When You're Strange
A lovingly assembled archival portrait of Jim Morrison and the Doors’ meteoric rise, artistic tensions, excesses, and tragic collapse.
Overview
A deep dive into the tumultuous life of a rock legend, revealing the man behind the myth.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- intimate
- volatile
- melancholic
- classic rock listening
- music history viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly regard it as a beautifully filmed and lovingly assembled tribute to the Doors, though not a deeply critical assessment of their music or legacy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Rehearsals, performances, private moments, and period footage carry the chronological account of the Doors.
Morrison’s love of the spotlight and desire to be a poet are set against alcohol-fueled mood swings and private desires.
The narrative follows Morrison’s alcohol and drug use, instability, arrest, and early death.
Archival performances and rehearsals provide the film’s central visual and musical experience.
Films like When You're Strange, and why
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
archival rockumentary treatment, musician biography, and intimate portrait of a volatile creative icon
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
chronological music biography built from performance footage and personal history, with a strong focus on artistic identity
Gimme Shelter
rockumentary form, archival concert footage, and a candid examination of fame, excess, and band dynamics
Movie Details
- Director
- Tom DiCillo
- Release Date
- 2010-04-09
- Runtime
- 86 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (234)
Cast
- Johnny Depp
- Jim Morrison
- John Densmore
- Ray Manzarek
- Robby Krieger
- Pamela Courson
- Janis Joplin
- Andy Warhol
- Jim Ladd
- John F. Kennedy
Where to watch in United States
- Buy
- Amazon Video
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is When You're Strange about?
- A lovingly assembled archival portrait of Jim Morrison and the Doors’ meteoric rise, artistic tensions, excesses, and tragic collapse.
- What is When You're Strange like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of When You're Strange as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is When You're Strange violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in When You're Strange as mild.
- What did critics think of When You're Strange?
- Critics broadly regard it as a beautifully filmed and lovingly assembled tribute to the Doors, though not a deeply critical assessment of their music or legacy.
- Which films are like When You're Strange?
- Films with a similar feel include No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, George Harrison: Living in the Material World, and Gimme Shelter.
- How long is When You're Strange?
- When You're Strange runs 86 minutes.
- Where can I watch When You're Strange?
- In United States, When You're Strange is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video.
