Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 2, 1991                   TAG: 9103020383
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`THE DOORS': MUSIC IS MOVIE'S ONE SALVATION

But the film is so tightly focused on the band, its music and self-destructive lead singer that anyone not already interested in the subject will find it rough going.

In one sense, there's nothing new in this rise-and-fall story. We've seen and heard it hundreds of times: Innocent guys form a band and become an overnight sensation; wealth and stardom spoil them; group breaks up; one (or more) dies young.

As Stone puts it, success came easily to the Los Angeles band. The world of popular music was going through massive changes in the mid-1960s, and The Doors were in the right place at the right time.

Ray Manzarek (Kyle Maclachlan) had the ability to put Jim Morrison's (Val Kilmer) sophomoric lyrics in the right musical context. John Densmore (Kevin Dillon) and Robby Kreiger (Frank Whaley) provided yeoman backup, but the spark was Morrison's stage presence.

At first, he was so uncomfortable with live performances that he performed with his back to the audience. But it didn't take long for the raw adulation of fans to turn him into a pop Dionysus, a singer who would try anything on stage. But Morrison was also a romantic who would follow a strange woman home and invite himself to her party.

That's how he met Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan), who stayed with him, off and on, for the last six years of his life. He also dabbled in witchcraft with Patricia Kennealy (Kathleen Quinlan).

Stone uses two trips to the desert to explain the singer. As a child, Morrison saw the aftermath of an automobile accident where an old Indian shaman was injured or killed. Then when the band had its first success, he tried to recreate the experience with peyote. (Though Morrison often claimed to use hallucogenics to explore the limits of perception, the film shows that his drug of choice was alcohol, and if he wasn't an alcoholic at the height of his popularity, he was well on his way to becoming one.)

Kilmer is excellent. He looks like Morrison; the soft face and the carefully posed body movements seem absolutely accurate. His Morrison is anything but a heroic figure. The selfishness and spoiled narcissism that drove him were ugly, and that's how they are presented.

At its best, the film weaves concert numbers and recording sessions into the story without breaking the flow of the narrative. Those are some of the best scenes, where the power of the music takes over. Other moments have a bizarre sense of humor. Also, Stone seems to have trusted his material enough to restrain his directorial urges. Gone are the fidgety camerawork of "Talk Radio" and emotional overkill of "Born on the 4th of July."

In the end, "The Doors" isn't another "Platoon," but if you appreciate the music you won't be bored. You may not like the film - large chunks of it are hard to take - but you will be intrigued. `The Doors,' 1/2 a Tri-Star release playing at the Salem Valley 8 (389-0444). 135 min. Rated R for strong language, sexual content, nudity, drug use.