Steineded How sad is this?

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

henden_jr For being a documentary about one of my all time favorite movies, I think that this is a fairly made one. The reason is because it does not only give me more and more hints and understanding of what The Shining means other than just being a classic horror film about a family that spends the majority of the time inside an isolated hotel, but I also learned new things about the movie that I have never ever thought about or discovered until now. If you have watched the actual movie a dozen times just like I have, you will probably go into it with all these new layers in your mind and with all the footage you have seen in this documentary. I am in awe of how massive the fanbase have become over the decades with all of these conspiracy theories, speculations, and confessions ect. I am not really able to explain how much this movie has impacted me, because everything I witnessed on the screen for the very first time is something that I probably will never forget. Overall I think this is a pretty decent and watchable documentary for everyone that have watched this movie multiple times and even more for that matter. It also contains some footage of Kubrick's other popular films like 2001 for instance, in which The Shining has some cool and interesting similarities with that movie. I expected a little more out of this documentary though, and feel like it could have been much more.

pseawrig A lot of people reviewing this documentary seem to be showing a lack of imagination or maybe an inability to see the big picture. This documentary is certainly a celebration of The Shining's very detailed, precise, and fully fleshed out story world. It is also a meditation on meaning: how we bring meaning to things even as we think we are taking meaning from them. The film presents five way-out-there interpretations of this film. It is not claiming that these interpretations are true. Instead, it is showing how a perfectly conceived and fully manifested piece of art can become a magnet for meanings. We watch five different interpreters argue five intense and very different interpretations of this movie. Along the way, these interpreters point out existing patterns in this film, many of which I'll wager you have never noticed.Does this make their interpretations valid? The film does not answer this question. Instead, it revels in the acts of interpretation. This is not a documentary that claims to finally reveal the truth behind Kubrick's masterpiece. Instead, it suggests that this movie acts as a catalyst, which somehow activates the various "truths" that viewers bring to it. If, like me, you are interested in the way the human mind works, then you will probably find this movie engrossing. Its at times less than convincing interpretations of The Shining are never less than fascinating.

matt_hehe This film is an epic thesis on storytelling, adaptation, and film-making. If you have read the King novel, then you know that a key component to the story is the Minotaur theme. It's not an accident that Kubrick invented a hedge maze scene for the final act... the book manifests Danny's clairvoyant visions of his mad father as a Minotaur stalking him in some contrived labyrinth of hallways in the Overlook hotel.So, that said; the moon landing stuff is trash, but nonetheless entertaining; Any claims about Kubrick being involved in some sort of conspiracy have been more than debunked. However, we know that Kubrick is always trying to tell us more than what's on screen...The theory that Kubrick's The Shining is a metaphor for the genocide of American natives seems absurd at first, but I believe it is absolutely borne out by facts raised in Room 237. It is verifiable that King was not pleased with the screenplay adaptation, and the film actually expresses this by emphasizing the *yellow* bug that is trashed roadside, instead of the red bug in the book. But if we take out the moon landing crap and assume that Kubrick is approaching this project from the native American angle, so many pieces fall into place.Room 237 exposits this concept ad nauseam, but let's simply consider the most iconic scene of the film, where Jack is taunting Wendy as she threatens him with the bat: the camera takes great care to ensure that the aboriginal tapestry that serves as decoration for the great hall stays framed as Jack ascends the staircase (where the shot is a peculiar over-the-shoulder 1/3 take). So we're left to simply ask, *why* was this Kubrick's approach? (and this is exactly the type of question that Room 237 engages emphatically) All of this is to say: Room 237 provides enough insight regarding the themes of the book (Minotaur/labyrinth) while illustrating Kubrick's own departure from the source text (aboriginal genocide). It is hard to reconcile the changes made from the book to film without these interpretations.again, CAVEAT:The moon landing stuff is bizarre; I think this can be explained by confirmation bias of those intrigued by Kubrick's proficiency in filmmaking, being contemporaries of breakthrough techniques used during the filming of 2001. It's unfortunate the filmmakers felt compelled to include this aspect, as it obfuscates what I consider to be serious narrative themes suggested by Kubrick.So, I'm proffering an 8/10, given that the viewer has both seen the original film and read the novel... And as someone who is a rabid fan of both, Room 237's peculiar allure has stayed with me for months after viewing.

TheFunkyBass This documentary is about the interpretations and perceived meanings of Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining and pretty much a circle-jerk around the film and praising Kubrick as some sort of film god. Most of the "clues" that they talk about in the movie are just coincidences that appear on frame. Other things they talk about are continuity errors which they claim are intentional. So, apparently Apparently continuity errors are well thought out works of genius.What the f*ck is up with the narrator checking on his crying baby? How did that get through the final cut?The people behind this have WAY too much time on their hands to watch this movie over and over again just to spot these erros and then claim the movie to be a masterpiece.Stanley Kubrick was a great director and The Shining was a great movie, but this "documentary" kinda makes me hate the movie now... and that's saying a lot.Worst 100mn I've ever wasted.1/10