| When You're Strange | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Tom DiCillo |
| Written by | Tom DiCillo |
| Produced by |
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| Narrated by | Johnny Depp |
| Cinematography | Paul Ferrara |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | The Doors |
| Distributed by | Rhino Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $1.2–$2.8 million[1][2] |
When You're Strange is a 2009 musicdocumentary film about the Americanrock bandthe Doors. It was written and directed byTom DiCillo and narrated byJohnny Depp. The film covers the band's formation in 1965, its development over the next two years, the release of itsdebut album and subsequent albums, and vocalistJim Morrison's extensive use of alcohol and drugs, which led to his death in Paris in July 1971. The film features archival footage of rehearsals, TV broadcasts and concert performances, private cine-film and the background to Morrison's arrest at a 1969 Miami concert and later trial.[3] It also includes the first public release of material from Morrison's 1969featuretteHWY: An American Pastoral.[4]
The Doors' keyboardistRay Manzarek, who was not pleased with the 1991biopicThe Doors, stated prior to the film's release that "This will be the true story of the Doors ... the anti-Oliver Stone."[4][5]
When the film entered production, the surviving members of the band decided not to be too involved in the project to try to obtain the right neutral balance that an outsider would try to achieve.[6]
The documentary was first screened at theSundance Film Festival on January 17, 2009.[7] It received somewhat favorable reviews from that showing, but the narration (by director DiCillo) was singled out by most viewers as very seriously flawed for its monotonous delivery. Due to the rash of complaints about the narration,Johnny Depp was hired to redub it. A few months later, DiCillo pronounced the film "just about locked" and announced that there would be a showing of the new "redux" version. It debuted at theLos Angeles Film Festival on Sunday, June 21, 2009.
The completed film was also screened at theLondon Film Festival on October 16–18, 2009. The film was released in theaters on April 9, 2010,[8] with asoundtrack release on April 6, 2010. It was released in Canada on April 15, 2010.PBS broadcast this film as part of its seriesAmerican Masters on May 12, 2010.[9] The film was released on DVD on June 29, 2010.[10][11]
A film soundtrack entitledWhen You're Strange: Music from the Motion Picture featuring 14 Doors' songs and Morrison's poetry read by Johnny Depp was released to coincide with the film's release.[12]
OnRotten Tomatoes,When You're Strange holds a 60%approval rating with an average rating of 5.7/10 based on 70 critic reviews. The consensus notes: "It's far from a critical assessment of the band's music or its legacy, butWhen You're Strange gives fans a beautifully filmed, lovingly assembled tribute to the Doors."[13]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14] In France, distributed by MK2, the film was released under its original title and received an excellent reception.[15]
Doors guitaristRobby Krieger felt "really happy" about how the film turned out, crediting in particular the editing work. Krieger believed that the film put together a more accurate portrayal of Morrison thanThe Doors did: "I think when you see theOliver Stone movie – I'm amazed how goodVal Kilmer did – but, you know, the problem with that movie is that the script was kind of stupid. It doesn't really capture how Jim was at all. This gives you a much better insight into how his mind worked, I think."[6] DrummerJohn Densmore also reported that he liked the film very much.[16]
The film was nominated for anEmmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Series following its airing onAmerican Masters onPBS.[17]
In December 2010, the film was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Long Form Video and subsequently won the award in February 2011.[18]
