Writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”) takes a new job as the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. He wasn’t a bit concerned when the owners told him that ten years ago a custodian named Delbert Grady (Philip Stone: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”) killed his daughters while taking care of the hotel during the long winter. He then turned a shotgun on himself. The owner says Grady’s condition was described as “cabin fever.” Jack assures him that he won’t have any problems maintaining his sanity. He want the isolation so he can write his new book. He brings his wife, Wendy (Shelly Duvall: “Roxanne”) and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd) to stay with him at the hotel far up in the mountains of Colorado. They are in pure isolation because the establishment closes during the winter months. The snow storms in the area often bring over 20 feet of snow, so there is virtually no way in and no way out.
What the Jack and Wendy fail to recognize is that Danny has strong powers of clairvoyance. According to Dick Halloran, the hotel’s cook (Scatman Crothers: “Zapped!”) - who also has such powers - Danny has a very strong version of “the shine.” Danny tells Mr. Halloran that he has bad feelings about the hotel and the cook doesn’t take the boy’s inhibitions lightly. He tells Danny that if he sees anything that is scary to remember that none of it is real. The hotel does strange things, but it can’t hurt him.
Dick hopes.
When Dick leaves the “fun” begins for the Torrance family. The ghost of Delbert Grady appears and begins to drive Jack mad. Danny has horrible visions that are more real than Dick Halloran told him. Wendy begins to distrust Jack when he begins to act abnormally. Will the Torrance family leave the Overlook Hotel with their lives and limbs intact? Maybe a better question is, will the Overlook Hotel let them leave?
THE BODY COUNT
There are only two actual deaths in this film, but there are plenty of other gruesome moments to keep you gore hounds at bay.
THE NUDITY (Come on guys, we all know that's what you want!)
Wow. There is one truly hot lady that appears fully nude in Room 237. She walks up to Jack stark naked and begins kissing him. But here’s a real spoiler for you. Just as you begin to think things are going the way they should (what guy doesn’t like a hot, naked woman) they take a terrible turn. She turns into a stark naked, rotten, cackling old lady!
Now that, my testosterone-filled friends, is called buzzkill.
THE GOODS (How well did the movie deliver on its premise?)
What’s really good: The cinematography is simply beautiful. And it’s no wonder considering that Kubrick was notorious for being a perfectionist. The visuals are crisp and clear. Considering that the movie was made 20 years ago it is quite awesome. What else can I say about the imagery? I can’t think of any other film that provides such disturbing imagery except for Jacob’s Ladder. Who can forget the eerie little girls, the dead people at the “party”, or the pig man? I must say that the pig man even disturbed me, an avid horror fan. When he looks up at Wendy it even frightens me a little.
The acting in the movie is simply phenomenal for a horror film. Although at some points the dialogue doesn’t flow too smoothly everyone holds their own. Another thing I liked about the film was the way that the characters talked about bad things on their way. They spoke about the Donner Party and the former caretaker who killed his family and himself. Their
conversations provided a bit of an omen for what was to come. As far as the storyline goes, it is simply phenomenal. The characters are memorable and the setting is perfect. The Shining is like almost any other haunted house movie times ten. Kubrick did a great job staying close to King’s original vision while throwing in some horrifying moments of
his own.
What’s really bad: The only thing I can really think of that may be a turnoff for many viewers is the fact that the movie has a slow buildup to the climax. Although interesting scenes keep coming some people may become tired with some of the extended dialogue.
It’s important to note that both Jack and Wendy (at least in Kubrick's version of the story) must have at least a hint of the shine. Wendy doesn’t realize it until the very end, when she sees the horrifying images; but Jack had it and tried to ignore it. He was the weakest link in the family and he let the Overlook Hotel take him over.
TIDBITS (A little inside info. for ya!)
* To quote my copy of the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records: “Stanley Kubrick is reputed to have required a record 127 takes for a scene with Shelly Duvall in The Shining (GB, 1980). Kubrick, a notoriously demanding director, also required 85 takes for a scene with Duvall, Scatman Crothers, and five-year-old Danny Lloyd, and 50-60 takes for a long tracking shot where Jack Nicholson pursues Duvall up the staircase as she brandishes a baseball bat at his face.”
* The baseball bat that Wendy hits Jack with is signed by baseball legend Carl Yastrzemski.
* To quote the Internet Movie Database: “The book that Jack was writing contained the one sentence (‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’) repeated over and over. Kubrick had each page individually typed. For the Italian version of the film, Kubrick used the phrase ‘Il mattino ha l' oro in bocca’ (‘He who wakes up early meets a golden day’). For the German version, it was ‘Was Du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf Morgen’ (‘Don't postpone something, that can be done today.’) For the Spanish version, it was ‘No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano’ (‘Although one will rise early, it won't dawn sooner.’)”
* The infamous “Here’s Johnny!” line was ad-libbed by Jack Nicholson.
WORTH WATCHING? (Should you slap down the money?)
According to the Internet Movie Database, as of May 29, 2000, The Shining is number 102 on the list of the top 250 films of all time. Who am I to argue? Stanley Kubrick and the entire production team did a wonderful job of displaying Kubrick’s vision of Stephen King’s original novel on film. Although many aspects from the book are left out (the movie would probably be about 5 hours long if everything was kept) the film still flows nicely and tells a great story. If you haven’t seen this classic tale of insanity, murder, and cabin fever you should seriously consider checking this flick out. But remember: this is a horror film and it serves its purpose well. The tale is quite disturbing so viewer discretion is advised.
What Casual Fans Should Pay: Up to $2.00
What Horror Fans Should Pay: Up to $2.50
OKAY, I WATCHED THE MOVIE...NOW WHAT, FANCYPANTS?
(Plugs for other flicks)
Well, if you enjoyed The Shining I'd recommend:
* The Shining (the novel by Stephen King)
* Jacob’s Ladder
* Misery
DVDS. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" -- or, rather, a homicidal boy in {$Stanley Kubrick}'s eerie 1980 adaptation of {$Stephen King}'s {...More at DeepDiscount.com
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