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The Doors: When You're Strange

Play trailer Poster for The Doors: When You're Strange R Released Apr 9, 2010 1h 30m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 70 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A history of Jim Morrison and the Doors includes archival footage of concert performances, recording sessions, and backstage scenes.

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The Doors: When You're Strange

The Doors: When You're Strange

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Critics Consensus

It's far from a critical assessment of the band's music or its legacy, but When You're Strange gives fans a beautifully filmed, lovingly assembled tribute to the Doors.

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Critics Reviews

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Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer When You're Strange offers a worshipful but insightful portrait of the group... Rated: 3/4 Jul 6, 2010 Full Review David Gritten Daily Telegraph (UK) This is a far better bet than Oliver Stone's ghastly Doors movie. Rated: 3/5 Jul 6, 2010 Full Review Anthony Quinn Independent (UK) The cumulative effect of this film is to enhance one's respect for The Doors (John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek) and to diminish the same for Morrison, whose posturing now looks like the most fatuous exhibitionism. Rated: 2/5 Jul 2, 2010 Full Review James McMahon NME (New Musical Express) The surviving Doors shouldn't hate Oliver Stone so much - his movie portrays them as a better band than this does. He made a better movie too. Rated: 1.5/5 May 19, 2021 Full Review Gemma James CineVue Reaffirms Jim Morrison as a rock legend, a poet in his own rite and a spiritual and sexual messiah, who opened the doors of perception for his generation and all those to follow. Rated: 4/5 Nov 5, 2018 Full Review Benjamin H. Smith Decider ...it lazily recycles all the same tired myths about Jim Morrison being "like an ancient shaman," and "A rock and roll poet, dangerous and highly intelligent," that we've been reading in solipsistic '60s holdovers like Rolling Stone for the last 50 years. Jan 24, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Great film great band. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member The best documentary about the history of The Doors. Great for every Doors fan. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Edward G I'm not a fan of the Doors. I kind of enjoyed this . I liked it a lot more than the Oliver stone film about the Doors , and I even learned some stuff . I didn't know that the Doors had so many gold records . I could have really done without all those strange flash forwards of an actor playing Jim Morison crashing his car and hearing about his own death on the radio. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/26/19 Full Review Audience Member Do yourself a favor and just read their wikipedia article...its more compelling than this documentary. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member An interesting demystification, but Depp's ever present narration leaves several questions unanswered, and is sometimes a bit too front and centre stage. As a movie it does work well, though just sweeping you along rather than putting you through the wringer. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Great footage I've never seen before. Hey; it worked well for him...but was Jim ever sober? Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Doors: When You're Strange

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Cast & Crew

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Tom DiCillo

Director

Johnny Depp

Narrator

Jim Ladd

Voice

Tom DiCillo

Screenwriter

Dick Wolf

Producer

John Beug

Producer

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The Doors: When You're Strange

(Right) Jim Morrison in "When You're Strange." (Right) Jim Morrison in "When You're Strange." The Doors in "When You're Strange." (Right) Jim Morrison in "When You're Strange." Jim Morrison in "When You're Strange." The Doors: When You're Strange (2009) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A history of Jim Morrison and the Doors includes archival footage of concert performances, recording sessions, and backstage scenes.
Director
Tom DiCillo
Producer
Dick Wolf, John Beug, Jeff Jampol, Peter Jankowski, Bill Guttentag
Screenwriter
Tom DiCillo
Distributor
Abramorama
Production Co
Wolf Films, Strange Pictures
Rating
R (Language|Drug Material|Nudity|Some Sexual Content Incl Ref)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 9, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$238.6K
Runtime
1h 30m
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