DVD review: Room 237

3.00

 

Nicholas Barber

Saturday 09 March 2013

Was The Shining Stanley Kubrick's way of admitting that he faked footage of the Apollo moon landings?

This diverting documentary offers five different idiosyncratic interpretations of the revered 1980s horror film, pairing the voice-overs of the unseen theorists with a witty montage of clips. Ultimately, Room 237 is less about Kubrick and The Shining than it is about the powerful spell which some films can cast on their viewers.

Suggested Topics
News
The Lord of the Rings star was left reeling after the Homeland actor said he did not wish to end up being known as a “fruity actor” who is famed for playing wizards

Sir Ian McKellen hits back at Lewis' 'fruity' claims

FilmHomeland actor said he did not wish to end up playing wizards
Voices

Meet the elephants - our Christmas appeal gets personal

voicesIncluding shy Carlos and the big bull with a short temper
Arts & Entertainment
Katie Hopkins told This Morning parents needed to 'man up'

Katie Hopkins mocks name of sick girl featured in X Factor charity appeal

TV
Sport
Chico celebrates after scoring his team's opening goal

Chico’s handiwork drags back brave Hull

footballSwansea 1 Hull 1: Swansea ride their luck to claim a point
VIDEO
News
A partially complete walkway which was due to link Cuidad Real International Airport with an adjacent train station

For sale: 'Ghost airport' in Spain's Ciudad Real

newsYours for 100 million euros
Sport
Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane have teamed up to talk about their playing days

Keane and Vieira relive the rivalry - after a shared ice cream in Warsaw

footballThe thawing of frosty relationship
Life & Style
Taking regular exercise is the most effective single lifestyle choice people can make to reduce their risk of dementia

What is the single most effective lifestyle choice for preventing dementia?

HealthNew study lists five key behaviours
News
File photo: A woman was found superglued to a toilet in a Georgia branch of Home Depot, with police suggesting no one else could have applied the adhesive but her

Is story of superglue ‘prank’ coming unstuck?

newsShe was stuck to a toilet seat - but where was the joker?
Arts & Entertainment
At a stage of life: Nancy Carroll

She's on the money

theatreNancy Carroll plays an MP's wife during the expenses scandal
Arts & Entertainment
Emma Stone

'Dating Andrew Garfield makes living in LA a lot less fun'

filmEmma Stone talks about The Croods, and why she tries not to read about herself online
News
Tulisa denies attacked a celebrity blogger at V Festival

Tulisa faces drug charges

people

X Factor judge will appear in court later this month
Sport
Jimmy Anderson can't watch as Australia celebrate victory in Adelaide

England need to master art of avoiding ‘the creep’

ashesEnglish sport is littered with failures to maintain a winning formula
Life & Style
Hard times: Marsha Silver during her treatment for cancer, in a family photo with daughters Maya (left) and Daniela

Old enough to know better: teenagers coping with a parent's cancer

Families
Life & Style
Scott Huffman, engineering director at Google: 'I don't have a microchip in my head – yet'

'I don’t have a microchip in my head – yet'

tech

The Google future, including microphones in every ceiling and data sent directly to your brain
News
Mima mounds are named after the Mima Prairie in Thurston County, Washington

Solved: the bizarre mystery of Mima mounds

scienceThey are not the work of aliens…
News

Daredevil rides bike BACKWARDS down mountain at 50mph

video
News
Aron Ralston at the 83rd Academy Awards in Hollywood in 2011

'127 Hours' hiker Aron Ralston arrested for domestic violence

people38-year-old amputated his right forearm with a pen knife to free himself from a boulder
News

R Kelly compares Chris Brown to Martin Luther King and Jesus

peopleThe 'Do What You Want' singer claimed that he empathised with the troubled R’n’B star
Arts & Entertainment
Lily Allen: Although it may not be accurate to say Julie Burchill has met her match in Allen, certainly no previous adversary has deployed such an eclectic array of weaponry: first her mum, then Twitter

Lily Allen returns to number one with John Lewis advert song

arts + ents
Extras

10 best secret Santa gifts under £10

indybest
Arts & Entertainment
Lady Rose dances with the Prince of Wales in the Downton Abbey Christmas special 2013

Downton Abbey special: New pictures released

tvRose meets the King while Edith struggles with a moral dilemma
Life & Style

Spotify set to launch free ad-supported mobile streaming service

tech A free, ad-supported version of Spotify’s music-streaming service is set to launch on mobile this week
Voices

Fancy owning an original Damien Hirst?

elephant appealOne very special artwork up for grabs in The Independent's charity auction
Life & Style

Computer scientist's 107th birthday marked with Google Doodle

techWe have Grace Hopper to thank for the term 'debugging'
Arts & Ents blogs

Ripper Street ‘Our Betrayal’ – Series 2 – Episode 7

The Children’s Book Blog Christmas Countdown: The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann

The Children’s Book Blog Christmas Countdown: Where Art Thou, Mother Christmas? by Roald Dahl

Independent
Travel Shop
Bruges by Eurostar
Three nights from £259pp Find out more
Classical Spain
Six nights from £599pp Find out more
South Africa
 15 nights from £1,999pp Find out more
Elephant Appeal donate now >

independent images

SPONSORED FEATURES

Enter the latest Independent competitions

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Business videos

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Prizes & offers

ES Rentals

    Independent Dating
    and  

    By clicking 'Search' you
    are agreeing to our
    Terms of Use.

    From refugee to war reporter: Yalda Hakim fled Afghanistan as a baby and now reports from the world’s conflict zones

    Yalda Hakim

    From refugee to war reporter
    The master of the high seas: Turner's genius for painting marine landscapes

    The master of the high seas

    Turner's genius for painting marine landscapes
    The 10 Best Christmas hampers

    The 10 Best Christmas hampers

    These fine hampers make mouth-watering pressies for foodies
    The death of Nelson Mandela: We all love him now, but it wasn't always so

    We all love him now, but it wasn't always so

    The stampede of pundits to express a view about Nelson Mandela cheapens his remarkable achievements – and makes false heroes of the politically inert
    Trudie Styler: 'Shakespeare gave guys the best roles'

    Trudie Styler: 'Shakespeare gave guys the best roles'

    The producer and activist, whose film 'Filth' is up for five British Independent Film awards, is tapping into the industry's neglected female talent
    Mass murder in the Middle East is funded by our friends the Saudis

    Patrick Cockburn: Mass murder in the Middle East is funded by our friends the Saudis

    Everyone knows where al-Qa'ida gets its money, but while the violence is sectarian, the West does nothing
    Nelson Mandela: The embodiment of goodness

    DJ Taylor: Nelson Mandela - the true embodiment of goodness

    There is a spiritual dimension to the regard in which the late South African leader is held. The qualities he epitomised, of grace and charisma, have religious roots
    Turning up the voice of America

    Rupert Cornwell: Turning up the voice of America

    The warm crackle and hiss of AM radio lives on in the US, and is about to get a boost that could put it back at the heart of communities
    Fleeced by wool: Sheep farmers face Victorian levels of poverty, despite keeping the nation warm and fed

    Fleeced by wool

    Sheep farmers face Victorian levels of poverty, despite keeping the nation warm and fed
    Veganism 2.0: Let them eat kale

    Veganism 2.0: Let them eat kale

    The plant-based diet is winning new recruits, from pop stars to restaurateurs. Susie Mesure reports on a green revolution
    Planet Bamford: How Lady B became the high-priestess of organic good taste

    Lady Bamford: High-priestess of organic good taste

    When Carole Bamford first suggested farming her 4,000 acres organically, her husband wasn't convinced. But Lady B's Daylesford has become the nation's glossiest food empire
    'The haters spur me on': Michelin-starred Tom Sellers on being this year's hottest property

    Tom Sellers: 'The haters spur me on'

    He's tatooed, brash and a target for the "haters". Meet Tom Sellers, the 26-year-old Michelin-star winner who a year ago was hosting pop-ups
    Santa's little pickers: How one grocery e-tailer is gearing up for the Yuletide rush

    Behind the scenes with the Ocado pickers

    Holly Williams joins the staff at the online grocer ahead of the last-minute Christmas-food rush at the firm's mammoth warehouse
    Winter warmers: Five hot names reveal the secrets of their favourite seasonal treats

    Winter warmers: Five seasonal treats

    Sometimes a cup of tea just isn't enough, says Samuel Muston
    It's the small things: Bill Granger's fun Christmas nibbles

    Bill Granger's fun Christmas nibbles

    Festive snacks don't have to be fiddly, says our chef