You wouldn't believe what Clint Eastwood thought about Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining!" The legendary director wasn't a fan of the 1980 horror classic and called it "a giant failure!" Even Stephen King, the author of the book, had issues with the movie but Eastwood's reaction is way more intense!
Eastwood vs. Kubrick's The Shining
Back in the day, every big director had to try their hand at bringing a Stephen King story to life. Think about how John Carpenter made "Christine", David Cronenberg brought "The Dead Zone" to theaters. and even George A. Romero who was a part of "Creepshow." What made it unusual was Stanley Kubrick chose a Stephen King novel to make as well. The director of masterpieces like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange" wasn't a fan of these typical horror plots but tried it anyway!
He wanted to make something that would earn lots of cash as he was super disappointed in his historical movie "Barry Lyndon". What did he choose? The iconic novel called "The Shining!" and what was born, is considered one of the greatest horror films of all time. But, when it first arrived, it got a very mixed reception.
Critics and even audiences had major doubts! Box office totals were quite disappointing considering its $48 million budget (Box Office Mojo). What also makes it strange is that almost everyone thinks of "The Shining" as being such a classic now and almost everyone considers Jack Nicholson's character iconic!
Eastwood's Harsh Critique
What's most shocking? The author of "The Shining" himself, Stephen King had quite a few issues about how Kubrick made his movie but his comments are mild compared to Clint Eastwood's!
Eastwood was at a Warner Bros screening of "The Shining". and told Paul Nelson about just what he felt in an interview for "Conversations With Clint." His view: the movie was an absolute failure.
He continued to discuss just how he felt! According to Eastwood, none of the scary parts worked and the whole point was to scare viewers.
Here's more! The big names and "old pros" involved were super stiff and some of that really has to do with Kubrick doing dozens of takes which gave them that energy that was just missing. Too many takes meant repetitive footage, like too many Steadicam shots and these weren't scary and only led to a lack of emotion!
Eastwood Mirrors Initial Reception
What’s fascinating is that if you look back on those days "The Shining" received such a varied, unique response. Today "The Shining" tops charts for scariest movies ever but it didn't feel that way in 1980.
What was interesting was how much agreement there was, Easwood voiced that his thoughts about what made the movie un-enjoyable. But Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael were major critics too and expressed their same ideas about how the film was un-scary! But, these criticisms seem tame when compared to Eastwood! It was actually Jack Nicholson acting that made many audiences believe that he wasn't scary but insane and over-the-top from the start. The Shining truly was not able to be understood, critically and artistically until audiences could view the movie multiple times.
Eastwood's Parody of The Shining
Even movie posters get a critical eye from legendary filmmakers and it turns out that even Kubrick himself was very into ensuring every element was a true work of art. It shows his extreme care about design in his amazing collaboration with the talented Saul Bass. What made their partnership so compelling is that they ended up with around 300 versions for the movie poster for "The Shining." Even the movie's poster has its very own drama, with its famous tag line "A MASTERPIECE OF MODERN HORROR" right at the top!
Eastwood has had the time and now that we can reflect back on Kubrick's confidence to call the film what he did! The Warner Bros execs, according to Eastwood, tried to convince Kubrick to not do that and hold back. What does that bring out for Eastwood? Well he brings up a funny parallel: that he thought about calling one of his 1980 movies, Any Which Way You Can a "masterpiece" as well! Though he used it as more of a joke. it would have really worked if this slogan appeared on Eastwood poster!
Eastwood vs. King
Most fans of the horror genre have this one thing in common - they understand that Kubrick's The Shining was both epic, scary and incredibly bad in adapting King's novel. The book is so close to home for the author! As he had gone through serious experiences including raising a family and personal battles against addiction!
What made this movie even more important for King? That it could lead him to creating a much more faithful miniseries, one he really enjoyed making after how unhappy he was with what Kubrick delivered. King has had so many interviews about this iconic horror movie and that gave a lot more insight.
It was the great TCM documentary A Night at the Movies, that was super informative, where King spoke about this film and brought even more perspective about it. King liked the visual elements and even gave his respects to Danny Lloyd's incredible performance.
Mike Flanagan's Doctor Sleep (which came out in 2019) took a huge risk - giving us a combination of both Kubrick's and King's versions and to everyone's surprise this came off really well. What was so amazing? King actually told Flanagan he loved the movie, suggesting that this fixed things and may even change what the film might become!
Eastwood's Critique Was Valid
Even if there is a major difference in styles between the great directors such as Clint Eastwood and Stanley Kubrick that means there's also room for different interpretations.
What was a shock is the fact that Scatman Crothers played Dick Hallorann in "The Shining" and also had a role in Eastwood's Bronco Billy. There is some talk that Crothers might have even cried after Eastwood had found he got the exact take he needed during filming and this was completely attributed to Crothers' surprise, as he was used to hundreds of takes from his time with Kubrick!
Even if Eastwood's words for Kubrick's The Shining are tough, the director’s comments on how the "movie didn't work" from filming to its set designs are valid! You see, Kubrick is a legend and created those types of decisions deliberately and some might call them some serious choices!
But for Eastwood those elements could have potentially killed the film which may ultimately create some interesting insights that fans will love to analyze. In conclusion, these comments are still relevant in many discussions today!
