The Shining, From Sane to INsane

[Bob Gray]

Originally Posted by Angra

Terrible acting? By whom?

Thought the actors did really well in the remake. Not their fault Stephen King doesn't know how to make movies.

Courtland Meade, Rebecca De Mornay, Melvin Van Peebles, in fact let's just say the whole cast with the exception of Steven Weber, he was the only one that was tolerable. I'm sure Mr. King wrote a fine screenplay that was screwed up by bad acting.

[Angra]

Originally Posted by Bob Gray

I'm sure Mr. King wrote a fine screenplay that was screwed up by bad acting.

I believe it's the other way around.

The mini series was "ruined" (honestly didn't think it was a bad watch. Just a bad horror movie) by people who only knew how to make scary scenes in book form. What we got instead was a lot of dialogue spread throughout 4+ hours, which is typical King.

[Bob Gray]

Originally Posted by Angra

I believe it's the other way around.

The mini series was "ruined" (honestly didn't think it was a bad watch. Just a bad horror movie) by people who only knew how to make scary scenes in book form. What we got instead was a lot of dialogue spread throughout 4+ hours, which is typical King.

Nope, not the other way around, bad acting is all there is to it.

[NormanBates]

Jack Torrence was possessed by the Overlook. Kubrick added a strange psychological element to the characters. There was a hierarchy of crazy in the family. He made Jack Torrence insane. He also made the boy crazy. Danny talked to his pinky. The mom was one of those creepy pessimistic parents; "oh isn't it cute our son talking to imaginary friends." Jack Nicholson plays a brilliant crazy. He was great in One flew over the cuckoo's nest, too. I can't imagine The Shining without Jack Nicholson. He's an amazing actor.

[ＧＬＩＴＣＨ エラー]

***WORK IN PROGRESS***

Any true fan of horror that's worth their weight has undoubtedly seen Stanley Kubrick's stunning masterpiece The Shining, or have at least read the original novel by Stephen King. But how many of these fans have really taken a good, hard look at this film? It is apparent that the director, Kubrick, has packed, and I mean packed the entire movie with codes, secrets, symbolism, allegory and allusions, and many other things related to film psychology such as spatial awareness and set design, use of certain colors, etc. This thread's main purpose is to dive into the visual masterpiece that is Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, and the many many theories surrounding it.

For starters, let us understand the amount of analysis this film has undergone by listing the major theories and themes surrounding it and embedded within it.


1. Stanley's involvement in The Apollo Moon Landing Hoax
This is arguably the largest, most known, and most supported theory in regards to the film. At first skeptical, after some serious investigation the message becomes blatantly obvious at a plethora of points throughout the course of the movie. It is said that Kubrick, being "the most meticulous of film directors known to man", was not only a part of the Apollo 11 moon landing hoax, but he directed the whole thing to success under his genius.

2. The Holocaust
Another major and well-known theory, Kubrick appears to reference the Holocaust and Hitler's Nazi regimen several times in this film. We'll get to that later.

3. The genocide of Native Americans
A similar and less popular yet still supported theory is Kubrick addressing the genocide of the Native American peoples in America's early history. Both this theory and the Holocaust theory both tie in exceptionally well with the next.

4. History repeating itself
A common theme for many works of art and literature, it seems the past cannot escape itself. History is fated to repeat itself. This theory may be the least well supported, but retains solid evidence from the movie to back it up, so we will explore this as well.
5. Sexual abuse

6. Numbers Theories

The final of the Sinister Six, as I like to call them, is the plethora of not-so-innocuous numbers that appear all throughout the film, many that are appear to be very significant not only to the film and its plot as a whole, but to the other main theories as well. This theory has perhaps the second largest amount of evidence, as numbers are truly ubiquitous in this film, but is also perhaps the most far-fetched of the group, as numbers can also be seen as just numbers. Perhaps the viewers are reading too far into things?

[Gentle shade]

The Shining is about decent into madness. It ends with a certain someone frozen like a popsicle. Maybe it's about a journey into hell or purgatory. As soon as I get some time I'm write a "thought-provoking" review someday.

This masterpiece is like an old friend. Scary horror movies are more like your crazy uncle! Both are entertaining to spend an evening with though.

[pickin_grinnin]

I love Kubrick's version. I really can't stand King's writing style in general, so I was glad that they went a different direction with it. I didn't care for the miniseries, probably because the dialogue sounded too much like King's writing style.

[Damn Heathen]

I can't say the plot of The Shining sequel has me enthralled.

[LittleItalian91]

Originally Posted by THE VAMPIRE

I have wated so much to watch this movie and now when i did,I DONT FIND IT SCARY,why

This Film isn't suitable to scare. It is beautiful because it is particular and the characters are incredible. Jack Nicholson is one of the best actor in the world and he is suitable for this character. It is a colossal of the horror movies.

[tfantasy]

Originally Posted by colubrid660

It's certainly a creepy movie. Watch it during the winter when no one is home sometime, and pay attention to the atmosphere and the environment.

Nowadays, people make the mistake of thinking a movie has to be like 'Saw" or "Hostel" to be scary, that the torturing and gore has to start in the first 30 minutes or it's "boring". Ah such is life.....

I could not agree with you more! I don't feel that killing and gore is what makes a movie scary, I think it's the whole "creepy" effect that makes a movie actually make your skin crawl or give you the chills.

Examples:
The Exorcist
The Shining
The Ring
The Grudge
etc, etc, etc.

I think that when you're able to become a part of the movie and you can connect with the character(s), then you will most likely feel the scare factor that the movie is meant to produce.