The Shining (1997 Mini-Series)

[hello,danny]

Originally posted by ItsAlive75
I'm gonna go make a movie based on the Bible, but in MY movie Jesus is a nazi and he fights an army of talking bears.

LMAO! I would SOOOO pay $7.00 to see that! I would even stock up on pricy movie theatre snack-idge.

[Haunted]

I like both of them for different reasons. The kat playing Jack in the mini series (I apologize for not remembering his name) was a more to the story type "Jack." Nicolson, like Dr. Faustus said started off loopy. So that nuance is sort of interesting to look at from the story's perspective.

I love Shelley Duvall for some strange reason, but Wendy wasn't that much of a pussy in the book, right? Rebecca DeMorney made a great Wendy. However, Shelley Duvall captured the terror of being a million miles from nowhere in a driving blizzard, whilest her husband is slowly being absorbed in this living, pulsing, evil chalet.

The two boys playing Danny have no comparisson. I'll take Kubric's Danny for a thousand.

Now, when you get into mood... There again, no comparrison. Kubrick captured the total evil of the Overlook Hotel. He used silence, visuals, and corner shots to convey a very very sinister place and time. For instance, the twins. No, they weren't in the book, but Lady were they fucking creepy. Nice touch.

The only thing about Kubrick's version that really disapointed me was the death of Dick Halloran. He was such a cool character, and the observant reader will note that he also makes a cameo in It. (If you didn't catch him, reread the story about The Black Spot).


One last thing. Seeing Rebecca DeMorney in a neglige, was very nice.;)

[PR3SSUR3]

This is surprisingly good, and as has been mentioned a more faithful adaptation of King's book. Steven Weber made an interesting Jack Torrence and Rebecca DeMornay a more stablised Wendy (than jittery Duvall), though I have some reservations about the kid who was perhaps just a bit too odd and wooden for comfort. The topiary animals should never have been seen moving of course, though fortunately CGI wasn't too intrusive throughout, and the model work wasn't bad either.

Also discussed here is the book vs film debate, with the oft quoted 'they are two different mediums' as a dismissive conclusion. However, perhaps the point being made when somebody compares a book to its film is the level of enjoyment and, more specifically, involvement gained from each telling of the story.

So smart arses can bang on all they like about reading words and forming mental images being different to watching moving pictures and listening to sound, but as Garris' The Shining perfectly illustrates, the subtleties required to make this kind of ghost story work are often more satisfying than the sometimes crude and harsh attractions central to the likes of Kubrick's adaptation. Not to say his version isn't quite effective, but as a telling of a story about a haunted hotel it lags behind King's book and Garris' miniseries.

[SKOOFx]

Its 100% more true to the book.

If you read the book, you will like this much more than kubrick.

In kubrick the son and and mother were annoying as hell.



im going to go against the grain and say that the mini series destroys the original.

YES PEOPLE. IT IS POSSIBLE.

[Burning in Hell]

I saw the series back when it first aired (haven't see it since and don't plan on doing so), and I remember finding it pretty lame compared to Kubrick's version. I had also read the book, but I thought that Stephen King did a very poor job at conveying the great sense of suspense and anticipation it had, with perhaps the exception of the "attack" of the bush animals.

And I just positively HATED that annoying kid!!!

[PR3SSUR3]

Do you mean he failed at writing his own book, or the teleplay for the miniseries?

In the case of the topiary animals, it was really up to the director and special effects department to realise these successfully (which they were, until they were filmed 'moving' which was not a good decision).

Kubricks re-imagining of the story was faster and more furious, and would suit the adult cinema screen more than this miniseries - which was a pleasant and occasionally scary four and a half hours.