When You're Strange

"If there's anything the world surely doesn't need it's one more admiring regurgitation of the Jim Morrison mythos." - Andrew Schenker

DiCillo's rockumentary brings little new to the table, but the previously unreleased material make this worth the while - plus the sheer joy of witnessing the story of Morrison and The Doors once again. DiCillo has crafted an entertaining, sharp film that chronicles the short history of the blues rock giant with style and ease. He never goes too deep into the subject, but then again, Morrison's persona has always been rather slippery.

A lot of amateurish imagery prevents this otherwise great documentary from really making a big expression. Through the film, we not only experience Morrison's profanity but also - and more interestingly - his prophecies. This again, like the initial story of the band name, reflects his fascination with William Blake; a man of the same visionary nature. A nice parallel, which frames the film. However, this detail does not make up for using a picture of a lit match burning out - nothing does.

A very good documentary about one of the greatest bands in rock history. There's said nothing new about Morrison and The Doors, but that's not important. The way it is told is just great... I saw the version with DiCillo narrating but after the screening he said that Johnny Depp is gonna do it again before the theatrical release. Let's see where this is going... :)

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It's a bit sensational, but otherwise high quality documentary about Jim Morrison and The Doors. There were very few innacuracies, but overall I think it managed to present a factual account of The Doors and their influence on the cultural landscape. It certainly has some inadmissible flaws, but it's superior to everything else out there.

If you're a Doors-fan like me, you'll love this one!

Everything what's about The Doors is just great to me. I'm happy to see and hear them once again.

For a 2009 documentary it was reasonably impressive, the images and music were used in ways to assist in dramatization with Johnny Depp's narration. It was a nice touch using Morison's own film in tasteful way. The images and the films of Morrison were probably the most interesting part, goes into detail of the events pretty accurately and clear. It exposes much of the reality and exposes some common misconceptions about Morrison and commends him for his ambiguous brilliance.

Not a lot of enlightening information but you'll never see more lost footage in a Doors documentary. Johnny Depp sounds monotoned and uninterested. Anyone else probably would've been a better narrator

A must see for any Doors fan out there. I can watch this documentary time and time again. Brilliant insight into the history of The Doors, supported by gorgeous HD footage.

Good documentary. I'm not a Doors fan, but I was interested throughout the film

The film is a very decent documentary. It displays the band truthfully. And while it does not necessarily make any astounding revelations, it certainly doesn't leave much out. Excellent uses of editing and sound, and DiCillo's arrangement of music is fantastic.

"Yank the narration straight out of the movie, telling the story in only songs and pictures, and When You're Strange would be a much better film."

This is a must see if you are a fan of The Doors. Being a fan of the band there was a lot in this film that I knew already but overall it was still really enjoyable.

It's uselessly romantic and infuriatingly revisionist. Ironically, When You're Strange contains DiCillo's best filmmaking.

reignited my love for the doors

Tell me something I didn't know.