The first time, it was on TV, and I started it part of the way through, and got super confused about what was happening, so I gave up and watched something else.
The second time, I watched it with a friend that I tend to talk through movies with, and we talked through the entire movie.
The third time, I was home alone, and I put it on... and fell asleep about 30 minutes into it.
Because really... despite being acclaimed as one of the greatest horror movies of all time, there is a HUGE stretch just after the beginning sequence in which almost nothing happens. The kid drives his big wheel around. There's an old black guy who says some stuff. There's a walk-in freezer...zzzzzz....
I woke up to some bloody carnage and slightly felt bad that I had slept through the masterpiece, shrugged, repositioned myself on the couch ... and fell back asleep.
Really, The Shining would be my least favorite Stanley Kubrik movie, if it weren't for 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Don't give me shit about that. There are 30 brilliant minutes of movie in there, sure, but that movie is ONE BILLION hours long and makes my brain slowly die.)
So, I saw that Room 237 was playing at SIFF today, and I thought - Hey! I should go watch a documentary all about that movie that I don't really like!
And guess what? It was AWESOME!!
WAY, way better than watching The *actual* Shining. What was the secret to all this entertainment?
Postmodern film analysis, Boyeeeeez!
This movie was cleverly edited clips from various Stanley Kubrik (and other) films with voice-over explaining various Shining aficionados' theories about the more global imagery, symbolism, and thematic statements beyond the surface plot and characters of The Shining.
Yes, one of them is a moon landing conspiracy theorist.
Others talk about the physical space occupied by the hotel, connections to mythological archetypes, historical events, and ideas about the nature of humankind.
They also showed several clips of the screenings of The Shining which superimpose a forward-running copy of the film with a backwards-running copy of the film, showing interesting juxtapositions.
And don't worry, this movie had plenty of laughs. The filmmakers seemed to wink at the audience by allowing "the viewers" to wax poetic about often ridiculous theories.
Personally, I find it fascinating to hear people project grand meaning onto tiny details. Whether Kubrik had intended any of these meanings remains a mystery. I suspect not. But it's super fun to think about.
Now I need to get my hands on the full forwards/backwards copy of that movie!
Peggy's Rating: Five out of Five Stars
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