Film Review: Room 237 (2012)

Pictured: An artist's impression of some of the people featured in Room 237.

Stanley Kubrick was and remains one of the titans of cinema. His films have endured not only the test of time, with early works like Paths of Glory remaining as potent now as when they were released, but also the rigourous analysis of successive generations of film critics and academics. Most of that attention tends to be directed at 2001: A Space Odyssey, easily his most beguiling and evocative film, since it lends itself readily to being interpreted in dozens, if not hundreds, of different ways. Yet Room 237, the documentary-cum-essay by Rodney Ascher shows that even The Shining, Kubrick's seemingly more straightforward adaptation of Stephen King's novel, offers plenty of opportunity for interpretation, even if some of those interpretations tend to be pretty outlandish.

Film Review: Hamlet (1948)

After filling in one of my major cultural blindspots by finally reading Hamlet, I have decided to start a recurring series on the blog in which I watch and discuss different cinematic interpretations of arguably Shakespeare's greatest, most fascinating play. To kick things off, I have decided to watch the 1948 version, starring and directed by Laurence Olivier.

Hamlet, both the play and the character, looms so large over Western culture that it's amazing to think that anyone would dare to take it on. Fascinating and infuriating in equal measure, Hamlet is a character who can be interpreted differently by pretty much any actor, and as such is a daunting role for anyone to undertake: there can be no definitive take on Hamlet because his nature is so fractured and ambiguous that he can be whatever the actor and audience want him to be. It's for that same reason that every generation gets its own Hamlet, whether he is played by Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh or Mel Gibson, and why the character remains so vital and relevant no matter how many times he is revisited: you can take Hamlet and place him in any context but his essence will always shine through.