When You're Strange (2009)

63% of critics liked it
(67 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(4,967 ratings)

The Doors were very much a band of their time, a group whose music reflected the social and political upheaval of the late '60s and early '70s, and yet their appeal has endured thanks to the hypnotic music of guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, and drummer John Densmore as well as the… More The Doors were very much a band of their time, a group whose music reflected the social and political upheaval of the late '60s and early '70s, and yet their appeal has endured thanks to the hypnotic music of guitarist Robby Krieger, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, and drummer John Densmore as well as the magisterial power of lead vocalist and lyricist Jim Morrison. The group's moment in the spotlight was short -- their debut album was released in early 1967, and Morrison would die in Paris in the summer of 1971 -- but their music and image continues to fascinate music fans, and filmmaker Tom DiCillo explores the Doors and their times in the documentary When You're Strange. Featuring rare footage from the archives of Paul Ferrara, a filmmaker who struck up a friendship with Morrison when they were both attending UCLA, When You're Strange also includes excerpts from HWY: An American Pastoral, a short film Morrison directed in 1969. When You're Strange was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Tom DiCillo
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Special Interest

In Theaters: Apr 9, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Jun 29, 2010
Studio: Rhino Entertainment Co.

Critic Reviews

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
When You're Strange offers a worshipful but insightful portrait of the group...
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Although Doors fans will drool over the prospect of the previously unseen footage, they are unlikely to find anything new here.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
[A] muddled, pretentious assemblage of film clips of the band shot between 1966 and 1971, with solemn narration by Johnny Depp.
Preston Jones, Dallas Morning News
Seeing Morrison blithely hang a lei over the neck of an obviously giddy young woman or watching as Manzarek patiently fields questions helps humanize a group of men all too often shrouded in the mists of legend.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
A sometimes insightful, sometimes absurdly devotional but steadily engaging film.
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
When You're Strange offers a mesmerizing, behind-the-music glimpse at a crucial and bizarre moment in rock history, and maybe in American cultural history, period.
Jason Best, Movie Talk
DiCillo's film veers perilously close to hagiography. To those not under the singer's spell, [Jim Morrison] totters precariously between the charismatic and the ludicrous.
R. L. Shaffer, IGN DVD
While fans of The Doors probably already know the story, this exploration of Jim Morrison's life and career is fascinating nonetheless.
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Not many fresh insights, but riding along with The Doors is still a good time, whether you buy into the Jim Morrison mythology or not.
Terry Staunton, Radio Times
Barely scratches the surface of the band's enduring appeal.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Documents the Doors in a fairly straightforward way, telling their story with remarkable detail but never quite getting beneath the surface.
John Robinson, Uncut Magazine [UK]
What DiCillo has settled for is a famous person solemnly intoning a Wikipedia page. Strange doesn't begin to cover it.
Devin Faraci, CHUD
As a first exposure to the history of The Doors I'd still recommend Oliver Stone's movie over this.
David Gritten, Daily Telegraph
This is a far better bet than Oliver Stone's ghastly Doors movie.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
The portrait of social change in Sixties America is sketchy but the film effectively states the case for Morrison as a charismatic, complex figure who lived fast, died young and left a lasting legacy.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Refocuses some attention on the strange collection of individuals whose disparate musical influences made the band sound unique, if not always good.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
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.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
Unlikely to light your fire, or anyone else's.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Director Tom DiCillo is relatively incurious about the bands' mundane professional and romantic lives, perhaps for fear of importing an injurious Spinal Tap irony. But his film material of Jim Morrison is sensational.
Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com
... the same stories and clichés of living hard and dying young

Read all 25 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Chris W

A documentary about The Doors endorsed by the band and narrated by Johnny Depp- what's not to like? Much like Oliver Stone's film, this is very idiosyncratic, but it's far less bloated and a lot more truthful. There are similarities and parallels between the two… More
A documentary about The Doors endorsed by the band and narrated by Johnny Depp- what's not to like? Much like Oliver Stone's film, this is very idiosyncratic, but it's far less bloated and a lot more truthful. There are similarities and parallels between the two (it's unavoidable), but here he viewer gets a more fair and balanced look at things. I love Stone's film, but it is best looked at as a wild fantastical myth that, while based in truth, is mostly an artistic roller coaster ride. This is maybe not as wild and entertaining, but I sure as hell enjoyed it. Getting to hear a more accurate version of thigns sure helped. I also liked that along with the archive footage, this film contained bits of Jim's own film HWY interspersed throughout. It added another layer of surrealism and heart to the proceedings. As for the narration- well, to me it makes perfect sense. Depp's voice blends marvelously with the music and atmosphere of the band. It was definitely an inspired choice to get his involvement. Perhaps one of the most interesting and moving inclusion of the film is a specia lfeature, It iis a combination of interviews with Jim's sister and his father. What is significant about this is that his dad had never one publcly spoken about his son until within the last five years. It seemed even more moving to me considering he died in 2008, thus the one time he publicly talks about his son, he has something honorable to say, thus having his life end in a nice way. Consider this a companion piece of sorts with the Oliver Stone film if you want. This is basically the anti-Stone version, thus it is what the band wants, but both offer a nice take on the band and its unforgettable center.
Eric B

And the Doors legend continues to be happily milked. Just how many "Best of...," "Very Best of...," "Ultimate...," "Greatest Hits of..." anthologies are we up to now? The best reason to see "When You're Strange" is the footage… More
And the Doors legend continues to be happily milked. Just how many "Best of...," "Very Best of...," "Ultimate...," "Greatest Hits of..." anthologies are we up to now? The best reason to see "When You're Strange" is the footage from Morrison's obscure "HWY" film. These clips serve the new documentary so well that I hear some suspicious fans accused the director of using a stand-in actor. Nope, it's really the bearded Morrison wandering around those desert highways. I would have been quite excited to see this material, except that I coincidentally saw the entire "HWY" on YouTube quite recently (it's about 50 minutes long). Otherwise, "When You're Strange" is a mixed success. The narration is poorly written, and loaded with banalities. I felt embarrassed for Johnny Depp. I was also leery of all the "creative" syncs of *this* video with *that* audio from somewhere else...particularly the indulgent insertion of professional Doors fawner Jim Ladd in the beginning. The hoary documentary cliche of running casual footage in slow motion for artificial "portent" is also used to excess. There was some good material I hadn't seen before, though. Highlights included shots of the Soft Parade recording sessions, a scene with Morrison comforting a bloodied concert fan and a fine 1969 version of "The End." Otherwise, it's mostly flashes of informal, handheld clips which will provoke a smile here and there. Biographically speaking, I was surprised there was no mention of the controversy surrounding the string arrangements added to the Soft Parade album. There was also no time spent on what may be the greatest of all unanswered Doors mysteries: Why did Morrison's eyebrows turn so blonde near the end of his life?
Walter M

Even with great music and rare footage, the documentary "When You're Strange" only manages to scratch the surface of The Doors. A lot of that is due to the narration in all its pretentiousness in trying to link the band to not only the youth movement of the 60's… More
Even with great music and rare footage, the documentary "When You're Strange" only manages to scratch the surface of The Doors. A lot of that is due to the narration in all its pretentiousness in trying to link the band to not only the youth movement of the 60's with unnecessary archival footage but also a Deeper Meaning.(Just don't blame Johnny Depp because he is only reading it. And with a William Blake reference hanging above it all, who else were they going to get?) If you're watching a documentary about The Doors, then you already know about the 60's. If you went to a Doors concert and dropped acid, then you might actually need a reminder or two. There is one bit of narration that is actually informative in pointing out the band's lack of a bass guitarist, adding to the band's unique sound which possibly inspired progressive rock bands to come. Sadly, the documentary is mostly only interested in Jim Morrison who apparently would have been happy just writing poetry on a beach somewhere(who wouldn't?), never quite planning as far ahead as the following week. Whereas the charismatic and mercurial lead singer contributed to a lot of The Doors' appeal, as Keith Richards wonderfully pointed out in his recent autobiography, a rock band is much more than just the lead singer.
Jason R

Strange, mesmerizing, and unforgettable is how I would describe the film, and the band that inspired it. In a class all their own. The Doors for a very brief moment in time gave us such great music. The film showcases that very well, and uses a collection of very rare and beautiful… More
Strange, mesmerizing, and unforgettable is how I would describe the film, and the band that inspired it. In a class all their own. The Doors for a very brief moment in time gave us such great music. The film showcases that very well, and uses a collection of very rare and beautiful video footage of the band and their leader Jim Morrison. Sadly, the film does tend to focus mostly on Morrison and while certainly without him these band wouldn't have existed I think more could have been spent looking at the band as a whole, because lets face it. Jim Morrison's life could make up an entire documentary all its own. Great film though, and a must see for fans of the band.
Wu C

Good insight and rare footage of Jim Morrison and the Doors. A definite must for fans of the band.
Magnus X

A good documentary about The Doors.
Lee K

Well watch this companion piece along with Oliver Stone's the Doors as it shows you alot of the actual events that transpired in the film. the movie starts with showing of what must be one of Jim's many home movies of him driving an old mustang and listening to the car radio… More
Well watch this companion piece along with Oliver Stone's the Doors as it shows you alot of the actual events that transpired in the film. the movie starts with showing of what must be one of Jim's many home movies of him driving an old mustang and listening to the car radio as the announcer announces his untimely death in Paris. Makes you think what if he is still alive? i had a freind who is also a doors fan once test me by saying all the drugs and booze he put his body through???...There is no way he made it out alive. Well i simply replied have you seen Keith Richards lately...hmmm he is still around and still on stage the last time i heard and if the books i have read on the Stones are accurate he had a very daily and expensive heroin addiction going on. Tom Dicillo directs this with the awesome decision of asking Johnny Depp (mr cool) to narrate which only adds to the whole diffinity of this film. Doors live performances and background soundtrack fill in the blanks here which starts as Ray and Jim meeting at film school, to take a walk on the beach and talk about opening the doors of perception and starting a rock n roll band...little did they know how much of music history they would be writing for us. A must for any Doors fan as i am.