Room 237

Today sees the New York City release of director Rodney Ascher's innovative documentary Room 237 which, constructed entirely from existing footage, offers multiple in-depth critical analyses of Stanley Kubrick's legendary Stephen King adaptation, The Shining. Although the feature is jam-packed with historical facts about the production, the real intrigue comes from detailed theories about Kubrick's true motivations for making the film, including one man's (unnervingly convincing) suspicion that The Shining is about Kubrick's own personal demons that arose from faking the moon landing).

ShockTillYouDrop.com sat down to speak with Ascher and producer Tim Kirk to discuss the origins of the project and the decision to build an entire feature without shooting a single frame. As you can watch in the flipcam interview after the break, Ascher nods to Red Letter Media's online breakdown of the Star Wars prequels and offers the reminder that the "found footage" genre needn't be synonymous with horror fiction.

March 29th sees the release of The Shining documentary called Room 237.  EW premiered the poster - a smart tip 'o the hat to the marketing for Stanley Kubrick's film - and you can see a larger version inside.

After the box office failure of Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubrick decided to embark on a project that might have more commercial appeal. The Shining, Stephen King’s biggest critical and commercial success yet, seemed like a perfect vehicle. After an arduous production, Kubrick’s film received a wide release in the summer of 1980; the reviews were mixed, but the box office, after a slow start, eventually picked up. End of story? Hardly. In the 30 years since the film’s release, a considerable cult of Shining devotees has emerged, fans who claim to have decoded the film’s secret messages addressing everything from the genocide of Native Americans to a range of government conspiracies. Rodney Ascher’s wry and provocative Room 237 fuses fact and fiction through interviews with cultists and scholars, creating a kaleidoscopic deconstruction of Kubrick’s still-controversial classic.

The trailer for the critically acclaimed documentary Room 237 is now online and you can check it out in the player after the break, courtesy of iTunes Movie Trailers. An in-depth analysis of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, Room 237 is officially described as follows:

After the box office failure of Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubrick decided to embark on a project that might have more commercial appeal. The Shining, Stephen King’s biggest critical and commercial success yet, seemed like a perfect vehicle. After an arduous production, Kubrick’s film received a wide release in the summer of 1980; the reviews were mixed, but the box office, after a slow start, eventually picked up. End of story? Hardly. In the 30 years since the film’s release, a considerable cult of Shining devotees has emerged, fans who claim to have decoded the film’s secret messages addressing everything from the genocide of Native Americans to a range of government conspiracies. Rodney Ascher’s wry and provocative Room 237 fuses fact and fiction through interviews with cultists and scholars, creating a kaleidoscopic deconstruction of Kubrick’s still-controversial classic.

IFC has revealed the release dates for two genre projects.  The first is Room 237, Rodney Ascher's analytical look at Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.  After making the festival rounds, the film will hit March 29th.

After the box office failure of Barry Lyndon, Stanley Kubrick decided to embark on a project that might have more commercial appeal. The Shining, Stephen King’s biggest critical and commercial success yet, seemed like a perfect vehicle. After an arduous production, Kubrick’s film received a wide release in the summer of 1980; the reviews were mixed, but the box office, after a slow start, eventually picked up. End of story? Hardly. In the 30 years since the film’s release, a considerable cult of Shining devotees has emerged, fans who claim to have decoded the film’s secret messages addressing everything from the genocide of Native Americans to a range of government conspiracies. Rodney Ascher’s wry and provocative Room 237 fuses fact and fiction through interviews with cultists and scholars, creating a kaleidoscopic deconstruction of Kubrick’s still-controversial classic.