‘When You’re Strange‘ is the title of a 2009 rock music documentary (or rockumentary, for short) focusing on the musical career of the legendary L.A.-based classic rock and blues rock band The Doors. The film is narrated by Johnny Depp and directed by Tom DiCillo. The rockumentary follows the path to stardom of the band from their establishment in 1965 (they were initially called Rick & The Ravens, pour les connoisseurs), then on to the release of their self-titled debut studio album in 1967 and up to the major international success that The Doors had achieved with their subsequent albums, ending with the tragic death of singer-songwriter, poet, and frontman Jim Douglas Morrison in Paris, France in July 1971.
‘When You’re Strange’ can also be perceived as a realistic response to Oliver Stone’s 1991 highly controversial and untrue biopic, with keyboardist Raymond ‘Ray’ Daniel Manzarek stating that ‘this [film] will be the true story of the Doors’ and, respectively, the anti-Oliver Stone. The rockumentary was produced by John Beug, Jeff Jampol, and Peter Jankowski. The cinematography was done by Paul Ferrara while the editors were Micky Blythe and Kevin Krasny.
Originally released on 17 January 2009 (at that year’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival held in Park City, Utah, U.S.) and nationwide in the United States on 9 April 2010, the film has been distributed by Rhino Entertainment and it has a total length of 86 minutes.
Therefore, that being said and without any further needless ado or unwanted spoilers on my behalf, I wholeheartedly recommend integrally watching the following official theatrical trailer of the documentary as well as a special interview by guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek on it. All the best, much health, take care, stay safe, many blessings, and great peace your way! God bless you and rock on!
Documentation sources and external links:
- The film’s page on www.wikipedia.org (in English)