The much talked about Room 237 opens this weekend, and Rodney Ascher, who directed the documentary about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and the theories about hidden contexts within, has lost his voice. How’s that for timing?
Ascher tweeted this afternoon:
Lost my voice, but it’s cool- only about a dozen Q&As to to do this weekend.
— Rodney Ascher (@Rodney_Ascher) March 29, 2013
Reviews of the film have been quite positive for the most part .There has been some criticism (including from Kubrick’s assistant) about some of the themes discussed in the film, but people seem to find them quite interesting anyway. Here’s a snippet from a New York Times review:
That makes the theories fair game for a sober assessment. And who better to provide one than Leon Vitali, who is listed in the closing credits of “The Shining” as personal assistant to the director? Mr. Vitali had an acting role in Kubrick’s 1975 movie “Barry Lyndon,” went to work for him soon after and remained on his payroll for decades. Mr. Vitali’s first task as an assistant was to fly to the United States to cast the role of Danny, the child of Jack (Jack Nicholson) and Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall). He was present during the 13-month filming at sound stages near London, and throughout postproduction.
Mr. Vitali, 64, is a Briton who now lives in Los Angeles, where he works on his own and other film projects. He was recently sent an advance copy of “Room 237,” and not surprisingly it elicited a strong response.
“I was falling about laughing most of the time,” he said by telephone. “There are ideas espoused in the movie that I know to be total balderdash.”
The film currently has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Shining itself only has a 90%.