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Post by Michael West on Sept 11, 2005 21:03:13 GMT -5
 Directed by: Mick Garris Written by: Stephen King (novel and teleplay) Produced by: Stephen King Starring: Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Courtland Mead, and Melvin Van Peebles When I was in 8th grade, I read my first Stephen King novel: The Shining. It scared the hell out of me. The day I finished the book, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film version came to television and I couldn’t wait to sit down and watch it! When the movie ended, however, I remember the anger that I felt. This film had been nothing like the novel I’d fallen in love with. I mean, they changed practically everything! Gone were the spooky topiary animals that came to life, replaced by a hedge maze. We got an axe instead of the roque mallet. They even used a different room number than 217 for the woman in the tub! And Popeye’s Shelley Duvall as Wendy?!?! I wanted to kill her! It took many years for me to embrace Kubrick’s movie for what it was: the director’s story, not Stephen King’s. King himself was never able to accept it. In 1997, he bought back the rights to his tale and told his story his way: an epic, six-hour miniseries. Writer Jack Torrance (Steven Weber) is a down on his luck alcoholic. Through a friend, he gets a job as the winter caretaker at the Overlook hotel. The hotel is high in the mountains and, when the snows come in October, the roads are impassible. Jack’s job will be to maintain the hotel through the long winter and keep an eye on its massive boiler. He also plans to use the time to finish a play that he has been working on. Jack’s wife Wendy (Rebecca De Mornay) is excited about the opportunity, but a little nervous about being cut off from civilization, and their son Danny (Courtland Mead) is frightened out of his mind. You see, Danny has the power to see things—the future, the past…the dead. When the family arrives at the closing Overlook, cook Dick Hallorann (Melvin Van Peebles) realizes the boy has this gift—something he calls “the shining.” He pulls Danny aside and explains that the boy may see things in the hotel, bad things, but that they can’t hurt him. They’re just like pictures in a book. As the snow cuts the family off from the rest of the world, however, it becomes painfully clear that these are more than mere images. The Overlook has a life of its own…and it wants Danny’s power. King’s screenplay isn’t so much an adaptation as it is a translation. All of the memorable moments from the novel are now here and it is a joy to watch them play out. Director Mick Garris does a masterful job of bringing the eerie tone of the novel to life. In the beginning, we are treated to hints of the supernatural: a chair moves, a jukebox plays by itself, shadows frolic in the corner. But by the end of the film, we see the ghosts in all their rotting glory. Make-up Supervisor Bill Corso and his crew won a well-deserved Emmy for their work here. Their greatest achievement: the woman in room 217. When Danny pulls back the shower curtain, and we see her in all her putrid glory, it is a vision worthy of the darkest nightmare. The cast is also top-notch, giving the characters the humanity Kubrick’s film lacked. Weber’s Jack isn’t a madman to be feared. As we see him struggle against his craving for a drink, and watch him deteriorate under the Overlook’s influence, it becomes quite tragic indeed. De Mornay’s Wendy is no mousy victim. She’s a strong-willed mother who will fight for her son’s life no matter what the cost. Van Peebles’ gives Hallorann an aged wisdom and makes the character’s affection for Danny clearly visible in his eyes. And despite his young age, Courtland Mead has to carry many scenes on his own. He gives an incredibly layered performance as Danny. We see his fear, but we also see that he’s a smart kid who knows what the Overlook is and wants to warn his parents of the danger. While Kubrick’s film will forever be etched into the psyche of horror fans (and rightly so), this is The Shining I wanted to see back in 8th grade. The novel was written when Stephen King was still at the top of his game, and the filmmakers have done the master proud. 4 out of 5 stars |
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Post by obliv326 on Sept 12, 2005 0:54:28 GMT -5
hey mike
am i the only one who thinks steven weber on the box looks like anthony michael hall...
i rented this a few months back, for much the same reason you did, and most people, i think. i wanted to see stephen king's version of the film.
i have to recall that i felt like it was sort of an unfair fight, comparing this one to kubrick's...
for one thing, kubrick's film, despite its flaws and shortcomings, does more than a few things right...there are scenes and shots that are legendary in film horor circles, and jack nicholson really set the standard for screen psychos.
i remember thinking tht there were a few scenes of real power...it has been a while, but i recall realy liking a scene where the topiaryseem to attack danny in the snow...and the wasp nest. realy liked that idea also.
unfortunately, i remember thinking that the budget just really failed in the end. the effects were somwhat weak...and hey, mick garris is a sevriceable director, who has done some good work...but he's no stanley kubrick. i thought he let weber get a little over the top on occasion...
plus, stephen weber was really being compared to one of the all time great screen maniacs...it was a tough act to follow, and while he is a very good actor, he just doesnt come woth that sense of menace and foreboding jack was able to conjure up...i mean, remember those nicholson stares into space, where you could just tell something bad was brewing behond those eyes...
i just remember thinking that stephen weber, even with an axe, is just too nice a guy to scare me, really...
but all in all, a nice try. i would really like to hear, at some point, what stephen king has to say about the shining, which he is apparently contractualy forbidden to do...that would be really entertaining.
i have to say, of the king mini series, my favorite is probably the stand...or at least all but the last hour of it. that novel is probably one of the all time greats in terms of creating real, likebale and believable characters in a tough situation.
anyway, my .02
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Post by Michael West on Sept 12, 2005 5:03:45 GMT -5
am i the only one who thinks steven weber on the box looks like anthony michael hall...  Yeah, he does look like Anthony Michael Hall. i have to recall that i felt like it was sort of an unfair fight, comparing this one to kubrick's... for one thing, kubrick's film, despite its flaws and shortcomings, does more than a few things right...there are scenes and shots that are legendary in film horor circles, and jack nicholson really set the standard for screen psychos. I totally agree. Again, I now love Kubrick's film for what it is: Kubrick's film. But back in 8th grade: hated it. i remember thinking tht there were a few scenes of real power...it has been a while, but i recall realy liking a scene where the topiaryseem to attack danny in the snow...and the wasp nest. realy liked that idea also. Yes, the wasp's nest is a great metaphore! unfortunately, i remember thinking that the budget just really failed in the end. the effects were somwhat weak...and hey, mick garris is a sevriceable director, who has done some good work...but he's no stanley kubrick. i thought he let weber get a little over the top on occasion... Yeah, there were shots of the topiaries that were bad cgi, and Weber did get a little out of control toward the end. That's why I took a star away from my rating. but all in all, a nice try. i would really like to hear, at some point, what stephen king has to say about the shining, which he is apparently contractualy forbidden to do...that would be really entertaining. Read King's Dance Macabre. He goes into some detail as to why he thinks Kubrick's version was a failure. (Plus, that book is just a damn good read. Really insiteful look at horror in all its forms.) i have to say, of the king mini series, my favorite is probably the stand...or at least all but the last hour of it. that novel is probably one of the all time greats in terms of creating real, likebale and believable characters in a tough situation. is my favorite novel. Period. The miniseries (again directed by Garris) is one of my favorite adaptations of a novel ever. It just doesn't get any better than that. |
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Post by obliv326 on Sept 13, 2005 5:20:58 GMT -5
The Stand is my favorite novel. Period. The miniseries (again directed by Garris) is one of my favorite adaptations of a novel ever. It just doesn't get any better than that. i have to say i am with you there. i came to the stand late...and by that, i mean after he had already done his "director's cut" of the novel, adding back in, what, an extra thousand pages? still, i have never had such a good feeling from the thick bulk of pages in my left hand, knowing i had that much more time to spend with these characters. the same feeling i got when reading "it"...i loved being around these people so much, it was like getting to hang out with friends and have a nice evening, rather than reading about people who were made up. the descriptions are so full and real that it sticks in your brain as experience, rather than a work of fiction... something, by the way, that is a real strength of our host...(by that i mean you, mike!) and you know, like the stand, i thought it came apart in those last hundred pages or so...oh, well, i guess everything cant wrap up as tidy as dead zone or salems lot... |
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Post by Born of Darkness on Sept 18, 2005 13:45:56 GMT -5
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Post by obliv326 on Sept 24, 2005 7:45:23 GMT -5
yes. we have impressed this upon our young master of horror and suspense. i hope he listens...
mike can really etch some real people. i love to see what he doe in the time when horror is not ensue, but just watching their lives unfold.
you know, it takes a great writer to really scare people. it takes an even greater writer to make us care about the characters who were being scared. thats where mikes talent lies. he does both.
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