incident? I must confess, while some people writing about this movie say it gives you a definite answer of what happened, that is not true of this viewer; actually, I don't think anyone will ever know for sure. Still, it has a good presentation.But the narrative, the commentary? Sorry, it leaves something to be desired. It was very superficial. To have something new and insightful for a hard core fan like myself would be challenging, but still viable. However, I believe it is accurate to say that even for casual fans who know just the basics, there are no revelations. There is certainly nothing on the songwriting process, which some of the more recently released DVDs have some discussion on. Narrator Johnny Depp's words are just the same old story.It is time for Ray Manzarek to take it upon himself to conceptualize a film containing the very elements whose absence from the Oliver Stone film he used as a basis for criticizing it: namely, Jim's fascination with various French and other literary and theatrical figures. We know many of those names: Rimbaud, Nietzsche, Blake, Artaud, Baudelaire, beat writer Jack Kerouac, and of course Celine: "Take a Highway to the End of the Night." Fans of Jim know, from the many books about him and The Doors, that he memorized many passages of his favorite authors and would challenge visitors to his dorm room to read him the passages so he could cite the page numbers, which could make for a great scene. He was really absorbed. The film could convey how those influences shaped Jim and contributed to his writing of the great songs from The Doors powerful first two albums, The Doors and Strange Days; a few songs on later albums; and his poetry. This could be combined with other elements, including Jim's acid trips in the days when he was sleeping on the Venice rooftops and seeing "television skies." I am surprised that Director Tom DiCillo did not try to find a way to include some of this in his film, whose audience would be looking for something new.