• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• With: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Joe Turkel, Philip Stone, Lia Beldam, Norman Gay
• Music by: Wendy Carlos & Rachel Elkind
• Duration: 1h59
• Based on the novel by Stephen King
• Rating: 8/10

Review:

As movie adaptations go, especially Stephen King adaptations, this is one has been very much talked about in the past 44 years, since its release in 1980! Stephen King hated it, the late Shelley Duvall (who recently passed away) was bullied by Kubrick while filming and almost left… The movie had its issues… and still… every time I watch it I realise how good this movie really is! And a lot has to do with the acting by Jack Nicholson, who portrays a devilish Jack Torrance, but most of it is Kubrick’s doing! His settings are amazing!

As I mentioned, this movie is (slightly?) based upon the novel by Stephen King. Jack Torrance, who’s an alcoholic, takes on a job to stay at the Overlook Hotel in Colorado with his family, during the winter period. Five months of solitude and isolation. Jack, who is also something of a writer, wants to take the time and opportunity to write a new novel, while his wife takes care of the hotel and the boiler. And then there’s their little boy Danny, who has a gift. Mr. Holloran, the head chef of the Overlook Hotel who showed Danny and Wendy around on their arrival, called it ‘The Shining’, a way to see in the future and past. The gift could prove to become a curse in a place like the Overlook. Because the hotel has been the scene of many violent murders and has a mind of its own. And it’s bend on grabbing Danny, via his father who is a weak man and is easily taken into the madness the hotel offers.

We all know Stephen King didn’t like the adaptation because of the difference of tone in the story, but also the differences Kubrick made to the source material. In the book the overheating boiler plays a huge part, something Kubrick left out in the movie. And while in the book Wendy is a strong and independent woman, she is portrayed as a very docile and weak woman in the movie. But I do see what Kubrick wanted to do. Because she isn’t half as weak as he wants us to believe!

And of course, as I mentioned, Kubrick’s ability to make a movie a piece of art is very clear in this movie! The settings (Room 237, the red and white bathroom, the humongous kitchen, the ballroom) are all constructed in such a way you get lost in the hotel, exactly what Kubrick wanted to become. Mazes are a big part in this movie, by the way! And then there’s the acting by the side characters (the twins, Lloyd, Grady, the lady in Room 237)… everything just fits! Even the moment Jack is locked in the pantry and he wants to persuade Wendy to get him out again… the camera placement is just perfect! Also the way Danny rides through the hallways with his tricycle… there’s just no more iconic scene than that, apart maybe from the blood oozing from the elevator! The movie is one huge piece of artwork of two hours long! (I know there’s a lot scenes cut and there should be an uncut version of the movie somewhere but I haven’t found it yet)

Let’s be honest, this is one great movie. And though the book was better to explain a lot of background, for this movie you don’t need it. I know King wrote a screenplay for another adaptation in the nineties and I found that miniseries atrocious… (I’ve only seen it once because I wasn’t a huge fan of it)… but it was an adaptation that was more true to its source material…

The Overlook Hotel (in real life The Stanley Hotel) and its malevolent nature is by far the best Haunted Place one could make a movie about. While watching this, and even as I love the movie and I know there’s this bad remake, I was thinking, while they are already remaking so many Stephen King movie adaptations like Firestarter, Salem’s Lot, Pet Sematary, It, Carrie (not all with as much success as hoped), why not remake this one. But who could play Jack, Wendy and Danny?

For those who don’t know anything about Stephen King and his books or movie adaptations… there’s a sequel called Doctor Sleep! A great novel and for once they chose a great director (Mike Flanagan) to adapt that book into one of thé best SK movie adaptations! Flanagan did decide to follow this movie as a source material for his sequel and not the book, but with consent by the author himself! And I think it works best that way! In due time I will rewatch and review that movie as well… but as I am watching these movies in order of appearance (and availability), it’ll be a while till I get to Doctor Sleep.