The Doors

Oliver Stone, master propagandist and provocateur, cops a lot of flak for his over-simplification of political themes and his love of sensationalism - he's the John Pilger of cinema.

But the simplification and sensationalism serves his subject just fine in The Doors, which is in fact not a history of the famous rock group as such, but a tale of the final years of its lead singer, Jim Morrison.

I'd put this film in the very top bracket of rock biographies, alongside the 1978 classic The Buddy Holly Story.

This one is more sensational, but what do you expect when we're tracing the life of the 1960s God (or Dionysus) of Rock, the poet/singer who burnt out too early on a crazed diet of sex, rock 'n' roll, alcohol and drugs?

Jim Morrison was only 27 years of age when he died in Paris of an overdose. His heroin-addict girlfriend Pamela clung onto life for only another three years. Pamela is played with desperate reality and sincerity by Meg Ryan, but the film belongs to Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison.

For most of the time Val Kilmer vaguely resembles Jim Morrison, although without Morrison's weird, almost unearthly beauty. But Kilmer and Oliver Stone manage to make the physical differences hardly matter - the mood is right, particularly from the great 1960s concert scenes, when we understand what true Dionysian frenzy is all about.

While the rest of the Doors group (especially leader Ray Manzarek, played by Kyle MacLachlan) might feel a bit of chagrin in being painted by Oliver Stone as very square and boring, they can take solace in being still alive. And while they come across as being as adventurous as the accountant down the road, their music still sounds just great. It's a movie which comes across as totally true to a crazy decade and to its similarly crazed but brilliant subject. And if it brings the music of The Doors to a new generation, then Oliver Stone has done well enough.

The print from which this anamorphic transfer has been taken seems in pretty good condition throughout - there is some image softness at times, but I think a lot of that has to do with lighting. Indoor scenes and concert scenes are intentionally hazy and vibrant, accentuating atmosphere at the purposeful expense of picture clarity.

But visually it all hangs together well, most things at that time were seen through a haze of one sort or another. While colours are vibrant, they are never over-saturated. They're rich and dark-hued, but never muddy. There's some pleasing grain evident at times, to remind us that this was a movie, not a television special.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround has good atmosphere and strong depth; it's a soundstage which concentrates primarily on forward setting of music as well as dialogue, but the music is served well.

I've read that although most performance music is taken direct from The Doors' own recordings, there are several passages where these recordings are augmented using Val Kilmer's singing voice. If this is so, then the merging of original recordings with newly recorded music has been done exceptionally well - there's no obvious sonic switching, nor is there any trigger where it seems Morrison leaves off and Kilmer takes over.

The only extra features are theatrical trailers for three movies: Almost Famous, Thunderheart and La Bamba. These are presented in widescreen and two-channel sound.

Anyone interested in rock should at least rent this movie, as Oliver Stone strips the legend to the bones for all to see.

I suggest renting only as it is possible that a special edition may one day follow - the American release, though non-anamorphic, does include a long (45-minute) documentary on The Road to Excess.

However, whether you rent or buy, a compulsory augmentation must be the Universal 'Collectors Edition' DVD The Doors Collection. This is the real thing - a DVD which collects three performance movies, Dance on Fire, Live at the Hollywood Bowl and The Soft Parade - about three hours of brilliance.

Oliver Stone tells a great story, but The Doors Collection lets the real Doors give you the music.