59. The Doors: Break On Thru - A Celebration of Ray Manzarek; movie review
Cert 15
102 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language
The keyboard playing on the Doors' songs Riders Of Storm and Light My Fire has become among the most iconic in movie history.
And that is down to Ray Manzarek whose fingers brought that unique sound to one of the most famous quartets in rock music.
Manzarek died six years ago but remaining members Robby Krieger and John Densmore were determined to hold a gig in his honour.
Eventually, they did so at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood with the two reuniting on stage for the first time in 15 years.
On what would have been Manzarek's 77th birthday, a benefit was held in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.
Densmore and Kreiger were joined in classic Doors songs by Exene Cervenka and John Does of the band X, Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots' Robert DeLeo, Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins, Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara and Andrew Watt, among others.
In other words, a lot of folk who were neither Manzarek and Jim Morrison.
And here's the rub - Justin Kreutzmann's documentary is mainly made up of footage from the intimate gig with relatively unknown musicians standing in for two of the most famous of all time.
They carry it off with different levels of competence but some of the singers fall into the trap of Morrison impressions when nobody could possibly impersonate him.
Consequently, though the concert is well-meaning, the most interesting part of the documentary is the interviews and old footage between songs.
This includes a thoughtful stage interview with Manzarek and a very rare clip of Morrison talking on cassette tape.
Both Krieger and Densmore offer separate anecdote but it appears they are holding something back - and then I discovered their estrangement had been down to Densmore suing his fellow band members after Morrison's death.
Unfortunately, it is skated over as is much of the Doors' and, in particular, Manzarek's history.
I wanted to know his background and hear from his family. I was left with superficial comments that he was a good guy as well as a master of his keyboard craft.
His personality should have been to the fore but was rather lost behind the performances of musicians who he would have put in the shade.
Reasons to watch: A must-see for fans of The Doors
Reasons to avoid: Not sure all of the covers are as tight as they might be
Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10
Did you know? The Doors were the first band to advertise a new album on a billboard.
The final word. John Densmore: “It was such an honour to play with these world-class musicians in a tribute to our magical keyboard player.” Rolling Stone
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