Posted on 05/22/2020 3:27:18 AM PDT by C19fan
Forty years ago this week, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was released into a handful of theaters and was met with a blizzard of chilly reviews. Most critics in 1980 agreed: Like the director's previous film, 1975's period epic Barry Lyndon, it was all flash and no substance.
Pauline Kael wrote in the New Yorker that Kubrick's devotion to technique distanced the audience from the domestic horrors of his story. The Washington Post called it "elaborately ineffective." Gene Siskel said it was "boring" and occasionally "downright embarrassing." Toronto's Globe & Mail: an "overreaching, multi-levelled botch." In its first year of existence, the bad movie-centric Razzie Awards nominated The Shining for worst director and worst actress.
(Excerpt) Read more at inlander.com ...
Well because if one has not read the book it really makes almost no sense at all what is going on.
In that way it is not a good movie.
I read the book and still think that the movie sucks.
I used to read Stephen King’s books decades ago. But when he revealed himself as a stone cold commie I stopped reading them. Plus I’m not into horror stories anymore. We’ve got enough horrific stuff going on in non fiction. I have found that his books help level my kitchen table though.
The book was great (for a King book). It was the only time I was actually scared reading a book.
Kubrick took a scary book and turned it into be a movie that was boring and stupid. The TV version of the book was so much better.
I think it’s a brilliant film. It’s not supposed to make sense, it just makes crazy. It’s a bit like Joker, a chronicle of the disintegration of the psyche. Both movies have dark and stirring soundtracks, building the mood, taking me on a roller coaster ride to Hell.
Jack Nicholson made the movie, his best work.
Yep...the book was far better & much more intense than the movie.
The movie, Room 237 is worth watching. There are lots of Easter eggs exposed. Lots of strange inconsistencies. I enjoyed The Shining after about my third viewing. I’ll probably watch again.
The best thing about the movie Barry Lyndon when it came out, was my date that night. I was 18 and out with the prettiest girl in town. The longer the movie lasted, the longer my 1st and only date with the prettiest girl in town lasted. Thanks Stan!
Salems Lot, The Shining and The Stand were outstanding but I lost interest after that.
The last King book I read was The Dead Zone. I didn’t like it but one of the characters, Greg Stillson, reminded me of Bill Clinton. In the book Stillson kicks a dog to death but he doesn’t care about the dog. He’s worried that if anyone saw him it would affect his political viability because he thought he was destined for greatness. Years later I read how Clinton had penned a letter wondering how he could avoid the draft while maintaining his political viability. Creepy.
I love that trailer.
It probably didn’t help that it was in theaters competing with The Empire Strikes Back.
I concur. A lot of memorable movies came out in 1980 (Caddyshack, Airplane, Mad Maxx, 9 to 5, and Raging Bull, to name a few)), but forty years later, I still toss out some of the lines from the Shining, like “REDRUM,” “All work and not play make Jack a dull boy,” and “Here’s Johnny.” I can’t say the same about the others.
Like all Kubrick movies it is tedious,dull and ice cold with virtually zero emotional connection to the audience.
This is good; I thought all these years it was just my slow mind that didn’t understand The Shining.
Same here. He’s good at short stories. The Stand and a couple of other books early on were good. But way back in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90s he’d write himself into a corner and finish with aliens. It got old. And always with the religious fanatic being an antagonist. Never a good person.
I remember absolutely hating this movie (still do) because I was such a huge fan of the book - and this was a movie about Jack Nicholson. Couldn’t stand the little kid, and his “Danny isn’t here, Mrs. Torrance.”
Love the book.
Hated the movie. Still do.
I tried over the past five years to read two of his more recent books. Put both down, which is very rare for me.
I remember when I couldn’t wait to get his latest bestseller: The Stand, The Shining, It, Pet Cemetary.
And yes, his short stories, especially “Children of the Corn” are his best (IMO).
His more recent stuff seemed to be wordy and preachy and more convoluted.
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