[ChuckyTheGoat]

Been going down the rabbit-hole analyzing this movie. Have been re-watching it:

*Have basically come to one conclusion: It's an amazing piece of art.
...That said, I think Kubrick intentionally layered this movie with ambiguity.

Some themes are undeniable. To think one could SOLVE this movie...I really don't think so.

I put THE SHINING in the same category that people put JD Salinger's book "The Catcher in the Rye". "Catcher in the Rye" was written about over and over again...so much so that no one can ever fully figure it out.

I think about "The Shining" the same way. "The Shining" is a never-ending mind-game of WHAT'S REAL versus WHAT'S IMAGINARY.

I'm not trying to dis-credit Kubrick. Actually, the opposite, it's a very thought-provoking movie. But to think one can DE-CODE this movie with any satisfaction, I highly doubt it.

[jackpot269]

Stephen king did not like it or at least something about it.

Its why he made The one for TV with Stephen Weber and Rebecca De Mornay

The Shining (TV Mini Series 1997) - IMDb

I like the motion picture better with Jack and Shelley myself.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Stephen king did not like it or at least something about it.


Its why he made The one for TV with Stephen Weber and Rebecca De Mornay

The Shining (TV Mini Series 1997) - IMDb

I like the motion picture better with Jack and Shelley myself.

Yes, Jack. I've spent a lot of time studying 'The Shining'.

King wrote the novel. Kubrick read the book and used it as an outline. But I don't think Kubrick read King's screen-play b/c he wanted to go his own direction.

Saw that the reviews of King's later movie were pretty bad. Bad enough that it doesn't even measure up to Kubrick's 'The Shining.'

I think Kubrick's film is open to much interpretation. I'll leave it at that.

[khicks26]

One theory is it's about how hierarchy and social norms affect people's lives. Jack a failed writer blames his family for not living the life he thinks he should have. A closeted gay man that abuses his wife and child. Notice how he is reading a playgirl mag at the start. The pig giving the man head, which could also mean child abuse. How the women he meets at the Inn turns old and ugly.

A man so unhappy with himself and his situation he goes insane.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

One theory is it's about how hierarchy and social norms affect people's lives. Jack a failed writer blames his family for not living the life he thinks he should have. A closeted gay man that abuses his wife and child. Notice how he is reading a playgirl mag at the start. The pig giving the man head, which could also mean child abuse. How the women he meets at the Inn turns old and ugly.

A man so unhappy with himself and his situation he goes insane.

That's a very good view of it, Khicks. I agree with most everything you say:

1) Jack as a failed writer. Note the references to his job history: former school-teacher, shoveling driveways, working at car-washes. Really, who was this guy?

2) Unless there's some hidden angle in the film, yes, Jack is abusive. Note the scene with the wife and the therapist. Wendy basically admits that Jack separated the boy's shoulder.

3) The Playgirl is just crazy. Kubrick is so blatantly presenting this guy's troubles.

I really liked the casting/acting of the main characters:
*Wendy was sometimes mocked for her crazy facial expressions. I thought she was terrific, and it took a lot of work to look like that. Also, the actress might be viewed as not having classic good looks. As if that's the wife that Jack had to settle for.
*Dick Halloran was awesome, IMHO. He also had to do a lot of things right. He had good facial expressions. And I thought the SHINE on his bald head was pretty funny.

[khicks26]

That's a very good view of it, Khicks. I agree with most everything you say:

1) Jack as a failed writer. Note the references to his job history: former school-teacher, shoveling driveways, working at car-washes. Really, who was this guy?

2) Unless there's some hidden angle in the film, yes, Jack is abusive. Note the scene with the wife and the therapist. Wendy basically admits that Jack separated the boy's shoulder.

3) The Playgirl is just crazy. Kubrick is so blatantly presenting this guy's troubles.

I really liked the casting/acting of the main characters:
*Wendy was sometimes mocked for her crazy facial expressions. I thought she was terrific, and it took a lot of work to look like that. Also, the actress might be viewed as not having classic good looks. As if that's the wife that Jack had to settle for.
*Dick Halloran was awesome, IMHO. He also had to do a lot of things right. He had good facial expressions. And I thought the SHINE on his bald head was pretty funny.

Yes, the actors were great, as well as Kubrick. The movie is a total mind fuk for sure.


Sometimes my wife still to this day says Red Rum. LOL

[khicks26]

If you haven't seen it yet another Kubrick great is Eye's Wide Shut. The only Tom Cruse movie I can stand to watch.

[edawg]

Great movie. Believe Jack doesn't go crazy right from the start he planned on murdering his family.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Yes, the actors were great, as well as Kubrick. The movie is a total mind fuk for sure.


Sometimes my wife still to this day says Red Rum. LOL

1) There's a ton of analysis on this movie. It literally could go on ad infinitum. A lot to digest.

2) I hope you have a good interaction with her. Might be time to think twice if she axes the bathroom door.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Great movie. Believe Jack doesn't go crazy right from the start he planned on murdering his family.

See Jack's very strange work history. Signing up as the Caretaker, so he can work on his writing. As if he's some established writer.

One school of thought is that he starts writing his novel. And Jack the writer creates the story of Jack the ax-murderer. As you say, great movie...for a variety of reasons.

[stevenash]

If you haven't seen it yet another Kubrick great is Eye's Wide Shut. The only Tom Cruse movie I can stand to watch.

I'm in the camp of people that say Kubrick was the GOAT director..
His resume includes multiple all time epic movies.
2001, Clockwork Orange, and on and on and on..

[OldBill]

this proves that jack nicholosn can even be funny in a horror movie

Wendy i dont want to kill you i just wanna bash your brains in

[stevenash]

Thing with Hack, and Pacino, and Hanks...
They all starred in movies with great script writing.

Great writers make great actors, not the other way around.

It's all about the writing.

[VeggieDog]

I would do 1980 Shelley Duvall any time, any place. In 2016 she announced she's mentally ill, so that means I would do her now, too.

[stevenash]

^
Too funny.

[hehfest]

Kubrick played a huge role in the fake moon landing too. He all but admitted this, but one has to read between many lines. Hence, he directed the fake moon landing.

[jim]

the writer was based on stephen king himself, when he was struggling before hitting it big. he could see somebody in his position fantasizing about murdering his family due to responsibility pressure.

[jim]

as the final shot and the job interview illustrate, the hotel already has a murderous past, and perfect fit for jack to rid himself of a wife he doesn't love and a kid he can't stand.

[khicks26]

1) there's a ton of analysis on this movie. It literally could go on ad infinitum. A lot to digest.

2) i hope you have a good interaction with her. Might be time to think twice if she axes the bathroom door.

lmao to funny.

[jim]

Kubrick played a huge role in the fake moon landing too. He all but admitted this, but one has to read between many lines. Hence, he directed the fake moon landing.

Kubrick had fun with this, dressing Danny in a Apollo 11 sweater a couple of times

[ChuckyTheGoat]

as the final shot and the job interview illustrate, the hotel already has a murderous past, and perfect fit for jack to rid himself of a wife he doesn't love and a kid he can't stand.

Yes, Jim. I'm actually cautious about writing too much about this. Once I get started, it could go "forever and ever."

There are some themes Kubrick is presenting for sure. You hit on the makeup of the family:
*From the outside looking in, it might APPEAR like an average family. But it is sure ain't perfect...and that's BEFORE they get to the hotel.

IMHO, Shelly Duvall was the perfect selection as Wendy. Her next role was Olive Oyl, and she had that tallish less than classic look. I mean, she was good looking...but she also had the skeleton that was perfect for the freak-out facial expressions.

I'll say a few more things about Shelly. More than any other character, Kubrick harped on her. She had to personify a woman going mad...and she did. She did interviews where she talked about how hard they worked on the set. In reality, that movie aged her ten years in one calendar year.

The Jack Torrance character was interesting. If the movie was tough on Shelly, I'd say it was (relatively) EASY on Jack Nicholson. I mean, he's playing HIMSELF, right? A classic Joker-grin in the meeting with Ullman. Bursts of insanity when called upon. That's him!

And shout-out to the young boy. How many five year-olds could pull that off? He was perfect. I thought the "love-story" between Wendy/Danny was the redeeming element of the story.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Kubrick played a huge role in the fake moon landing too. He all but admitted this, but one has to read between many lines. Hence, he directed the fake moon landing.

Yeah. See Danny's blue "Apollo" sweater.

I'm in the camp of the moon landing being fake. My science understanding says it would have been too hard to hit a "needle in a haystack." Of course, it would take a massive cover-up so I'm not sure.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

I'll make one point about the analysis of this movie. I think one should normally take an internal view of evidence...and not go any further than that.

That's what makes this film was intriguing. You could sit in a theater and enjoy a truly chilling horror flick. What about all the pictures that come across as very small on-screen?

One can't see the picture detail without a magnifying glass. And same for the scrap-book to the right of the type-writer. I would say that Kubrick is involving the audience in this way.

What is in those pictures? And what is in that scrap-book?

The scrap-book is at the Kubrick Archive. Therefore, that's source evidence. It's been said that the scrapbook is filled with stories about US history...so in some way, the movie is a depiction of US history.

[hehfest]

Yeah. See Danny's blue "Apollo" sweater.

I'm in the camp of the moon landing being fake. My science understanding says it would have been too hard to hit a "needle in a haystack." Of course, it would take a massive cover-up so I'm not sure.

I do agree. Lots of lips would've had to stayed sealed because many would have been involved.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Have gone back down the rabbit-hole on "The Shining". There are some good analysis videos on Youtube. Some are hard to argue with.

Don't want to post spoilers. Will just say that there are different ways to watch this movie. Possibly more than any other movie, Kubrick involves the viewer such that the viewer's perspective is key to interpretation.