The Doors

Detailing the meteoric rise of The Doors during the mid-to late-'60s, and their equally fiery fall during the early '70s which culminated in the overdose death of Morrison, The Doors features a superb performance by Val Kilmer, who plays the rock god to the hilt, effectively capturing both Morrison's genius and his relentless self-destruction. Viewers enamored of the '60s, as is director Oliver Stone, will find little to criticize here, but while the portrait isn't false, neither is it particularly illuminating (the music, needless to say, is great). In addition to an in-depth audio commentary by Stone, the package includes a second disc with over 40 minutes of deleted scenes and an original documentary. The (very) widescreen transfer (2:35:1 aspect ratio) will mean that even 16x9 TV screens sport the ubiquitous black bars top and bottom, although this drawback is somewhat offset by the resounding Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. A strong optional purchase. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review—Dec 26, 2006—Lionsgate, 2 discs, 138 min., R, $19.98—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1991's The Doors (15 Year Anniversary Edition) boasts a decent transfer with DVD extras new to this two-disc set including the 52-minute biographical documentary 'Jim Morrison: A Poet in Paris,' and 'The Doors in L.A.' featurette on the band's origins and cultural impact on the city (20 min.). Bottom line: the extra docs are nice and make this edition worth picking up if you don't already own the earlier 'special edition.']