I still have a pretty big list to go through before I'll be able to watch those, so it might take some time!
Printable View
I still have a pretty big list to go through before I'll be able to watch those, so it might take some time!
Totally agree. I did watch The Shining for the 1st time tripping on acid though, and it was fucking great! :2thumbs:Quote:
Originally Posted by hacknslash
I found The Shining to be one of the most overrated horror classics. I don't know whether it was Kubrick's decision or Jack Nicholson's (given Kubrick's megalomania, I'm guessing it was his), but playing Jack Torrance that way was pointless. He's a threatening, unpleasant character from the start, when he's supposed to be normal. So there is no sense of horror associated with discovering you're locked in close quarters with a lunatic, because Shelley Duvall is the only person who doesn't already know that her husband is a deeply dangerous man. It undercuts the effect of the hotel, because from the start you're just waiting for Nicholson to go insane. Zero character progress or development. Shelley Duvall is irritating, although she's got an uphill task trying to portray a woman who for some reason doesn't know her husband is a wacko. Individual scenes function well, but as usual, Kubrick focuses to getting the minutiae absolutely right and fails to address the major issues of plot and character. "Here's Johnny!" doesn't make a movie by itself.
I wouldn't go that far. When describing Jack's character, she said that he made a lot of progress. He stopped drinking and taking it out on his son. She probably thought of his mood swings as him dealing with being sober. I also wouldn't entirely call him a wacko from the start. The opening conversation that Jack has with those people makes him seem to be a relatively normal person. He does act a little funny in the car, but he just looks annoyed by his wife and son. Shitty father, yeah, but I wouldn't call him a wacko from the get go.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tragicallyhip
Didn't the novel describe Jack as having alcoholism before going to the hotel? So he already had issues.. the hotel just brought it out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tragicallyhip
The only real difference is that in the novel Jack was redeemed in the end but in the movie he was consumed by madness.
I love The Shining, an all time favorite. First time I ever took shrooms, I watched it and fucking loved it.
The theories in Room 236 borderline on insane... but it is a fascinating movie.
What theories do you think are most 'insane'?Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkgod
That the movie was an apology to the American Indians.
Kubrick is a very visual director, but his camera trickery in the Shining is no different from his other movies. The classic camera zoom shots and angle shots are him doing what he normally does.
Upon further investigation after watching some youtube videos on the Shining and the Overlook Hotel I believe the theories are pretty bizarre and far out there. I have seen explanations of the Apollo mission, the American Indian reservations, and haunted room 237. It eventually reaches to a point where it is straw-grasping.
"Apology". Strange choice of words. Very strange. :shrugs:Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkgod
What did you think of the theories.
I thought they were interesting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darkgod
I did too.. but some are pretty out there. The rug looking like the shuttle platforms, the movie supposed to be played backwards and forwards at the same time. I dug to the documentary and love the fact that some people are analyzing the movie big time. But I think they are also making it out bigger then it is. The story itself is full of so much that I don't think Kubrik would try to add anything major.
It helps to understand Kubrick's movies if you read about all the theories.
Only if you believe in the theories.
You don't have to believe in the theories. Just like you don't have to believe in the theories that are often promoted as the 'truth'.
I find alternative theories more compelling.