In was on this day in 1991 that The Doors premiered in Los Angeles. The film starred Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison.
The film was directed by Oliver Stone. Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Morrison, including his singing, received a lot of praise. The surviving members of the Doors were extremely impressed by Kilmer’s uncanny resemblance to Morrison (though they really weren’t happy with the Final Cut of the film).
In a 1994 interview, Robby Krieger said that the film does not give the viewer “any kind of understanding of what made Jim Morrison tick”. Krieger added, “They left a lot of stuff out. Some of it was overblown, but a lot of the stuff was very well done, I thought.”
The Doors had plenty of hits including Love Me Two Times, Hello I Love You, LA Woman, Touch Me, Riders on the Storm, People Are Strange, Love Her Madly, and Light My Fire. Sadly, not all of these songs made the soundtrack of the film.
Break on Through (To the Other Side) was the first song on The Doors first album, and also their first single. It went to #66 in the UK, It didn’t really do much in the US. It got some airplay on Los Angeles radio stations after their friends and fans kept requesting it.
Songfacts.com quoted a 1966 interview with Morrison and his thoughts on the song:
“I like ideas about the breaking away or overthrowing of established order. I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that seems to have no meaning.”
Songfacts also points out:
In The Doors box set, Ray Manzarek said this was the last song they played live. It was during the Isle of the Wight Festival in the summer of 1970. The festival occurred while Morrison was on trial in Miami faced with charges of indecent exposure, and the band got a special five days of recess to be in England and get back to US. “This was to be the first gig of an European tour just as Miami was to be the first gig of a 20-city US tour. We never got beyond the first date of either one.”
Here is the original from The Doors
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 
that movie did a lot for the Doors, bringing them back to the forefront of the scene after 20 years. I saw it and liked it to some degree at the time, though I do remember thinking Morrison seems like a real jerk- I’m being polite there – although he was certainly interesting.
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I have not seen this movie but once, on tv I can’t remember when but several years ago! I do recall being impressed with Val Kilmer. I didn’t know much about The Doors beyond the sensationalism and sort of the greatest hits. Just recently I have been looking into their impact via cover songs. I can say there’s more than I had expected!
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loved the movie and loved the doors
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