Movies News Talk
A masterwork of film, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is evidence of his visionary genius. Though it is based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, Kubrick's film deviates greatly from the source material, producing an eerie and unforgettable experience that in many respects transcends the original. The reasons Kubrick's The Shining is maybe a better piece of art than King's book are investigated in this paper.
Kubrick's genius resides in his ability to visually spectacularly and psychologically hauntingly bring King's novel's horrors to life. Unmatched in the book, the film's use of long views, well crafted shots, and eerie images generates a suspenseful and terrifying environment. Long after the credits have rolled, viewers will still be imprinted with the famous sequences of Jack Torrance's plunge into madness, including the blood-soaked elevator and the horrific bathroom scene. Though good in its own right, the book lacks the emotional resonance and visceral impact of Kubrick's visual storytelling.
While Kubrick's film explores Jack Torrance's psychology, King's book offers insights into his slide into lunacy. Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack lets the viewers grasp the complexity of the character's inner conflicts by both eerie and sympathetic approach. In a manner King's book does not, Kubrick's film investigates the ideas of solitude, alcoholism, and the destructive nature of suppressed rage. Jack's metamorphosis is shown in the movie as a slow, agonizing process, thus his final violence has more effect.
Kubrick's The Shining is a psychological thriller with a metaphor for the human mind—the Overlook Hotel—rather than only a horror movie. The hotel's large and winding hallways, crumbling grandeur, and disturbing presence induce claustrophobia and paranoia. Kubrick's use of distorted viewpoints and wide-angle lenses highlights even more the hotel's repressive character, so transforming it into a living, breathing entity that consumes the aspirations and worries of the people. While in King's book the Overlook Hotel represents evil more symbolically, in Kubrick's film it becomes a physical manifestation of the characters' inner demons.
Kubrick's The Shining's dubious ending is among the most hotly contested feature. The movie forces viewers to consider the nature of reality and the power of the human mind, so generating more questions than answers. Although King's book offers a more certain ending, Kubrick's decision to let the ending to be interpreted adds psychological depth and complexity to the movie. Jack frozen in the snow in the last scene of the movie begs viewers to consider the actual nature of his destiny and the long-lasting effects the Overlook Hotel had on his soul.