Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		2.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Doors 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 22, 2019

The Doors have long been part of my review queue courtesy of any number of releases like The Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin - The Story of LA Woman, The Doors: Live at the Bowl '68, The Doors: R-Evolution, The Doors: Feast of Friends, The Doors: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 , and The Doors: The Singles. Perhaps for that reason, I’ve always preferred “the real thing” to Oliver Stone’s interesting but perhaps too stylized account of the band and perhaps more saliently of Jim Morrison (famously portrayed by Val Kilmer, who just as infamously managed not to get an Academy Award nomination for the film in what some might have thought of as a shoo-in opportunity). There’s a hypnotic quality to much of The Doors’ music, and some of that trance like aspect definitely makes it through to Stone’s version of events, but the film neither completely connects as an imitation of “real life” nor as a supposed mythic recreation of some now legendary musicians.

Those of you who have read any number of my previous reviews of 4K UHD releases put out by Lionsgate will probably know what's coming next: a crack about Lionsgate choosing its releases based on "remainders" of old (1080p) Blu-rays left in their warehouse that they can "bundle" with a new and hopefully improved 4K UHD version. And that joke is unfortunately a propos of this new release, as the Blu-ray included is the old version that was released in 2008 at the veritable dawn (or at least early morning) of the Blu-ray era. I refer you to our The Doors Blu-ray review for both a brief plot summary as well as some information on that release, but in yet another example of "different reviewers, different opinions", I personally found the video component of that release less pleasing than the original review did, and my score here reflects that opinion. The 1080p Blu-ray doesn't completely list supplements with timings, and so the Supplements section below contains information on both the 1080p Blu-ray and the 2160p 4K UHD supplements (which are different). My score for the supplements refers to the entire package, not just the 4K UHD release.

The Doors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the old 1080p Blu-ray, and this is yet another Lionsgate 4K UHD release where the appearance of the 4K version can be markedly different from the earlier release.

The Doors is presented on 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with a 2160p transfer in 2.35:1. Before I get into the 4K presentations, I want to take just a minute to address the appearance of the original 1080p Blu-ray. Just sampling both our "official" review and some of the member reviews on the listing page show that that release had a rather wide variance of responses (what else is new?), but all I can say is that for me personally that Blu-ray offered a way over processed look that showed signs not just of sharpening but also of filtering, and so (again) my score above reflects my opinion.

Both the so-called Final Cut (2:18:11) and the Theatrical Cut (2:20:29) are included on the 4K UHD disc, and there's really very little difference between the two versions either in terms of content or appearance. The press sheet accompanying this release contains the following information (which is admittedly a bit on the "PR hype" side, and which I'm editing somewhat to focus on technical aspects) on the transfer(s):

Remastered from the original negative that was scanned in 4K 16-bit* on ARRISCAN at FotoKem US, the restoration was managed by L'Immagine Ritrovata in Italy with the close support of Oliver Stone who oversaw the color grading. The 4K release was remastered using Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos technologies for an unprecedented immersive experience.

This is by and large a very satisfying and often quite gorgeous presentation of a film that virtually wallows in near psychedelic colors a lot of the time. And in fact it's the vividness of the palette that immediately and recurrently struck my eyes throughout this presentation. The film offers a really sumptuous array of reds, oranges and yellows in particular, and the Dolby Vision augmented highlights offer a markedly different viewing experience than the old 1080p Blu-ray. But on top of the now rather eye popping brilliance of the palette there's noticeable uptick in detail levels across the board in the 4K presentation, even in some of the "showier" POV drug addled moments where Stone plays with light and superimpositions of imagery. Black levels are also noticeably improved in the 4K offering, with a concomitant increase in shadow detail in some of the performance material. I've been on record repeatedly as not always liking the look of the grain in shot on film offerings receiving a 4K UHD treatment from Lionsgate, but for the most part, my estimation is the grain resolution here is excellent. There are some rough patches where grain can look yellow and splotchy. The first time it stuck out to me was in the meeting between Jim and Pamela at circa 7:00, but that same quasi-noisy look crops up again in the classroom scene that features Stone himself at circa 9:52 — keep your eyes on the screen covering the blackboard. The beach scene with Jim and Ray Manzarek at circa 17:30 is another example of this coarser appearance. Lastly, during the Ed Sullivan sequence the backstage dressing room material at circa 45:30 has the same roughhewn look to it. (Timings are for the Final Cut, though I'm assuming they'll be more or less the same for the Theatrical Cut, since the edit Stone made is toward the end of the film). All of that said, a lot of this presentation offers a really nice, organic looking fine grain field, and I was especially struck by the precision of sequences like the big "desert" scene, which looks rather precise, though in one of the montages, grain does again spike pretty dramatically. All in all, I found this a really satisfying and beautiful presentation of a film that stylistically speaking at least is one of Stone's more audacious efforts.

*I believe this is the first time I've seen a bit reference in video specs.

The Doors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Doors 4K receives a pretty dramatic upgrade in sonics courtesy of a new Dolby Atmos track. The same press sheet referenced above contains the following information on the mix (I've once again excised some of the more "hype" laden aspects of the verbiage):

The Dolby Atmos mix was created at Formosa Group under the supervision of Dolby and the original sound editors of the film: Wylie Stateman and Lon Bender.

This is an outstanding presentation all the way, with impeccable attention to directionality and some beautiful wafting engagement of the Atmos channels that is perhaps expectedly most noticeable in some of the "live performance" footage, where things like crowd noises envelop the listener. But even in quieter moments, like Jim and Pamela walking outside late in the film, offers discrete placement of sometimes subtle but very realistic sounding ambient environmental effects. While this isn't a nonstop example of "showiness" in terms of original sound design, the musical sequences in particular gain new clarity and immersion in this Atmos rendering, and I can't imagine fans of the film not enjoying this new audio mix.

The Doors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

1080p Blu-ray

• Audio Commentary with Director Oliver Stone


• The Doors in L.A. (HD; 19:37) is an interesting piece looking at the overall zeitgeist of that era and The Doors' place in it.


• Jim Morrison: A Poet in Paris (SD; 52:08) is another interesting feature documenting Morrison's travels in the City of Lights.


• The Road to Excess (SD; 38:42) has more information on the counter cultural currents that were awash in the late sixties. It also has Oliver Stone talking about his Vietnam experiences and hearing The Doors for the first time.


• Original Featurette (SD; 6:19) is an archival EPK.


• Deleted Scenes (SD; 43:49)


• Original Trailer and TV Spots

  Theatrical Trailer (SD; 1:17)

  
  

  TV Spots (SD; 2:58)

4K UHD Disc

• New Interview with Oliver Stone (UHD; 31:09) is a fascinating and quite informative sit down with the noted filmmaker, who gets into quite a bit of background material, like music rights and the like.


• New Interview with Lon Bender, Mixer for the new Dolby Atmos Mix (UHD; 17:38) is another informative featurette with Bender addressing his aims for this new mix.


• Audio Commentary with Oliver Stone (Theatrical Cut)

The Doors 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is one of those instances where a film really doesn't totally capture my fancy, and yet its technical presentation in 4K UHD is quite striking from both a video and audio standpoint. Fans of this film are highly encouraged to check this version out, as I found the video much more "filmic" and lustrous looking than what I perceived to be an overly processed 1080p Blu-ray.