The Soft Hit Parade
09. Apr, 2010 
1 Comment
When You’re Strange
They Wanted The World And They Got It Then
Official Website | Trailers & Mo
The story of Jim Morrison,  Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and  John Densmore has been told before, dazed and confusedly by Oliver Stone (so hard to shake the image of Val Kilmer as Morrison out of our heads) and in the mos eggsalad Morrison bio No One Here Gets Out Alive, but while writer/director Tom DiCillo‘s passion poem on The Doors, When You’re Strange, skimps on the details of the group’s history, it does one thing exceeding better than all that came before: it leaves the music on until it’s time to turn off the lights
Funny how DiCillo’s best work to date is not one of his quirky lil low-budget comedies, but his very first stab at making a documentary.  And what an easy subject he picked to succeed with, which begs the question, why hasn’t one been made on The Doors before?  Notice we didn’t say ‘definitive’ anywhere in that last sentence, cause this is most certainly not the one, but it will light your fire, or, as in our case, re-ignite it, since our deep infatuation with Mr Mojo Risin & friends sailed off on a ship of fools ages ago.  And there’s a bonus to it all:  it’s narrated by Johnny Depp (naturally, after he did such good work for the Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson doc).  Another funny DiCillo thang is that this may be the only opportunity he’ll ever get to work with the 21 Jump Streeter
The Hitch High-ker: there is some incredible footage of Morrison aimlessly walking and driving in the desert used to frame the entire doc.  Turns out it was culled from an unfinished(?) Morrison film called  HWY: An American Pastoral [watch it all, in really shoddy quality].  here’s a lil backstory on it and DiCillo’s use of it, and while we’re throwing video and links around, here’s a college recruiting video starring a pre-Doors Morrison + the story of the rediscovery of it
Verdictgo: we might want to see this twice so we can LOVE IT TWO TIMES!!! Breast In Show
Strange doesn’t trip in limited release today, and elsewhere elsewhen
and until next thyme the balcony is clothed…
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