"King on Screen" is an exceedingly strange documentary. It begins and ends with an almost non-sequitur sequence and moves along without much organization or theme. Yet, it remains baseline watchable due to the insights of its subjects-especially the directors who have worked on Stephen King film/TV projects.
For a very basic overview, "King on Screen" looks at the numerous film/TV adaptations of Stephen King novels from 1976's "Carrie" all the way up to newer projects like "The Outsider" & "Lisey's Story". More time is spent on "The Shining", "The Green Mile", and "Creepshow" than anything else, but almost all of King's other adaptations are at least tertiarily mentioned.
Like I said, the format for "King on Screen" is quite odd. I cannot-for the life of me-understand what the beginning and ending have to do with anything. Those "dramatic" sequences confused me more than set a mood. Also, there is no overriding concept or theme tying the material together-it is simply a bit of an aimless wandering through King's on-screen works, with the amount of each discussed dependent on the subjects they are interviewing.
That being said, there are definitely some interesting nuggets to be uncovered in "King on Screen"-mainly when King's directors are speaking/reminiscing. When Mike Flanagan (of "Gerald's Game" & "Doctor Sleep" adaptation fame) is talking about King's work, it is clear that he understands what is needed to transition book-to-screen. It is also fascinating to hear Frank Darabont reminisce on "Shawshank Redemption" and "Green Mile" as well as see some behind-the-scenes clips from both. The prolonged discussion of "Stephen King's Shining" vs. "Stanley Kubrick's shining" is interesting, as all the subjects weigh in to round out that fascinating dichotomy.
Overall, though, I found "King on Screen" to be a little underwhelming for its meandering nature and odd general setup-hence the pedestrian 6/10 rating. Certainly some material that will be interesting for the Constant Readers among us, but it doesn't "all work" here to be sure.
For a very basic overview, "King on Screen" looks at the numerous film/TV adaptations of Stephen King novels from 1976's "Carrie" all the way up to newer projects like "The Outsider" & "Lisey's Story". More time is spent on "The Shining", "The Green Mile", and "Creepshow" than anything else, but almost all of King's other adaptations are at least tertiarily mentioned.
Like I said, the format for "King on Screen" is quite odd. I cannot-for the life of me-understand what the beginning and ending have to do with anything. Those "dramatic" sequences confused me more than set a mood. Also, there is no overriding concept or theme tying the material together-it is simply a bit of an aimless wandering through King's on-screen works, with the amount of each discussed dependent on the subjects they are interviewing.
That being said, there are definitely some interesting nuggets to be uncovered in "King on Screen"-mainly when King's directors are speaking/reminiscing. When Mike Flanagan (of "Gerald's Game" & "Doctor Sleep" adaptation fame) is talking about King's work, it is clear that he understands what is needed to transition book-to-screen. It is also fascinating to hear Frank Darabont reminisce on "Shawshank Redemption" and "Green Mile" as well as see some behind-the-scenes clips from both. The prolonged discussion of "Stephen King's Shining" vs. "Stanley Kubrick's shining" is interesting, as all the subjects weigh in to round out that fascinating dichotomy.
Overall, though, I found "King on Screen" to be a little underwhelming for its meandering nature and odd general setup-hence the pedestrian 6/10 rating. Certainly some material that will be interesting for the Constant Readers among us, but it doesn't "all work" here to be sure.