Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Jim Morrison, one of the most sensual and exciting figures in the history of rock and roll, explodes on the screen in "The Doors", the electrifying movie about a time called the sixties and a legendary outlaw who rocked America's consciousness-forever.

This is one of my favorite films from director Oliver Stone, and he’s done a lot of great films. Val Kilmer gives his best performance to date as Jim Morrison and Stone does a spectacular job of capturing the influence of one of rock and roll’s greatest bands. The all star cast does a great job with the story that covers the band from its start all the way to the tragic death of Morrison. The film makes no apologies for their controversy and shows how the times defined that generation.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been blown away with a home video representation of this film. The photography is stunning, but the video releases have always had a processed look to them. Unfortunately, this has that same look. While a clear step up from the DVD releases in depth of image and detail, the film still lacks the fine detail and sense of dimension that it should. Motion blur creeps in from time to time and the softer look appears to be from some light filtering. Colors look natural for the most part (movie is quite stylized) and noise is never an issue. Some light ringing is noticed from time to time but not enough to be distracting. While this video presentation isn’t what I was hoping for, it wasn’t too bad.

Lionsgate has included a full 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix and it is by far the best I’ve heard the film sound to date. The surround soundstage adds a lot to the atmosphere and the concerts always sound like a real stage environment. Dynamics are great throughout and the film’s score compliments the moodiness of the Door’s tunes perfectly. Dialogue always sounds natural and balance within the soundstage is dead on. By far the highlight of the presentation.

Extras include a feature commentary with Oliver Stone and a feature on Jim Morrison. You also get a collection of deleted scenes, a look at the band and the trailer.

I was really hoping this one would look better but overall it fell a bit short of expectations. The audio presentation is great though and captures the mood and power of the film brilliantly.