The Doors Blu-ray

The Doors

 (1991)

Drama | History | Music



Starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, the film focuses on the Lizard King from his days as a UCLA film student in the early 1960s to his death in a Paris hotel in 1971. In the early days of the group's formation, Morrison is at his most benign; he's just a guy hanging out at the beach writing poetry. But as the Doors' fame begins to spread—with Morrison as the focus of attention—his drug consumption and erratic behavior increase exponentially. The rest of the band—Ray Manzarek (Kyle McLachalan), John Densmore (Kevin Dillon), and Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley)—begins to grow tired of his late arrivals, the increasing number of cancellations, and the drunken recording sessions requiring infinite retakes. But no one can help Morrison as he spirals downward into an inferno of drugs, alcohol, public obscenity, and depression. Kilmer gives an excellent performance, including a frighteningly accurate imitation of Morrison's singing. Stone's intimate familiarity with SoCal in the 1960s also provides the film with a high degree of surface verisimilitude.

For more details about The Doors on Blu-ray, see The Doors Blu-ray Review

Starring: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon
Director: Oliver Stone

The Doors Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


The video quality of The Doors is comparable to other Lionsgate BDs from the early 1990s, such as Reservoir Dogs. The 2.35:1, 1080p picture features rich, vibrant colors that appear more lifelike and dynamic than the DVD versions. While not a reference-quality Blu- ray disc, the entire viewing experience of The Doors is transformed by the increased definition and resolution, which enhance the visuals of the film. Watch the cast move about the desert scene, set on sand dunes under a bright blue sky with good presence, as if the sand and sky are stretching out toward the horizon in front of us, and not on the screen. Even when the scene shifts to Andy Warhol's (Crispin Glover) apartment or the performance scenes that feature heavy shadow, the BD delivers a "you are there" quality.

All is not perfect. The details reveal weaknesses and show that The Doors is not as solid or flawless as the best Blu-ray titles, such as No Country for Old Men. But Lionsgate gives up surprisingly little resolution. Motion scenes, such as the concert footage where the camera circles Kilmer in dizzying nonstop motion, make the screen look like it flickered ever so slightly. It was difficult to discern any artifacts or overt signs of digital noise but the picture seemed to suffer from overproduction. Overall, it has good life but the vibrancy and microdefinition was lacking. There was minimal variability from scene to scene, resulting in good clarity and contrast, but it all seemed a bit washed over. Not the greatest detail in the blacks, but it appears deep and inky. Skin tones and contrast appeared lifelike. The only real weakness was a touch less definition than the best Blu- ray can offer. But the picture still shows adequate detail if a tad overprocessed.

The Doors Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


The highlight of The Doors BD is the 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Totally immersive and engaging, the soundtrack is essentially a compendium of Doors songs, overdubbed with Val Kilmer�s vocals to lend more authenticity to his performance. Even during dialog, there tends to be Doors material playing in the background. The 7.1 presentation is quite immersive, with good use of the surround channels and LFE. I could have lived with 5.1 and sacrificed the addition two channels for higher sampling rates in the mastering of the audio. The DTS-HD MA is overall very good, but percussive and other treble sounds did not pop with absolute realism and instruments did not have the air around them that I associate with reference quality sonics. As far as home theater goes, though, it sounds rich and defined from top to bottom. The multichannel is engineered right, with ambient and off-screen sounds coming in the side and rear surrounds, with the bulk of the content anchored up front. The dialog is well-resolved and gives up very little to reference-quality lossless PCM.

But the strongest moments of high resolution soundtrack are the on-stage performances recorded as the film rolled. Listen to the hard-driving �Five to One�--vocals sound rich and organic, but with a slight digital sheen. The keyboard and guitar pulse with a midbass bravado that has a liquid or organic characteristic--a wall of sound--never appearing harsh or overly distorted. Crowd noises and ambient sounds materialize with good presence in the side and rear surrounds, such as a screaming fan, applause or other audience participation. The overall presentation, while not beyond criticism, is solid, absorbing and immersive. It was well recorded but a bit too many digital tools were used during production of the 7.1 and I believe this adversely impacts the presence. But this is a small bone to pick. Most importantly, the DTS-HD MA pays off the songs as vehicles for Jim Morrison�s onstage persona, and Lionsgate is to be commended for going through the trouble of producing a 7.1 mix for The Doors.

The Doors Blu-ray, News and Updates

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The Doors Blu-ray, Forum Discussions

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