The Doors (1991) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error | Biography , Drama , Music | 1 March 1991 (USA) The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison , from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971. Director: Randall Jahnson (as J.

Randal Johnson), Oliver Stone Stars: From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 36 titles created 26 Nov 2010 a list of 49 titles created 14 Jun 2012 a list of 45 titles created 24 Jan 2013 a list of 33 titles created 13 Mar 2015 a list of 40 titles created 30 Apr 2015 Search for " The Doors " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for. Director: Oliver Stone Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media. Director: Oliver Stone A New Orleans DA discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story. Director: Oliver Stone A biographical story of former U.S.

president Richard Milhous Nixon, from his days as a young boy to his eventual presidency which ended in shame. Director: Oliver Stone A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing. Director: Oliver Stone The final movie in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy follows the true story of a Vietnamese village girl who survives a life of suffering and hardship during and after the Vietnam war. As a ... See full summary » Director: Oliver Stone A man heading to Vegas to pay off his gambling debt before the Russian mafia kills him, is forced to stop in an Arizona town where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Director: Oliver Stone An American photojournalist gets caught in a political struggle at El Salvador in 1980. Director: Oliver Stone Edit Storyline Oliver Stone's homage to 1960s rock group The Doors also doubles as a biography of the group's late singer, the "Electric Poet" Jim Morrison. The movie follows Morrison from his days as a film student in Los Angeles to his death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.

The movie features a tour-de-force performance by Val Kilmer, who not only looks like Jim Morrison's long-lost twin brother, but also sounds so much like him that he did much of his own singing. It has been written that even the surviving Doors had trouble distinguishing Kilmer's vocals from Morrison's originals. Written by Denise P. Meyer <dpm1@cornell.edu> Taglines: "There are things known and things unknown and in between are The Doors." -- Jim Morrison See more » Genres: Rated R for heavy drug content, and for strong sexuality and language | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 1 March 1991 (USA) See more » Also Known As: 140 min Sound Mix: 70 mm 6-Track (analog 70 mm prints)| CDS (digital 35 mm and 70 mm prints)| Dolby SR (analog 35 mm prints) Color: Did You Know? Trivia In the film, the band is signed after being fired from Whiskey-a-Go-Go. In real life, they were signed by Elektra Records on August 18, 1966.

Whiskey-a-Go-Go fired the band on August 21, after Morrison used acid induced, profane, Oedipus Rex lyrics. See more » Goofs In the film, a female photographer sexily encourages Morrison to take his shirt off, resulting in the iconic "Young Lion" photo first seen in the Village Voice, and later used as the cover photo for the Doors 1985 "Best Of" album. The photographer was actually a man, Joel Brodsky. See more » Quotes Andy Warhol : Somebody gave me this telephone... I think it was Edie... yeah it was Edie... and she said I could talk to God with it, but uh... I don't have anything to say... so here... [giving Jim the phone] – See all my reviews The Doors is unapologetically a film about sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. For 140 minutes we follow Doors singer Jim Morrison from his days as an aspiring film student at UCLA to his death in Paris in 1970 at the age of 27. Writer-director Oliver Stone based the story of the film on some 150 transcripts detailing the life and character of Morrison.

The result is far from flattering. The Doors paints a picture of a man enamored with death, his own inevitable demise more a relief than an agony. Death stalks Morrison wherever he goes from a young age. As a child driving through the New Mexico desert with his family, Morrison happens across the site of a car accident littered with dead and dying Navahos. We watch the young Morrison endure what seems to be a sort of possession rite by spirits of the dead natives. Years later he'll profess to be a shaman and from what we see on screen, he might well have believed it to be true. Native American spirits dance alongside Morrison as he sings on stage. Whether these were real or simply an acid fueled hallucination is left deliberately unclear by Stone. Likewise, a death-like character (Richard Rutowski) shadows Morrison throughout his life as a rock singer. Whether this indicates Morrison saw death as a friend, was actually accompanied by Rutowski (who was a real life friend of Morrison), or was simply hallucinating remains ambiguous. What is clear is the following: in his great desire to self destruct, Morrison drank whiskey like water and spent an inordinate amount of time on precarious ledges outside Hotel windows thirty stories up.

Kilmer's performance as Morrison is easily the finest of his career. Raw, nervy, deliberately off putting and confrontational, moments of sobriety are few are far between for this insecure egomaniac. At times I didn't feel as though I was watching a portrayal of a character long deceased so much as a documentary. From threatening suicide repeatedly to quarreling constantly with police at concerts, scenes of bad behavior are many but moments of insight are few and far between. This doesn't seem a shortcoming on behalf of director Stone so much as an accurate depiction of the highly acidic Morrison as he truly was; this was a man who didn't want to be understood. This was an artist on the constant edge of oblivion; an iconoclast who refused to be loved and was close to intolerable whenever possible. Of course it's less than a pleasant experience following the venomous creature that Morrison became for the film's final hour as he goes from alcohol induced nervous breakdown to drug fueled indecent exposure, but I for one appreciate Stone's refusal to Hollywoodize the life and death of Morrison.

Kilmer abandons completely all instinct for self preservation on screen, submerging himself in a performance that can only be described as his magnum opus. Meg Ryan leads the supporting cast as Pamela "Morrison" Courson, Morrison's longtime lover and common-law wife. Ryan seems lost in the role but thankfully spends a minimal amount of time on screen as Morrison was a firm supporter of the "free love" social movement. Indeed, he spends more time with journalist and witchcraft enthusiast Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan), an amalgam of several Morrison lovers who suffered through his frequent alcohol and drug induced impotence. A very fine Michael Madsen is wasted as actor Tom Baker, a friend of Morrison's whose relationship is grossly underdeveloped. The only performance among the supporting cast worthy of praise is that of quirky character actor Crispin Glover in a cameo as Andy Warhol, a scene that is absolutely spellbinding. Some may criticize The Doors for glamorizing a life of excess; this film gives younger viewers the idea that drugs and promiscuous sex are fun, critics may charge. Those who would are missing the point entirely.

As are those who would interpret this film as the cautionary tale of a life wasted. Little about the character we view on screen is glamorous. It seems no accident that Morrison died as he did. This was a man obsessed with death; his demise seems more a moment of wish fulfillment than tragedy. My only significant criticism of the film is that the title is certainly a misnomer; this could have easily been titled "The Jim Morrison Story" as there is not a single scene on screen without the eccentric singer while the remaining members of the band are relegated to obscurity. Call it art imitating life once more. 13 of 15 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes The Doors Movie Review & Film Summary (1991) | Roger Ebert Tweet F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that the problem with American lives is that they have no second act. The problem with Jim Morrison’s life was that it had no first and third. His childhood was lost in a mist of denial - he never quite forgave his father for being an admiral - and his maturity was interrupted by an early death, caused by his relentless campaign against his own mind and body.

What he left behind was a protracted adolescence, during which he recorded some great rock ‘n’ roll. Advertisement If we can trust Oliver Stone ’s new biographical film, “The Doors,” life for Jim Morrison was like being trapped for months at a time in the party from hell. He wanders out of the sun’s glare, a curly haired Southern California beach boy with a cute pout and a notebook full of poetry. He picks up a beer, he smokes a joint, and then life goes on fast-forward as he gobbles up drugs and booze with both hands, while betraying his friends and making life miserable for anyone who loves him. By the age of 27 he is dead. Watching the movie is like being stuck in a bar with an obnoxious drunk, when you’re not drinking. The songs he left behind, it is true, are wonderful. Many of them are on the soundtrack of “The Doors,” which combines Morrison’s original vocals and new vocals by Val Kilmer so seamlessly that there is never, not even for a moment, the sensation that Kilmer is not singing everything we hear. That illusion is strengthened by Kilmer’s appearance.

He looks so uncannily like Jim Morrison that we feel this is not a case of casting, but of possession. The performance is the best thing in the movie - and since nearly every scene centers on Morrison, that is not small praise. Val Kilmer has always had a remarkable talent, which until now has been largely overlooked, but if you want to see why Stone thought he could be convincing as a rock star, look at “ Top Secret! ,” the “Airplane!”-style spoof of spy movies in which Kilmer plays Elvis Presley . Because of Kilmer, and because of extraordinary location work with countless convincing extras, the concert scenes in “The Doors” play with the authenticity of a documentary. Advertisement If the songs are timeless and the concert footage is convincing, however, the scenes from life are more painful than in any other backstage movie I can remember. The typical showbiz biopic describes a sort of parabola, in which the talented kid wins early fame, begins to self-destruct, hits bottom, and then makes his big comeback and goes on, of course, to have a movie made about him. Jim Morrison becomes a star very quickly, and then self-destructs as quickly and efficiently as he can. It is not a pretty picture.

He must have been one of those people with a constitutional inability to handle drugs or booze in any quantity. For him there is no moderation; he isn’t seeking to get high, he’s looking for oblivion. He knows it. His poetry and lyrics - and a lot of the dialogue in the movie - glorify death. He’s infatuated with it, mesmerized by death as the ultimate trip, and as the ultimate loyalty test: If you love him, you will die with and/or for him. He’s like Edgar Allen Poe on acid, crawling along the ledges outside hotel windows, or begging his lovers to stab him in the heart. This kind of narcissism has its source, of course, in self-loathing, and the early scenes of Jim preening and posturing before the camera like a male pinup eventually segue into scenes where he hides behind a beard and dark glasses, hibernating in hotel rooms on long, lonely binges.

Oliver Stone, who as a young man once tried to pitch an early version of this screenplay to Morrison himself, has a natural feel for the Los Angeles beach and rock scene in the years when the Doors were first establishing themselves as “the band from Venice.” Morrison materializes on the beach like a young god from the sea, falls in love with a hippie chick ( Meg Ryan ), and reads his poetry, which is sophomoric, but translates easily into haunting song lyrics, helped by the mournful quality of his voice. Whatever else you can say about Morrison and the Doors, there is no denying their sound; their records, especially “Light My Fire” and “L.A. Woman,” have become a part of our shared consciousness. Advertisement Stone shows the band working out some early arrangements and playing early gigs at rock clubs on the Sunset Strip, and then, just as in life, Jim Morrison becomes a superstar at about the same time he becomes unreliable as a stage performer. He carries a bottle with him everywhere, gulping big slugs of booze as if it were pop. He uses drugs.

They do not help his personality, and he becomes mean-spirited and autocratic to those who depend on him, and obnoxious to the public - except, of course, for those moments when lightning strikes and his underlying talent flashes out. The band grows weary of him - of the missed dates, the no-shows, the late arrivals, and endless recording sessions in which a drunken or hungover Morrison indulges himself in expensive retakes. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek (Kyle Maclachlan) who first told him he had potential as a singer, drifts into a kind of passive-aggressive trance, sitting stone-faced during Morrison’s outbursts. Others threaten to quit. Listening to the final version of one of his best albums, Morrison tells the musicians, “That’s not bad for a bunch of guys who weren’t even talking to each other the day the album was recorded.” Prancing and preening onstage as a sex god, Morrison is bedeviled by impotence in real life; the drugs have done their work.

Advertisement In the movie’s most extraordinary scene, he encounters an older rock journalist ( Kathleen Quinlan ) who is heavily into sadomasochism and the trappings of witchcraft, and who through heroic measures, including pain, ritual and the mutual drinking of blood, succeeds in stimulating Morrison to the point where he actually achieves potency - although, if the movie is to be trusted, it was his last hurrah. Quinlan’s character is almost the only one able to break through the fog of Morrison’s indulgences to create a distinctive screen persona for herself (the character is miles different from anything she has played before, and brilliantly conceived and executed). The other principals in Morrison’s life, even his wife as played by Ryan, are supporting characters who drift in and out of focus during his long, sad binge. The experience of watching “The Doors” is not always very pleasant. There are the songs, of course, and some electrifying concert moments, but mostly there is the mournful, self-pitying descent of this young man into selfish and boring stupor. Having seen this movie, I am not sad to have missed the opportunity to meet Jim Morrison, and I can think of few fates more painful than being part of his support system.

The last hour of the film, in particular, is a dirge of wretched excess, of drunken would-be orgies and obnoxious behavior, of concerts in which the audiences wait for hours for the spectacle of Morrison stumbling onstage to fake a few songs or, notoriously, to expose himself. Advertisement In the end, Stone leaves a large question unanswered: How was Morrison able to leave the country after being sentenced to a jail term for public indecency? But leave he did, to die of an “apparent heart attack” in Paris, where he lies buried to this day, his tomb a mecca for his fans, who have spray-painted all of the neighboring tombs with exhortations and obscenities. Even in death, Jim Morrison is no fun to be around. Popular Blog Posts View All Critic Reviews (59) Audience Reviews for The Doors Jim Morrison: This is the strangest life I've ever known. "The Ultimate Story of Sex, Drugs & Rock 'N' Roll" The Doors is about the best movie I could imagine being made about Jim Morrison and The Doors. Although the film may be named The Doors; it would probably make more sense if it were titled Jim Morrison, because that's really what this film is about.

The sad fact is that Jim Morrison was The Doors and although the other three had amazing talent, they always seemed to be left in the shadow of Morrison. This film captures that aspect of the band extremely well. Oliver Stone attacks the story of Jim Morrison as he would any other story, with the most controversial topics that came up in Morrison's life. Although with Morrison as his subject, it really wasn't too hard to find controversy. Whether it be Morrison experimenting with acid and peyote, getting black out drunk, screwing every girl that came to his concerts, rebelling against authority, or possibly showing his privates at a concert; Jim Morrison is controversy. Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison makes complete sense. Kilmer looks the part and when I say that, I mean it. He looks like Jim Morrison in a way I've only seen from one other biopic and that was Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. Kilmer does do a good job in a very complicated and difficult role. The supporting cast fills in around him nicely as well. The Doors is a movie I really enjoyed as a Doors fan.

I also love how Oliver Stone created the perfect drug infused, alcoholic, opinionated atmosphere that I would have to believe surrounded Morrison his whole life. If you're a fan of The Doors, this is an absolute must watch. For everyone else, it may still be worth a look, as it is a great music biopic. Melvin White Super Reviewer A good, psychedelic movie about the band the Doors, Kilmer is good playing Morrison, one of his best roles. I liked this movie. Aj V Super Reviewer Oliver Stone's Biopic on The Doors is somewhat an imperfect attempt at telling the story of the legendary rock band of the same name. I say imperfect because most of the events that happen in the film are exaggerated. Some of the original members have claimed that Oliver Stone has ignored their input when they were making the film for his creative liberty. What we have here is a semi fictional biopic with the facts twisted around to make the story seem more dramatic. Some events in the film never did happen. This a film that is a perfect example of what happens when you sacrifice truth for fiction. But I guess it doesn't really matter as long as the film is entertaining. The film is definitely an awesome journey through the 60's.

A nostalgic piece of psychedelic rock and peace and love abound in this film as Oliver Stone takes us on an unforgettable journey of the legendary rock band. The cast that he has assembled here is great especially Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison. Kilmer deliver delivers the best performance of his career in The Doors. Val Kilmer did his own vocals for Doors songs and thats one of the high points of the film. Despite the flaws, Kilmer's acting saves this film. This isn't the best biopic on a band, but it definitely isn't the worst. The thing that may be conflicting is the fact that the film focuses more on Jim Morrison than the band itself. As far as I'm concerned, This film should have been titled differently. Besides for Kilmer the rest of cast do a fine job at portraying the real people. Even if it's not 100% accurate, and it's most definitely not, The Doors is still a pretty interesting film to watch and enjoy. I thought the film was good, but flawed, but by no means terrible. Stone is still able to paint a vivid portrait of the 1960's, and succeeds fairly well in doing so. If you're a Doors fan, check this one out.

But just remember that Oliver Stone fictionalized most of the story to make this film more dramatic. If it wasn't for Val Kilmer awesome portrayal of Jim Morrison, this film would be a total faillure but it isn't. Alex roy Super Reviewer Kilmer and Ryan weren't the right cast, but the actual movie was well written and definitely right in its assessment. Spencer S. The Doors | Rolling Stone artists > T > The Doors > Bio The Doors Bio Morrison and Manzarek, acquaintances from the UCLA Graduate School of Film, conceived the group at a 1965 meeting on a Southern California beach. After Morrison recited one of his poems, "Moonlight Drive," Manzarek — who had studied classical piano as a child and played in Rick and the Ravens, a UCLA blues band — suggested they collaborate on songs. Manzarek's brothers, Rick and Jim, served as guitarists until Manzarek met John Densmore, who brought in Robby Krieger; both had been members of the Psychedelic Rangers. Morrison christened the band the Doors, from William Blake via Aldous Huxley's book on mescaline, The Doors of Perception.

The Doors soon recorded a demo tape, and in the summer of 1966 they began working as the house band at the Whisky-a-Go-Go, a gig that ended four months later when they were fired for performing the explicitly Oedipal "The End," one of Morrison's many songs that included dramatic recitations. By then Jac Holzman of Elektra Records had been convinced by Arthur Lee of Love to sign the band. An edited version of Krieger's "Light My Fire" from the Doors' debut album (Number Two, 1967) became a Number One hit in 1967, while "progressive" FM radio played (and analyzed) "The End." The band's two sides came to a head during their 1967 appearance on The Ed Sullivan show when Morrison kept the word "higher" in the lyrics to "Light My Fire" despite the show's request to remove it (whether it was intentional or not remains up to debate). Sullivan banned them from making future appearances. Morrison's image as the embodiment of dark psychological impulses was established quickly, even as he was being featured in such teen magazines as 16.

Strange Days (Number Three, 1967) and Waiting for the Sun (Number One, 1968) both included hit singles and became best-selling albums. Waiting for the Sun also marked the first appearance of Morrison's mythic alter ego, the Lizard King, in a poem printed inside the record jacket entitled "The Celebration of the Lizard King." Though part of the poem was used as lyrics for "Not to Touch the Earth," a complete "Celebration" didn't appear on record until Absolutely Live (Number Eight, 1970). It was impossible to tell whether Morrison's Lizard King persona was a parody of a pop star or simply inspired exhibitionism, but it earned him considerable notoriety. In December 1967 he was arrested for public obscenity at a concert in New Haven, and in August 1968 he was arrested for disorderly conduct aboard an airplane en route to Phoenix. Not until his March 1969 arrest in Miami for exhibiting "lewd and lascivious behavior by exposing his private parts and by simulating masturbation and oral copulation" onstage did Morrison's behavior adversely affect the band.

Court proceedings kept the singer in Miami most of the year although the prosecution could produce neither eyewitnesses nor photos of Morrison performing the acts. Charges were dropped, but public furor (which inspired a short-lived Rally for Decency movement), concert promoters' fear of similar incidents, and Morrison's own mixed feelings about celebrity resulted in erratic concert schedules thereafter. The Soft Parade (Number Six, 1969), far more elaborately produced than the Doors' other albums, met with a mixed reception from fans, but it too had a Number Three hit single, "Touch Me." Morrison began to devote more attention to projects outside the band: writing poetry, collaborating on a screenplay with poet Michael McClure, and directing a film, A Feast of Friends (he had also made films to accompany "Break On Through" and the 1968 single "The Unknown Soldier"). Simon & Schuster published The Lords and the New Creatures in 1971; an earlier book, An American Prayer, was privately printed in 1970 but not made widely available until 1978, when the surviving Doors regrouped and set Morrison's recitation of the poem to music.

In 1989 Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison was published. Although Morrison expressed to friends and associates his wish to be remembered as a poet, overall his writings have found few fans among critics. By then some felt, especially after "Touch Me," that the band had sold out, and Morrison's dangerous persona was more often ridiculed than not. Critic Lester Bangs once tagged him "Bozo Dionysus." Soon after L.A. Woman (Number Nine, 1971) was recorded, Morrison took an extended leave of absence from the group. Obviously physically and emotionally drained, he moved to Paris, where he hoped to write and where he and his wife, Pamela Courson Morrison, lived in seclusion. He died of heart failure in his bathtub in 1971 at age 27. Partly because news of his death was not made public until days after his burial in Paris' Père-Lachaise cemetery, some still refuse to believe Morrison is dead. His wife, one of the few people who saw Morrison's corpse, died in Hollywood of a heroin overdose on April 25, 1974.

The Doors continued to record throughout 1973 as a trio, but after two albums it seemed they had exhausted the possibilities of a band without a commanding lead singer. Manzarek had hoped to reconstitute the group with Iggy Pop, whose avowed chief influence was Morrison, but plans fell through. After the Doors broke up, Manzarek recorded two solo albums, and one with a short-lived group called Nite City. He produced the first four albums by L.A.'s X, and in 1983 he collaborated with composer Philip Glass on a rock version of Carl Orff's modern cantata, Carmina Burana. Krieger and Densmore formed the Butts Band, which lasted three years and recorded two albums. In 1972 a Doors greatest-hits collection, Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine was released, hit Number 55, and went gold. Krieger released his first solo album in 1981 and toured in 1982. Ironically, the group's best years began in 1980, nine years after Morrison's death.

With the release of the Danny Sugerman–Jerry Hopkins biography of Morrison, No One Here Gets Out Alive, sales of the Doors' music and the already large Jim Morrison cult — spurred by his many admirers and imitators in new-wave bands — grew even more. Record sales for 1980 alone topped all previous figures; as one Rolling Stone line put it: "He's Hot, He's Sexy, He's Dead." And that was just the beginning. The 1983 release of Alive, She Cried, followed by MTV's airing of Doors videos, introduced Morrison and the band to a new generation, and Oliver Stone's 1991 film biography of the group, starring Val Kilmer as Morrison, was a critical and commercial success. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder filled in for Morrison for the Doors' performance at the ceremonies. The Morrison cult continues to grow, particularly among the young.

In 1990 his graffiti-covered headstone was stolen; in 1993, on what would have been his 50th birthday, hundreds of mourners — many not even born before he died — traveled from around the world to pay tribute. Because of the destruction these visitors often wreak on the cemetery during their pilgrimages, many Parisians petitioned to move Morrison's grave when its 30-year lease expired in 2001; French officials, however, opted to leave Morrison's remains in their resting place. A box set with material chosen by the band was released in 1997. Emphasizing live (the set starts off with the notorious version of "Five to One" recorded at the March '69 Miami concert) and lesser-known tracks ("Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor," a 25-minute free-form jam called "Rock Is Dead"), the four-disc set includes "Orange County Suite," a "Free as a Bird"–style song — i.e., new instrumental tracks were dubbed onto an old Morrison vocal.

His vocals were resurrected yet again in 2000, when Fatboy Slim sampled Morrison's reading of "Bird of Prey" for a track on his album Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars. That same year, VH1 taped an episode of its Storytellers series in which the Cult's Ian Astbury, Creed singer Scott Stapp, Stone Temple Pilot's Scott Weiland, Days of the New frontman Travis Meeks, and Perry Farrell took turns covering Doors songs. The singers were backed by the surviving members of the Doors; it was the first time the three had played together since their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The episode aired around the same time Elektra released Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors, which featured Krieger, Manzarek, and Densmore participating in their own tribute album. Capitalizing on the continual interest in the band, the Doors launched an Internet-based label, Bright Midnight Records, which released The Bright Midnight Sampler at the end of 2000.

The Doors Live in Detroit and No One Here Gets Out Alive — a radio interview with the remaining Doors members that originally aired in 1980 — followed in 2001. In 2002, Manzarek and Krieger formed a new band called The Doors of the 21st Century with Angelo Barbera on bass and Astbury stepping in as Morrison. After Densmore opted out reportedly due to tinnitus and Police drummer Stewart Copeland left due to a broken arm, the new band finally settled on Krieger drummer Ty Dennis. The following year Densmore, claiming he actually had not been invited to take part in the new band, filed an injunction against Manzarak and Krieger in an attempt to stop them from using the Doors name. Jim Morrison's estate joined him in the suit. In July 2005 they won the injunction and the band changed its name to D21C, and then changed it again to Riders on the Storm.

In 2008, the five-year legal battle ended when the California Supreme Court refused to hear Manzarek and Krieger's additional appeals to the $5.2 million fine they were ordered to pay Densmore and Morrison's estate during the 2005 suit. Manzarek and Krieger continued to tour despite Astbury's 2007 departure to revive The Cult. They replaced him with Brett Scallions, the former frontman of Fuel and began touring as Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger of The Doors. Densmore has continued to thwart efforts to license The Doors' music for commercials, including a $15 million offer from Cadillac and a $4 million offer from Apple, Inc. In a 2002 essay for The Nation he wrote that commercial use of the music would violate its original intent. Despite this, the band's music was licensed for use as the soundtrack to an episode of the CBS crime drama Cold Case in February, 2010.

In 2006, the year before the 40th anniversary of the release of the Doors' debut album, Perception, yet another box set of the band's complete studio recordings, appeared. This one included surround-sound versions of some tracks, extra songs and DVDs. In 2007 the Doors received a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Between 2008 and 2009 several more archival LPs were released: Live at the Matrix captures the widely-bootlegged shows the band played at the San Francisco venue prior to "Light My Fire" catapulting them to success. In September 2009, Rhino Records reissued the Doors' records with Jim Morrison on 180-gram. Two months later, the band's final four concerts with Morrison were released as a box set. Nearly a third of the music on the six-disc Live in New York was previously unreleased. In early 2010, the band's "Riders on the Storm" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

2010 will also see the limited release of a new Tom DiCillo-directed documentary about the band, When You're Strange: A Film About the Doors, featuring previously unseen footage and narrated by Johnny Depp. An accompanying soundtrack will pair studio versions of the band's songs with iconic live renditions. Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). Erica Futterman contributed to this story. LOS ANGELES GUIDE FOR DOORS FANS Rainer Moddemann (The Doors Quarterly Magazine) When descending towards L.A. International Airport, at 3,000 feet the city below presents an incredible view. Apartment blocks arranged like a chessboard extend to the horizon. Millions of tiny cars flow down the wide streets and freeways in endless rivers. Small blue patches make one assume that water also exists amongst the mud-grey slime down there. Los Angeles is the city of The Doors, and The Doors are and remain inseparably linked to Los Angeles.

Doors fans who get involved in the "Los Angeles Adventure" and spend two afternoons on the search for historic Doors places with the help of this guide, may soon find out why this city is so important to the group; and they will feel Jim Morrison's vibes more or less at every other corner. With the song "L.A.Woman" Jim immortalised this city. Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby Krieger are still living here. Understandably, I cannot give their private addresses in this context. For long years West Hollywood used to be the centre of The Doors. Every Doors tourist should logically start his expedition here; besides, all the Doors sights are in walking distance and all can be seen within two hours. Let us begin with a nice breakfast at Barney's Beanery (8447 Santa Monica Boulevard). If you fancy, you can play a round of pool or billard, like The Doors often used to do. One look into the bar shows us another one of Jim's favourite places. He used to spend numerous nights in this narrow, tubeshaped room in the company of Babe Hill, Frank Lisciandro and many others.

This is also where one scene for Oliver Stone's film "The Doors" was shot. In the restaurant Jim Morrison used to eat chicken liver with onions. When you order it you will get a gigantic portion including salad for a reasonable price. Let us leave Barney's Beanery and walk across the street, follow Santa Monica Boulevard on the righthand side and stop at the next street corner. On the other side of the road you can see "Al & Ed's Autosound". In Morrison's time it used to be called The Extension, a topless bar with a dancefloor, where Jim liked to meet with journalists. He had been amused by the fact that the reporters would be distracted and confused by the waitresses and dancing girls. The famous "Rolling Stone"-interview with Jerry Hopkins was done in there. Let us walk a little bit on the lefthand side down La Cienega Boulevard. We come across a Spanish-style building, which today belongs to the Ohlmeyer Communications Company (962 La Cienega Boulevard). In earlier times the Elektra Sound Recorders Studio used to be situated here, where The Doors recorded the albums "The Soft Parade" and "Morrison Hotel".

Direct entry to the studio was through the dark brown wooden door adjacent to the main building. Crossing the street, the way leads directly to a one-storey building with a yellow billboard attached to it saying "Mahin Oriental Rugs" (947 La Cienega Boulevard). The room next to the entrance door, both decorated with iron bars, is where Pamela Courson's boutique Themis used to be, which Jim Morrison had financed for her and which she had run for about 3 years. Walking up the stairs behind the front door, one will get to a balustrade which leads directly to a door with the letter K. Behind this door the HWY Office used to be situated, which Jim Morrison had rented in order to prepare and process his film HWY, together with Frank Lisciandro and other co-workers. Let us again walk down La Cienega Boulevard up to the "Al & Ed's Autosound" and turn left into Santa Monica Boulevard. After a few yards one will see a boxshaped red building on the left. Today it is called the Benvenuto Café. Before this was called "The Center" and served as the office of a gay & lesbian community centre.

Up until 1972 it was painted yellow, had a different type of staircase and was the Doors Office (8512 Santa Monica Boulevard). This is where The Doors and Bill Siddons did their paperwork; this is where Kathy Lisciandro worked as Jim Morrison's secretary; this is where Danny Sugarman answered the fan mail. The group's rehearsal room was situated on the lower floor, where the sessions and recordings for the album "L.A.Woman" took place between October 1970 and February 1971. After The Doors moved out in 1972, the building remained a sound studio and was called "The Upside Down Studio" until 1985. After renovation of the staircase the gay & lesbian community centre moved in. Walking a little further up Santa Monica Boulevard, one will discover a bar called The Palms (8572 Santa Monica Boulevard). Jim Morrison had sat inside this bar numerous times, used to take a little snack here and drank beer and whiskey during the breaks between rehearsals. We are now crossing Santa Monica Boulevard and follow the road down towards the left. Soon we arrive at the Troubadour (9081 Santa Monica Boulevard).

This is the club where Jim saw the comeback of the Smothers Brothers. After a booze-up with Babe Hill, Jim Morrison was barred from this club. It is the same club where once upon a time John Lennon and Harry Nilsson got totally drunk and ended up being kicked out. Today the Troubadour exclusively presents Punk and Heavy Metal bands. Let us turn right again, walking back down Santa Monica Boulevard, and after a few steps we reach an arch-like block of flats in the shape of a horse shoe called "New Orleans Square". Only a few years ago the Tropicana Motel as well as Duke's Coffee Shop were situated in this building complex (8585 Santa Monica Boulevard). Between 1966 and 1969 Jim used to live in this motel, with a few short interruptions. He regularly used to have breakfast at Duke's Coffee Shop. The Tropicana Motel was dissolved, and Duke's Coffee Shop moved into the same building as the Whiskey A GoGo. Only a few yards further, at the junction of Santa Monica Boulevard/La Cienega Boulevard, is a supermarket called Monaco Liquor (8513 Santa Monica Boulevard).

This is where The Doors used to buy their drink supplies during rehearsal breaks. Jim Morrison used to exclusively purchase his alcohol here, as the supermarket was only a minute away from Jim's motel room and the Doors Office. The exterior of the supermarket has since then hardly changed. A few further steps lead to a dark brick building, in which the florist "Leo's Flowers" resides today (8505 Santa Monica Boulevard). At the time of The Doors this place used to be the Phone Booth, another topless bar where The Doors liked to hang out. In one scene of HWY the neonlights of the former Phone Booth are easily recognised. Directly adjacent to "Leo's Flowers", at # 1005 La Cienega Boulevard, is the Alta Cienega Motel. This is where Jim Morrison lived, with short interruptions, on the first floor, room No. 32, between 1968 and 1970. His window is situated directly above the driveway. Right next to it is some sort of balcony on which scenes for HWY were shot. If you are lucky you can rent room No. 32.

Another scene for HWY was shot in the tiny bathroom, which also has not changed until today. If you look carefully, you can see writings underneath the new paintwork. However, the motel was kept in green in Jim Morrison's time, and it surfaces in some of his poems, as well as in "The Celebration Of The Lizard", as the "green hotel". You can also see the small reception in HWY where Jim used to pick up his post, as well as the telephone in the courtyard of the motel, from which Morrison used to lead ordinary phone calls (however, in those times it used to be a phone booth). Let us leave the Alta Cienega Motel and walk uphill La Cienega Boulevard to the junction of Sunset Boulevard. Crossing the road and turning right, you can see the building where The Kaleidoscope (8433 Sunset Boulevard) used to be. The Doors played here on April 21-23, 1967. Today the place is called "The Comedy Store".

After about 1 kilometre one can see the Hyatt Hotel (8401 Sunset Boulevard) and shortly after this the Chateau Marmont on the lefthand side (8221 Sunset Boulevard). Jim used to live in both of these hotels for only a relatively short time between November 1970 and March 1971. At the Chateau Marmont he fell off the balcony on the righthand side of the hotel onto one of the "cottages" in the garden below, and broke two of his ribs. At the Hyatt Hotel (which Robby Krieger jokingly describes as "Riot Hotel") Jim hung off a balcony on the 10th floor until someone called the police and they had to talk him into coming back up into the room. Let us now leave Sunset Boulevard and follow Sweetzer Avenue downhill until we find Norton Avenue on the left.In building complex No. 8216 we can see the apartment where Pamela used to reside on the second floor of the inner courtyard. It was also Jim Morrison's last Los Angeles address before his departure for Paris. One scene from Danny Sugarman's book "Wonderland Avenue" is based here.

Whenever Pamela was out of her mind with rage, she used to throw all of Jim's books, and other things, out of the window. Let us follow Sweetzer Avenue back to Sunset Boulevard and turn left. After a while you come past a bookshop called Booksoup. Walk through the backdoor and notice a long, green (it used to be grey some years ago) and old building. This used to be the former cinema called Cinematique 16, where Jim Morrison read his poetry during a Norman Mailer Benefit on May 30-31, 1969. Accompanied by Robby Krieger, the song "Far Arden Blues" was recorded during this event. It was later published on the album "An American Prayer". Go out of the bookshop again and cross the street. Check Tower Records, which is in front of you - Ray Manzarek usually buys his records in there. About 150 metres further on to your left you'll reach the Whiskey A GoGo (8901 Sunset Boulevard), which has in the meantime been painted red again.

The Doors were the houseband here from May to August 1966 and played one or two gigs almost every night. The interior of the Whisky has hardly changed since then. On the righthand side one will find the staircase leading up to the dressing rooms. This is where Jim met Pamela Courson during one of his numerous concerts. One of the owners of the club, Mario Magliani, is still happy to play the bouncer today, and loves to talk about the good old times. Situated in the same building today is Duke's Coffee Shop, where one should have coffee and watch a variety of musicians milling about. With a little luck one could bump into Danny Sugerman, who sometimes eats breakfast here. A Morrison poster decorates the wall, amongst countless signed photographs of other bands. In the old days the room (where Duke's Coffee Shop is now) was the club called the London Fog, where The Doors were permanently employed as resident band, and where during endlessly long nights they developed their typical Doors sound. The Whiskey's exterior was returned to its original state for the shooting of the Doors film. For Oliver Stone's "The Doors" the club opposite the street (The Central) was the fake "London Fog".

Today the club is called the Viper's Room. Adjacent to the Central is a small supermarket with the name of Terner's Liquor Deli. In the old days it was called Turner's Liquor, where The Doors used to buy their alcohol supplies during each set's break (at first the Whiskey did not have a licence to sell alcohol). On the same side and not far from Terner's Liquor Deli there is the huge 9000 Building (9000 Sunset Boulevard). On top of that building Jim Morrison balanced on the railing for the final scenes of his film HWY. We are now crossing Sunset Boulevard again and follow it down on the left hand side. In very close proximity to each other, we can find three music clubs here: Gazzari's (today it is called Billboard Live), where The Doors played several gigs from the end of January 1967 to March 1967. The Roxy, where Robby Krieger played a few concerts in the 70s; and The Rainbow. The Doors cover band Wild Child plays at all three clubs regularly, and the L.A.

Doors tourist should try seeing them play at one of these places if one is interested in cover bands. Sometimes Robby Krieger joins them on stage. The Cock'n'Bull (9170 Sunset Boulevard), where Jim Morrison often used to eat, is situated approximately 1 km further down on the left hand side. After one of these meals in the winter of 1970, while in a slightly drunken state, Jim pretended to be a matador with his jacket in the middle of Sunset Boulevard, with the passing cars acting as the attacking bulls. I heard that the Cock'n'Bull does not exist anymore. For the next part of the "Doors Memorial Tour" you will need a car, or you can take one of the unreliable buses, as the sights are too far apart from each other to be able to reach them on foot. These are listed as follows: Sunset Sound Recorders (6650 Sunset Boulevard): The Doors recorded their first two albums here. It is a beige brick building, not recognisable as a studio from the outside. The main entrance is in the backyard.

Aquarius Theatre (6230 Sunset Boulevard):Today this large hall is called "Star Search Theatre" and is used for talent shows. In the old Aquarius The Doors recorded three live gigs for "Absolutely Live" on July 21 and 22, 1969. In the 60s the building used to belong to various owners, who always changed its name. The Doors often played at this venue, which in their time was also called Hullabaloo and Kaleidoscope. Hollywood Bowl: The famous open-air theatre can easily be found if one drives up north on Highland Avenue. One can hardly miss the entrance to the Bowl. From early morning onwards one can visit the theatre free of charge and is allowed to run around on the stage. On July 5, 1968 The Doors gave a legendary concert here, which has already been immortalised on video. Griffith Observatory: The Observatory is situated at the edge of Griffith Park, and is easily reached via Vermont Avenue which leads to Vermont Canyon Boulevard. Jim Morrison fans should take their copy of "The Illustrated History" along with them, as a series of pictures contained in this were taken here.

Some of them are printed the wrong way round; however, for the trained eye it should not be difficult to find the corresponding places. Love Street: The street's real name is Rothdell Trail, which is a small side street branching off the beginning of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, and rejoining it after approximately 2 kilometres. The best thing is to drive up north on Laurel Canyon Boulevard up to the Canyon Country Store and park there (2108 Laurel Canyon Boulevard). Jim not only immortalised this store in the song Love Street ("... there's a store where the creatures meet, I wonder what they do in there..."), but also house # 8021 Rothdell Trail, which is nestled up against the mountain slope, only a few metres away from the store ("... she has a house and garden..."). Jim and Pamela lived on the top floor of the woodpanelled building. For a long time it was very run down and neglected, but the lawyer owning the house, a Doors fan herself, sold it to a fan, who totally restored the house during the past years. Someone had sprayed "Mr Mojo Risin" on the concrete wall that serves the building as a support pillar, but that had been wiped off some years ago.

... To find the house that Ray Manzarek owned in Wonderland Avenue, where he rehearsed with his band after The Doors (address unknown), you will need a map that will lead you through the maze of tiny streets in Laurel Canyon. Wonderland Avenue also gave Danny Sugarman's book its name. Also on the left side of Laurel Canyon Boulevard is Lookout Mountain Avenue, where John Densmore and Robby Krieger used to share the house # 8826. This house was also Jim's permanent address in the year 1966. At the lookout point above the house Jim Morrison wrote the song People Are Strange. On top of the actual Lookout Mountain the late Doors producer Paul Rothchild used to live in a big house. Downtown L.A.: Morrison Hotel (1246 Hope Street): Morrison Hotel is in downtown L.A., a dirty and dangerous area. Today the large multistorey building is a hotel again. Ray Manzarek accidentally "discovered" the Morrison Hotel at the end of 1969. The next day The Doors went there, together with photographer Henry Diltz, where he shot a series of photos.

The famous window used to be on the left hand side directly adjacent to the entrance, where photos printed in "The Illustrated History" were also shot. The entrance decorated with mosaic ornaments still exists. On the outer wall one can also still recognise the non-functioning neon sign of the hotel. See many great photos of The Doors inside and outside the hotel on Henry Diltz's CD-ROM "Under The Covers". Hard Rock Cafe (300 5th Street): The original Hard Rock Cafe, which is immortalised on the backcover of the album Morrison Hotel, is not a café anymore but closed down years ago. The site is still there. The "new" Hard Rock Café in Los Angeles has nothing in common with the original, apart from its name. The area is not safe, be careful! Great shots of The Doors inside and outside the cafe can be seen on Henry Diltz's CD-ROM "Under The Covers". Santa Monica: Olivia's (2615 Main Street): This restaurant in Santa Monica inspired Jim Morrison to write the song "Soul Kitchen". Here you could eat reasonably priced dishes from the southern states of the U.S.A., which the students from the UCLA were also able to afford.

In his biography, John Densmore wrote a whole chapter about Olivia's. In its place today is the "Zuma Jay Surf Shop". Turkey Joint West (116 Santa Monica Boulevard): Rick and the Ravens played at this club as resident band from the beginning of June to the end of April 1965. In here, with this band, Jim Morrison made his first public appearance on June 5, 1965. Today this long-stretched, narrow club situated near the beach is a beautifully decorated English pub called "Ye Olde King's Head". Santa Monica Municipal Pier: The pier leads from the beach to deep into the ocean, resting on strong tree trunks. Not only the famous song "Under The Boardwalk" originates here, but also several well-known promotion photos of the Doors by Henry Diltz. He who searches, will find the spot where the photos were taken (find beautiful outtakes of this location on Henry Dilz's CD-ROM "Under The Covers". Cheetah (1 Navy Street): The Cheetah, a concert hall known in the 60s for its psychedelic music, was destroyed by fire in 1979. Today there is nothing but sand in its place.

Before it was renamed Cheetah, it used to be the "Avalon", which was the home to many 50's Rock'n'Roll stars. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (Pico Boulevard/Main Street): The Doors played here on July 3, 1967. Venice: Small pedestrian bridge (Carroll Avenue/Alberta): Bobby Klein took some photos of the band here during a walk through Venice. Jim Morrison mural (1811 Speedway): This huge painting of Jim Morrison in Venice is one of the main sights you should visit there. In shops you can buy postcards showing the mural. The Morrison (at the corner of Speedway and Westminster): This was the building in which Jim's friend Dennis Jacobs had an apartment. On the roof Jim Morrison wrote songs like "My Eyes Have Seen You" and most of the songs for the first and second Doors album. He also wrote most of his early poetry here. Ocean Front Walk: Watch two short super-8-movies filmed by Henry Diltz of The Doors walking along this famous street next to the beach on his CD-ROM "Under The Covers". Scenes filmed on Ocean Front Walk are also to be seen during Jim Morrison's film "HWY".

In the beginning of Oliver Stone's "The Doors", Val Kilmer is following Meg Ryan across Ocean Front Walk. Hollywood: 108 N. Sycamore Avenue: In this small house, almost hidden by a huge rubber tree, Pamela Courson died of a heroin overdose in her apartment on the right side of the ground floor on April 25, 1974. TTG Studios (1441 N. McCadden Place) The Doors recorded their third album "Waiting For The Sun" here. Today the building is called "Shooting Star International". Westwood: Village Recorders (1616 Butler Avenue): This is the studio where Jim Morrison did his poetry session on 8th December 1970 with the help of recording engineer John Haeny. Some of that session got published on the album "An American Prayer". Very close to the studio was the Lucky "U" (Santa Monica Boulevard, right behind Santa Monica Freeway). It was a restaurant frequently used by Jim and his friends. It was torn down to make place for an Exxon gas station. Santa Ana: Fairhaven Cemetery (16572 E.

Fairhaven, Santa Ana): If you thought that Pamela Courson, Jim's longstanding girlfriend, was (as at first planned) buried in the same grave as Jim at Pere Lachaise, you were wrong. Pamela was cremated at the Forest Lawn Cemetery Crematorium and her ashes were installed in their resting place at Fairhaven Cemetery on July 18, 1974. If you want to pay Pamela a visit, please ask at the cemetery office for directions to her resting place (in the Garden Courts of the cemetery, Box 164). Pamela's urn is behind a bronze plate in one of the compartments of the crematorium. Her real name (Courson) is not written on the plate. Instead it carries the name "Morrison, Pamela Susan". The grave is also registered under this name at the cemetery office. Topanga Canyon: Topanga Corral (2034 Topanga Canyon Boulevard): This was the restaurant the song "Roadhouse Blues" was all about. It was destroyed by a big fire a long time ago. At the back of the restaurant there was the small cabin Jim Morrison had bought for Pamela Courson - he called it bungalow in the song.

Today there might be an apartment block. I summer 1993 I found the remains of the cabin: bricks, pieces of wooden window frames and some dry old blue paint. OTHER LOCATIONS: Shrine Exposition Hall (700 West 32nd Street): located round the block of the Shrine Auditorium (665, West Jefferson). The Doors played four concerts here on December 22 and 23, 1967. The Forum (Manchester & Prairie): The Doors performed here on December 14, 1968 at the peak of their carreer. Today it is called Great Western Forum. The Doors' billboard (at the Western corner of Sunset Boulevard/Laurel Canyon Boulevard): Opposite the new Virgin megastore was the location of the huge Doors billboard for their first album. It said "Break On Through With An Elektrifying Album". Check your copy of The Illustrated History, page 26, 82 and 83. There are a few further clubs that do not exist anymore today, and others are, as they were then, private properties today. The Doors gave concerts in all of these: Bido Lito's (107 N.

Ivar Drive, Hollywood) Will Rodgers State Park (14400 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood) Warner Playhouse (755 N. La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood) Brave New World (1644 N. Cherokee Avenue, Hollywood) The Seawitch (8514 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood). This is now grey concrete building. There are a few places missing in this guide: PLEASE HELP! Most importantly, the address of the band's third rehearsal room at a beach south of Washington Boulevard (remember the photos in "The Illustrated History" with the coloured windows in the background) is missing. There's just one house which might probably the one. It has no colored windows anymore, but the wood seems to be the same, and there is a big room on the ground floor. It is located at the corner of Speedway and 26th Avenue. The address is Ocean Front Walk 26005; it's hidden behind trees and plants. My friend Yaëlle found out this one, but confirmation is still needed. Is anyone brave enough to knock at the door?

Further indications to the house behind a Greyhound Coach station owned by a certain Hank Olguin, where the band also used to rehearse, is still needed. I would welcome any help from you as to these missing links. Thanks for invaluable help to Ulrich Michaelis, Yaëlle Bolender, Frank Lisciandro, Ray Manzarek, Dorothy Manzarek, Sybille Nova, Danny Sugerman, Jeannie Cromie, Stefanie Toenges, Gregg Shaw and a few others I forgot to mention. © 1998 Rainer Moddemann, The Doors Quarterly Magazine. This guide may not be distributed in any other context or media.

Question: Who played Jim Morrison in the film The Doors?
Answer: Val Kilmer