STACK #201 Jul 2021

FEATURE EXTRAS

civilisation by snow drifts. The Overlook’s manager warns Jack that a previous caretaker had struggled with the hotel’s solitude, resulting in him suffering cabin-fever. Consequently, it led him to killing his wife and two daughters and then himself. Jack appears to be unperturbed by the story. As the weeks progress, the Torrance family experience strange chilling visions – especially Danny, who has “the shining” (clairvoyant psychic abilities). In a jaw-dropping tracking shot of the youngster negotiating the hotel’s corridors on his tricycle, Danny catches glimpses of the bloody murders that had occurred in the hotel, including the previous caretaker’s two dead daughters who invite him to play “forever”. He also has a dread of room 237. TRIVIA: The hotel used for the exterior shots for the film was the Timberline Lodge sited on Mount Hood, Oregon. The management became fearful that guests would never want to stay in Room 217 (as specified in King’s book) after being featured in a horror movie, so they requested that the room number in the movie be changed. Kubrick accommodated the manager’s request and changed the script to the non-existent room 237.

THE SHINING (1980) Directed by Stanley Kubrick

T he Shining is a rare film full of anomalies. For 40 years dozens of authors, hundreds of fans and film historians, alongside serious academic studies, have attempted to interpret Stanley Kubrick’s classic horror film.

to have a nightcap in the bar. Bidding the lone barman goodnight, King explored the hotel’s long empty corridors on the way to his room. The eerie silence of the empty hotel gave him the idea that this was the perfect setting for a ghost story. Stanley Kubrick’s film version is very different to

Meanwhile, Jack is struggling with writer’s block and becomes increasingly withdrawn, yet seems to accept that the hotel and its ghostly occupants know him personally. Thus begins his slow descent Jack becomes more violent and abusive, Wendy realises that she and Danny are now in grave danger. Kubrick’s movie is certainly into madness. As tensions rise and

Subsequently, it is arguably the most scrutinised movie in the history of cinema. The anomalies begin with the opening scene, featuring sweeping aerial shots tracking a tiny yellow Volkswagen Beetle dwarfed by a rugged landscape. Whilst following the car’s journey, the film’s credits begin and unusually roll-up from the bottom of the screen to the top, which is the standard format for a film’s end credits. The film’s final scene has the camera

The opening scene of The Shining

King’s book (the author hated the film), albeit the premise and outline is essentially the same. Recovering alcoholic writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and young son Danny (Danny Lloyd) to live in the Overlook Hotel in Colorado. Torrance has

Danny encounters the two “dead “ daughters of a previous caretaker

JackTorrance descends into madness

been hired as the off-season caretaker during the winter months when it's closed and cut off from the rest of

tracking through the Overlook Hotel lobby whilst the old melody Midnight, the Stars and You plays

somewhere in the distance. The camera now zeroes in on a monochrome photograph hanging on the wall. It cuts to a close-up that shows dozens of smiling partygoers, and standing front and centre is a grinning Jack Torrance. At the bottom of the photograph an inscription reads, "Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball 1921." How is it possible that the film’s 40-year-old central character is appearing in a 60-year-old photograph? The Shining was adapted from Stephen King’s 1977 novel, which he was inspired to write after staying one night at the old Stanley Hotel in Colorado. King and his wife

The film’s final shot of the mysterious 1921 photograph in which JackTorrance appears front and centre

a conundrum, leaving the audience not quite knowing what is real, envisioned or supernatural. Is it just about a dysfunctional family’s domestic disintegration due to the extreme isolation? Is Jack suffering from alcohol induced-psychosis brought on by writer’s block, or did he intend to kill his family even before they checked into the hotel? Does the hotel have the power to summon reincarnated visions of its past guests and employees? Does the film’s puzzling narrative – which is riddled with peculiarities and irregularities – contain hidden messages? No doubt the uncertainty about what is actually happening throughout the running time has probably helped elevate The Shining to cult status,

and today it is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest horror films ever made.

were the only guests, as it was set to close for the winter season the next day. After eating dinner by themselves in the vast dining room, King’s wife retired to their room (Number 217) leaving King

Join STACK ‘s resident filmhistorian Bob J and our community of cinema buffs to have your say eachmonth in ‘ Bob J‘s Classic Movie Club ‘ Facebook group.

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