Since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival last year, many questioned if Rodney Ascher’s inside, exhaustive look at Stanley Kubrick‘s The Shining would even see the light of day outside of Park City. But when it was acquired by IFC Films, there was a promise that, despite primarily using footage from the 1980 original, Room 237 would be hitting screens, and now around 14 months later it indeed will be.
Following a theatrical trailer, which uses exactly zero seconds of footage from the original film (while still playing a clever homage), we’ve got a theatrical poster that does the same. Taking on a similar yellow aesthetic to Saul Bass‘ design, this one has an extensive disclaimer at the bottom to play things safe. Check it out below via EW, along with the film’s original poster, and read our Sundance review here and our informative Cannes interview with the director here.
Synopsis:
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.
Room 237 hits VOD and limited release on March 29th.