The movie The Shining was excellently produced, written, and directed, with exemplary actors. The producer, writer, and director, Stanley Kubrick, has a clear vision of what he wants the movie to be about, how it should look, and how it should feel. He then executes this near flawlessly, with only a few moments containing imperfection.
The casted actors are great, with the mother portrayed as caring but weary of the hotel, and her husband, the father shown as seeming normal, though possibly a little bit off putting. Eventually he changes drastically, losing his mind. The child actor is in my opinion one of, if not the best casting choices, doing surprisingly well for portraying an extraordinary child who's hiding his gift, and he does extremely well during the more intense parts of the film, such as when he acts possessed. He changes his voice and seems unfocused.
The technical aspects of film making are well executed too. The camera is only shaky during scenes where it helps empower the mood, or during air shots such as a birds-eye view of a car. The special effects are used sparsely, but well, such as blood, ice, and more. The musical score immensely affects the mood, and the sound rarely glitches or seems off, and the editing is sometimes a little choppy but on par for when the movie came out.
The story is based around a father who accepts a job taking care of the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado mountains over the winter so he can write a novel. It closes due to roads not being passable, so they are isolated, and practically trapped. He has been told that one of the previous caretakers went mad and murdered his family, but this doesn’t faze him. He still brings his wife and young son to live with him. However, not everyone and everything are as they seem.
The mother, named Wendy, played by Shelly Duval, does a great job of playing a convincing role. She expresses all fear and emotions as if what was happening was true. The father, Jack, played by Jack Nicholson, embraces the role, making it seem as if he is truly losing his mind. The child, Danny, played by Danny Lloyd, is an extraordinary child actor. He has an imaginary friend, Tony, who seems to voice the boy’s visions. There’s also another prominent character, the chef, Dick, played by Scatman Crowthers. He does a great job acting, and his character explains to Danny his gift that they share, which he calls shining. Shining is the ability to mentally see the past and future of places and communicate with others. He attempts to mentor Danny as much as he can.
The story is paced slowly at first, but speeds up dramatically during the last 20 minutes or so. This pacing creates tension through dramatic irony and suspense, as you know something is going to happen, but nothing does for a while, or only small things that are out of the ordinary but nothing too horrifying.
The writing of the movie, though terrific, isn’t too much of a feat, since the movie is based on a book by Stephen King of the same name. The writing interprets this book, so it is not original. However, this interpretation is great, making it Kubrick's own work.
Overall, the movie is excellent horror, though it’s slow at first. The buildup allows eerie things to occur, showing a mental spiral of the father into insanity as more and more happens, then climaxing and all the suspense is released and replaced with action, furthering the horror. It’s a great movie but won’t be as enjoyable to those who prefer fast paced, thrilling horror compared to a slow, psychological horror.
| Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
DVD
February 2, 2010 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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| $4.01 | $2.97 |
|
DVD
June 12, 2001 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $8.35 | $2.19 |
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Reviews with images
Includes 4K UHD and Blu-Ray discs (no digital copy)
Fantastic film and excellent transfer. I was glad it also included the regular non-4K Blu-Ray disc because it does not mention it on the front cover. I’ve posted a picture of the back cover. Unless you need a digital copy, this is a great buy!
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Gilbert Faes
Aankoop The Shining 1 ( Blu-ray )
Reviewed in Belgium on March 20, 2024