Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition)
by Mick Garris
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Courtland Mead, Melvan Van Peebles, Rebecca De Mornay, Steven Weber, Wil HorneffDirector: Mick Garris
Brand: N/A
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 273 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-01-07
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition)
Movie Review: An Essential King novel adaptation
Summary: 5 Stars
I read the book, but have not seen the Kubrick version in its entirety. Still, I think this is a great adaptation of the book and perhaps a landmark in made-for-television horror. That may not float well with some, but TV sometimes does horror better than feature films since it doesn't over rely on gore for cheap thrills.
Val Lewton who produced horror films in the '40s said that a good horror movie should have a worthy drama beyond the horror elements of the story and Stephen King I think knows that. Feature films are practically in love with cheap thrills. They have been since the late seventies. So it is kind of interesting that Hollywood keeps going back to King for original horror material. I think it is because of the human drama inside of the horror story that King continually delivers.
His characters are often alcoholics, writers, and vulnerable people visiting rural areas wrestling with their personal demons...and suddenly encountering very real ones.
The thing I notice most about King's stories is that they grip you with a sense of true dread. A book doesn't scare you like a movie. A book needs that sense of sustained dread. A movie relies on guys jumping out of the shadows more, and once you get over that then a guy simply jumps out of another shadow.
So let's talk about The Shinning. This was a three part mini-series on TV starring Steven Webber, Rebecca DeMornay, and the little boy Courtland Mead (and enough criticizing the kid's acting people. He does a fine job).
As you probably know, Jack Torrance (Weber) is a recovering alchoholic hired as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, a huge remote vacation spot that closes in the winter. He takes his wife and son with him thinking this job will help him rebuild his life after being fired from a teaching job. But the deserted hotel is obviously not really deserted. The ghosts of mob hitmen, bartenders, bitter lovers, and other dark entities are there. When Jack's son, Danny (Mead), enters the hotel he's like a lightning rod because he has the Shinning. He has an invisible friend named Tony who tells him the future and he can see the ghosts. At first he is lead to believe they are like "pictures in a book" that cannot truly hurt him...but he finds out that his presence at the Overlook has changed that.
But Jack is the weak spot that the ghosts know they can use to get Danny. He's vulnerable. Wendy Torrance (DeMornay, still looking as hot as she did in Risky Business) wants Jack to succeed but he's hurt her emotionally, and their son Danny physically...once, when he was drinking and he's been remorseful about it ever since.
This dysfunctional family unit wins our sympathy immediately. Something I think was a weakness of the Kubrick version (from what I've seen of it). This is a likeable group, an attractive couple and their innocent son, facing that horrific King dread I was talking about and doing it all on their own.
Perhaps the one dissapointment in this film (and it is a minor one) are the hedge animals that come to life. I didn't find them the least bit scary. Not nearly as scary as the "217 lady." Certainly Steven Weber's performance is chilling as the "manager" of the Overlook gains more and more control over him. I found the acting to be excellent across the board. Actors in horror movies sell the scares even more than the special effects.
So there we have it. An excellent horror mini-series that I think is one of (if not the best) King adaption I've seen on TV and can hold it's own against many a feature film. Are you waiting for me to say it's better than Kubrick's? If I get around to seeing Kubrick's version I'll let you know, but I like this one a whole lot and I can see how it is faithful to the original story.
Summary of Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition)
The psychic powers of a young boy bring out the evil in an old hotel and drive his father insane, to the point that the father tries to murder everyone with an ax.Genre: Horror
Rating: R
Release Date: 4-OCT-2005
Media Type: DVD
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