#33 on Glenn's Top 100 Movie ListKubrick's The Shining is of course related to Stephen King's novel only tangentially, but it's such a a visual and tonal feat that it exists as its own masterpiece. The plot is Jack Nicholson plays a crazy writer, there's ghosts, and also alcoholism. And a kid who's got the psychic ability to be creepy. When you see Shelly Duvall in this movie you will also realize that back in the 70s acting ability was a lot more important than looks no offense.
RATING: 90%
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"I'm not going to hurt you... I'm just going to bash your brains in!' I'm going to bash them right the fuck in!"
"Come play with us, Danny, play with us forever."
"Redruuuum, redrum!"
"Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny!"
One of the creepiest movies of all time.
The music, combined with the visuals, especially the beautiful, fluid, and often symmetrical camerawork, saturate this film with a sense of dread that I don't think has ever been paralleled. The bathtub scene remains one of the single most disturbing things I've ever seen in a film.
The last I heard, Danny Lloyd, who played the little boy, lives in the town in which I was born.
On the DVD and Blu-ray of The Shining, Vivian Kubrick's "Making Of..." documentary has some really priceless footage of Kubrick himself being verbally abusive to Shelley Duvall. Sad to say, she deserved much of it. On a side note, I like her performance more and more every time I watch The Shining.
See, I hate her performance. She plays the role sooooo dopey.
But I love the movie, in general. Who knew big wheel + 70s hotel carpet could be creepy and ominous?
I have never seen this movie. I am afraid to see this movie. I will watch Star Trek VII: The Phantom Klingon before I watch something that will potentially give me nightmares for the rest of my life.
Funny thing, I've read this book about 5-6 times over the years (I think I was about 12 the first time and have no idea why I read it so many times...one of those weird things). So when I watch this movie everything makes sense. But I always wondered what the hell people who haven't seen it make of all the weird things that don't make any sense out of context, like the guy in the dog costume. Aren't you like, wtf is that all about?
I think the weirdness of stuff like that adds to the whole atmosphere. I've read the book, but get so engrossed in the movie whenever I watch it that I always forget about what all the fucked up non sequiturs mean. I mean, the ones that actually have any connection to the novel, and not the hundreds of ones that Kubrick just made up.
Yeah, guys, like there's really a book called The Shining. What's next, bushes shaped like animals that move when you turn your back on them? Jeezus.
@John: Is that some feeble attempt to shit talk me?
Wouldn't dream of it.
I've been on a huge Stephen King kick as of late. For one, I'm re-"reading" the Dark Tower series. By "reading" I mean listening to the audiobooks while I fall asleep. Meanwhile, on my iPod, I have The Body and Carrie on my rotation. At the same time, in my car, I've recently listened to Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, which I just finished. As coincidence would have it, I just got to The Shining (Misery's next). Despite it consisting of mp3s ripped from noisy cassette tapes, I've enjoyed revisiting the book. It had been years since I first read it.
One thing that Kubrick's film didn't do is emphasize Jack's alcoholism, which is really where a lot of the evil in the book comes from (it's also one of the things Stephen King didn't like about Kubrick's film). The alcoholism is obviously there, but it serves little more purpose than to give us some nice manic moments from Nicholson. The inferior, but still pretty watchable 1997 ABC miniseries directed by Mick Garris makes up for this in spades. Booze is practically the primary villain in the miniseries.
I only watch the miniseries once every few years, though, while I watch Kubrick's film usually at least 2-3 times a year, if not more.
It is probably my favorite Stephen King book, followed by Lissie's Story. I loved the Dark Tower series up to Wizard and Glass, but I didn't really like the 3 after that. I thought the metafictional elements were pretentious, especially when he brought Freud into it, and the ending was a huge disappointment. I wonder if DT's major themes weren't better expressed in It and Insomnia anyway.
The Talisman and The Black House are the ones I want to reread when I get the time. What an odd pair of books.
(possible spoilers within)
The Dark Tower peaked with The Drawing of the Three, which is probably in my top 5 favorite books I've ever read. I still like the entire series, though I definitely do not argue with fans who don't like how it ended up. I, for one, am just glad he lived to complete the books.
For me, the DT series was all about the journey and not the destination. I was actually a fan of King introducing himself (and his near-fatal accident) into the story. I've thought a lot about the ending, and I think he handled it pretty gracefully. In Book 7, I loved how he basically told the reader to stop reading before the end to avoid disappointment.
In conclusion, Oy of Mid-World is one of the greatest characters ever put into print.
It's hard to fight naked.
I can tell I'm in good company here. Drawing of the Three, and most of the Wasteland are really the high points of the DT series. It's disappointing that we never reach those heights again, but the story is over, so that's something.
The Talisman, however, is fucking amazing. I just wish Black House wasn't such a bad book to follow it up with.
After the end of the DT series I really thought King might be done as a writer, but Cell was good and Lissie's Story was fantastic. I'm reading Duma Key right now and can't put it down. Clearly I was wrong.
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