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New Doors Film: MOJO's First Glimpse
2:29 PM GMT 26/02/2010
IT'S AN ATTENTION-GRABBING OPEN. Recklessly racing a Ford Mustang across a desert landscape, a bearded Jim Morrison lets out a howl from the bowels of hell. Switching on the car radio, he hears the announcement of his own death in Paris at the age of 27. Through 90 gripping minutes, this juxtaposition of fact and fantasy is reprised again and again, as the "real" Morrison tunes into updates about his own demise.
It's a bold trick by director Tom DiCillo (Johnny Suede, Living In Oblivion), making as if the Lizard King were still alive and escaping a world in which his celebrity status matters to everyone but him. And while anyone who cares about The Doors, their singular music and brilliant leader, will know every fact recounted in When You're Strange, it's DiCillo's cinematic skill that makes the story worth re-telling, with well-marshalled footage enhanced (in this new version of a film that screened last year with a less-charismatic narration by DiCillo himself) by a minimalist Johnny Depp voiceover. It's well-written, uncluttered by conventional rock doc talking heads.
DiCillo's hardest task has been to do justice to the charisma of Mr. Mojo Risin' (one of Jim Morrison's many handles, in this case an anagram of his name); I saw The Doors live in January 1969 and can attest that Morrison glowed, generating tangible heat. And yet, 39 years since his death, the Morrison magic comes through loud and clear, as the film traces the transformation of 1965's callow California kids into the jaded, burnt-out rock stars of 1971. Along the way, we witness every over-told incident in Doors history: Light My Fire and the subsequent string of hits, the adoration of trendsetters du jour like Andy Warhol, Morrison's refusal to sell out - whether it be changing a controversial lyric for Ed Sullivan or selling a song for a car commercial - his increasingly self-destructive behaviour, the two books of poems published in his lifetime, the penis-flashing in Miami that never happened, and the poète maudit's Parisian finale.
The musical contributions of the other Doors are emphasized, from drummer John Densmore's deft swing to guitarist Robbie Krieger's flamenco fingering and organist Ray Manzarek's Bach mastery, serving to remind that there would've been no Doors without the other Doors. Morrison's excellence as a singer is also noted, a fact often overlooked in the accounts of his antics. When he was younger, his vocal role model was Elvis; as he got older it was Sinatra and one can clearly hear Ol' Blues Eyes' in Jim's caress of a note.
The footage feels fresh and intimate. There are clips of Morrison's underground movie from his university days, a sweet Jim playing with children, fly-on-the-wall recording studio scenes, as well as the familiar live concerts where we witness Jim the consummate performer and Jimbo the inebriated clown. But it's the shots lifted from Morrison's own experimental films HWY and Feast Of Friends (the former the source of that Ford Mustang footage) that allow us entry into the omnivorous, risky, arty mind of the front Door.
The occasional descent into cliché ("1970 - the dream officially ends") is forgivable. Coming to US theatres on April 9, and the UK in the summer, this is an innovative film about one of the most innovative musical acts of the last half-century, with its compelling leader front and center. At one studio session, someone (maybe producer Paul Rothchild) warns Jim to protect his vocal cords: "Don't overblow it, Jim. You've got a long way to go." As tragic as the Morrison story is, overblown was the way he chose to live. In terms of time on the planet he did not have a long way to go. Yet, as Depp points out, the Doors continue to sell millions of albums every year and now we have another view of Jim Morrison, still emitting heat in 2010.
Michael Simmons
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 2:29 PM GMT 26/02/2010
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Comments
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Excellent!
Posted by Tonya at 8:40 PM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse
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Sounds Great, Cant Wait.
Posted by Anonymous at 10:34 PM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse
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Sounds Great, Cant Wait.
Posted by landho at 10:35 PM GMT 26/02/2010 Report Abuse
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Nicely written piece. Thanks, Mojo
Posted by Jodi W. at 6:55 AM GMT 27/02/2010 Report Abuse
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Sounds great
Posted by Filthy McNasty at 4:09 PM GMT 27/02/2010 Report Abuse
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I say it's time we forgive Big Jim for flashing that penis onstage--whether he did or didn't. A written apology from the Miami City Council would suffice. Great piece, Michael.
Posted by Josh Alan Friedman at 5:24 PM GMT 27/02/2010 Report Abuse
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I say it's time we forgive Big Jim for flashing that penis onstage--whether he did or didn't. A written apology from the Miami City Council would suffice. Great piece, Michael.
Posted by Josh Alan Friedman at 5:26 PM GMT 27/02/2010 Report Abuse
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Cannot WAIT. This is an awesome review: comprehensive and written with all the passion, insight and sensibility this topic serves.
Posted by They call me V at 5:47 AM GMT 05/03/2010 Report Abuse
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And I want to say...Reading this makes me nostalgic for talent of the magnitude that was Jim Morrison.
You just want to ask, even though there is still good stuff, where did all the music go? The music that wasn't about targeting demographics sales to audiences? The music and lyrics that set you on fire?
Like Michael Simmons says in this incisive write up... he *glowed*
Thank you for a great review. It takes one to know one.
Posted by Vee B at 5:53 AM GMT 05/03/2010 Report Abuse
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I cant wait to see this film.
Ive been monitoring its progress in the states ever since it was first brought to light on the Doors best fan website 'idafan'
This review just makes me want to watch it even more.
In the US the fans have been making this film through word of mouth and unnoficial advertising.
When it comes to the UK i suggest we al do the same!
Posted by Dave Rimington at 7:55 PM GMT 13/04/2010 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
I cant wait to see this film.
Ive been monitoring its progress in the states ever since it was first brought to light on the Doors best fan website 'idafan'
This review just makes me want to watch it even more.
In the US the fans have been making this film through word of mouth and unnoficial advertising.
When it comes to the UK i suggest we al do the same!
Posted by Dave Rimington at 7:56 PM GMT 13/04/2010 Report Abuse
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