Comments on: Carl’s Rock Songbook #58: Revolution’s Rush—Oliver Stone’s The Doors

By: Carl’s Rock Songbook #59: ALMOST FAMOUS on Sex, Drugs, and 70s Rock » Postmodern Conservative | A First Things Blog

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:09:10 +0000

[...] the chicks, and the fame. As for the fans, they were more like the Pamela Courson character in The Doors, ready to give themselves body and soul to rock, and yet with this difference: the hedonism, [...]

By: TK

TK — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:11:28 +0000

The Doors movie was a disgrace. It was Oliver Stone’s interpretation with very few real facts. I agree with Ray Manzarek on what a travesty this film was. Creating events that didn’t even happen especially after someone is dead is pathetic. Stone seems to enjoy destroying people through his films.

By: John Presnall

John Presnall — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 18:41:33 +0000

I wouldn’t call it open mindedness–more like a willingness to be tortured. Apart from what you say about the performance of Dionysus in 69, it is also boring. But it is an interesting document of the times as an attempt to torture the audience in such a way as to lead it to some sort of revelation about of reality.

I thought this approach was akin to what Jim Morrison wanted to achieve in his live performances, as well as what Stone was trying to evoke from his audience in the Doors movie (and others). Albeit, depending on your taste, Stone attempts this “doubling” of film and audience in a somewhat more pleasurable manner than the Performance Group. So does De Palma in many other movies–even in his short documentary on op art–The Responsive Eye.

Ultimately, I too would rather read Percy on late 60s artistic decadence, but I like De Palma’s movies, and have been doing research on him for some sort of book for several years.

By: Carl Eric Scott

Carl Eric Scott — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 04:42:27 +0000

John, you and I see eye-to-eye on lots, but I’m not open-minded enough to view more than a few snippets of Dionysius in 69. Chanting, grunting, weird gymnastics, grimaces, onstage nudity, little to no Euripides, audience made to climb up ladders, later I presume to participate in…no thanks! I’d rather read about that sort of late 60s earnest bare-all happening in a Walker Percy novel.

Telling though that it was with that sort of thing that De Palma began…and that Oliver Stone was a protege!

By: John Presnall

John Presnall — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 23:37:48 +0000

I always thought Oliver Stone ought to have done a movie about Charles Manson in a style akin to the Doors, but this would be more problematic in terms of the audience. As you mentioned, you need to be careful to whom you show The Doors. In fact, if memory serves me well Jim himself is reading Artaud’s The Theater and its Double in this movie. So a Manson movie might literally be evil, even if it were able to more directly demonstrate the madness, destruction, criminality and nihilism of Dionysian revelry.

BTW, thought you might like to see this–a De Palma directed movie from 1970, “Dionysus in 69.” It is a split screen film of the Performance Group’s adaptation of the Bacchae. You can watch it here:

http://ubu.com/film/depalma.html

By: Pete Spiliakos

Pete Spiliakos — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 22:47:16 +0000

Carl, the vampires have demonstrated good…taste. Terrific post. Very thoughtful, nuanced, and clear and not a bit polemical.

By: Carl Eric Scott

Carl Eric Scott — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:48:58 +0000

Thanks guys! Apparently the vampires like it too.

By: paul seaton

paul seaton — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:45:30 +0000

I was searching for adequate praise; John Lewis provided it.

By: John Lewis

John Lewis — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:59:25 +0000

Epic post.

By: Carl’s Rock Songbook #58: Revolution’s Rush—Oliver Stone’s The Doors | Vampire Occult Society

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 18:01:09 +0000

[...] original article: Carl’s Rock Songbook #58: Revolution’s Rush—Oliver Stone’s The Doors This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged and-the, capture-the, culture, decadent, [...]