Kubrick's The Shining

[thatpfunk]

I believe he had a "gift" as well, but nothing compared to the boy. And I suppose it was more telepathy- He only knew something was very wrong at the hotel, no specifics. Therefore, in the movie, it makes some sense that he doesn't know Jack is there to chop him up.

It is pretty [censored] stupid of him, however, to go cruising in, calling out loud, oblivious, when you know [censored] is hitting the fan.

[Blarg]

Yup, and it was a stupid, wasteful cheat, and a ton of unnecessary padding, for Kubrick to waste our time and bog down the film like that.

It was kind of like telling the audience he hated them.

[jb9]

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it doesn't hold a candle to films like The Haunting, The Exorcist, Theater of Blood, Diary of a Madman, House of Dark Shadows, The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Nosferatu, etc. etc.

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Of those, I've only seen The Haunting and The Exorcist (so obviously I'm not super-well-versed in horror films...). The Haunting (the original) and The Exorcist are both great and I would say they compare favorably to The Shining, but I think "atmosphere" is something I rate more highly than others when judging a horror film.

The visuals in the Shining are simply fantastic.

[Blarg]

I agree on atmosphere, and give some huge points to The Shining on it. The Overlook was made to look really creepy and closed in even while being huge. The long, empty corridors, the many low to the ground Steadicam shots as the kid is racing his Big Wheel through the them, tbe red dementia of the bar, were just great.

The scene where the kid is playing alone and the ball comes rolling up to him, and he looks up -- and of course there was no one there to throw it, and the scene where Wendy discovers his pages typed with endless rearrangements of "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" were fantastic and very scary, and two of my favorite scenes in any horror movie.

The Shining, like most horror flicks, has many great moments even though it doesn't hold together well as a film or have a solid throughline of story and tension. Horror fans are willing to accept a lot of flaws to get to those good moments or feel the vibe of really good atmosphere. The best moments of horror movies can be so good that we're very forgiving about the padding and bungling between them.

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My dream cast for a Shining remake (answering my own question):

Norton or Spacey
Jodie Foster (can't really think of a female at the moment)
Any kid, but they'd probably change it to a girl and cast Dakota Fanning

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You talking about Edward Norton as Jack Torrence? That would really, really work. Especially after seeing him in Amer Hist X. Jodie Foster would also be a good choice.

[bravos1]

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Movies as good as the book:

Silence of the Lambs


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NO WAY! The movie was good.. err make that great, BUT the movie was not nearly as good as the book. With all of that said, Silence of the Lambs is definately one of the best movies in comparison to the book.

[someday]

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I didn't read the book, so I can't answer the question in relation to that, but the movie is a masterpiece.

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