John Densmore Movies
- 2008
This program documents the making of the first album by The Doors. In addition to archival footage exploring the band's early history, the living members of the group demonstrate how the band's sound developed. In addition, Bruce Botnik, the group's recording engineer, explains how their sound was captured for posterity. A number of other musicians weigh in with their explanations of why this record has remained a classic. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Love were the great Los Angeles rock band who were supposed to become major stars . . . but somehow didn't. Led by guitarist and singer Arthur Lee, who once proclaimed he was "the first black hippie," Love's musical approach was an eclectic blend of garage rock, psychedelia and folk rock that could easily sway from crushing blasts of electric guitar to introspective ballads accompanied by a string quartet. Love developed a large and passionate following in their home town for their superb songs (written by Lee and bandmate Bryan MacLean) and striking guitar work, and their recordings were favorites with critics, particularly their third album, the moody and eloquent Forever Changes (1967). However, Lee and his band mates were reluctant to tour (in part because of drug problems which dogged the group), and while their friends and contemporaries the Doors became one of the nation's biggest groups, Love slowly faded from view, and while a fervent cult grew around their body of work, none of the group's members would ever achieve the stardom expected of them. Lee's fate was especially sad, as he was convicted on a firearms charge in 1999 that led to him spending five years in prison. Filmmakers Mike Kerry and Chris Hall were Love fans who wanted to give the band's members a chance to tell their own story; the documentary Love Story is the result, which traces the highs and lows of the career of a great but overlooked band. Love Story includes interviews with band members Arthur Lee, Bryan MacLean, Johnny Echols, Kenny Forssi and Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer; only Echols and Pfisterer were still alive by the time the film played at the London Film Festival in the fall of 2006. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Lee
- 1991
The Doors' final television appearance, recorded in 1969, highlights this compilation of previously unreleased performance and interview footage. Songs include "Hello, I Love You" and "The Unknown Soldier." ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
Val Kilmer delivers what was considered one of 1991's best performances as Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's hallucinatory bio-pic of the seminal 1960s rock group The Doors. Stone cuts a jagged swath through Morrison's life, starting with a childhood memory where Morrison sees an elderly Indian dying by the roadside. It picks up with Morrison's arrival in California and his assimilation into the Venice Beach culture, followed by his film school days at UCLA; his introduction to his girlfriend Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan); his first encounters with Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan); and the origin of The Doors -- made up of Manzarek, Robby Kreiger (Frank Whaley), and John Densmore (Kevin Dillon). As the fame of The Doors grows, Morrison's obsession with death increases. The band grows weary of Morrison's missed recording sessions and no-shows at concerts. Morrison, meanwhile, sinks deeper into a drug-induced haze, having mystical sexual encounters with Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan), an older rock journalist involved with sadomasochism and witchcraft. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, (more)
- 1987
- R
Penelope Spheeris, director of the infamous documentary The Decline of Western Civilization may well have given the world its first punk-rock Western in the form of Dudes, a sort of Suburbia meets High Noon meets Deliverance. Three East Coast punks (Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck, and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) opt to leave behind the filth and gloom of New York City to become modern-day pioneers on the trail to California; that is, until a gang of redneck road warrior-types led by Lee Ving (of the punk band Fear) waylay the trio and kill Flea in a fashion brutal enough to justify the inevitable retribution. After their pleas to the local sheriff fall on deaf ears, Cryer and Roebuck decide instead to follow the law of the West and serve their own brand of justice as what appear to be a bondage-oriented cowboy and a squirrel on steroids. While the plot seems contrived and asinine, the violence often gratuitous, and the characters paper-thin, Spheeris nonetheless manages to create a likeable and highly watchable -- if often silly -- film. Cryer and Roebuck do the best they can with the material, Ving plays an adequately loathsome villain, and Flea lends a glimpse of his acting ability by offering a convincing portrayal of a dead body. Nowhere near being the time capsule that is The Decline of Western Civilization, Dudes still offers some insight into the punk subculture of the '80s. Spheeris later directed the hugely successful Wayne's World as well as The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck, (more)
- 1985
Former Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek compiled and directed this video, which brings together a number of television performances and vintage promotional films of Jim Morrison and the group along with footage of the Doors in concert and previously unseen film of the band at work in the studio. Manzarek also directed a new video for the song "L.A. Woman," which is included in this collection. Other performances include "Break on Through," "Light My Fire," "People Are Strange," "Roadhouse Blues," "Riders on the Storm," and six more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- R
Director Allan Arkush knew whereof he spoke in Get Crazy. A longtime employee of Fillmore East, a popular rock-concert locale of the 1960s and 1970s, Arkush brought a great deal of insider's savvy to this comedy about the concert circuit and its denizens. Malcolm McDowell stars as a Mick Jagger-type rocker who is one of several acts lined up for a big New Years' Eve show. If villains Ed Begley Jr., Bobby Sherman and Fabian have their way, however, the show will never get off the ground. The supporting cast is dotted with such cult-flick icons as Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph and Mary Woronov. The musical portion of the program is handled by the likes of Malcolm McDowell, Lou Reed (as a Bob Dylan type) and Bill Henderson (as a Muddy Waters takeoff). In case it hasn't been made clear already, the main "joke" of Get Crazy is the presence in the cast of actors as musicians and musicians as actors; it is to the film's credit that this one joke never wears out its welcome. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Daniel Stern, (more)
- 1981
This 1981 documentary of the 1960s group The Doors is less accessible to non-rock fans than the 1991 clipfest Doors, the Soft Parade, but more reliable and coherent than Oliver Stone's self-indulgent 1991 biopic. The surviving members of the group are interviewed about the impact of their music and the influence of leader Jim Morrison. Interspersed throughout are rare glimpses of Doors concerts and TV appearances, including the notorious Ed Sullivan Show gig. Musical highlights include "The End", "Moonlight Drive", and "Touch Me". Doors: A Tribute to Jim Morrison packs an awful lot into its brief 60 minutes; it's an exhausting trip backward, but a fascinating one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
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This live in Europe, 1968 tour was filmed from Stockholm, Frankfurt, and London. This documentary features songs like "Light My Fire," "Break on Through," "Back Door Man," "Hello, I Love You," "Love Me Two Times,' and many others. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1968
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A musical performance coming live from the Roundhouse in London. This program, filmed in 1968 features tune like "When The Music's Over," "Five to One," "Hello, I Love You," and many others. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1968
This complete music presentation by the notorious '60's rock band, features most, if not all, of their classic tunes. ~ All Movie Guide
