The Shining Movies: Which is better?

[DeeEisel]

I know that the second version of The Shining was more closely adapted to the book than the iconic Kubrick version. But judging the movies against each other - not against the book - which is better?

I know that King wanted Jack to be a hero at the end. (Jack is one of King's many slightly veiled self-portraits in text.) And that certainly happens in the later adaptation. And I know that he wanted the topiary instead of the maze. I can respect that.

The thing is, I really think the Kubrick film is the better movie. The later adaptation feels weak, the effects aren't all that and look pretty fake, and the performances vary between phoned-in and scenery chewing. The set doesn't have the same wrong feel and creepiness of the impossible Overlook set in the Kubrick version. I didn't like the finding the scrapbook. I did like the boiler-room scenes, those felt the best to me. And I did kind of like the kid who played Danny.

By contrast, the Kubrick version has set pieces to die for. The bat-and-stairs scene is amazing. I adore the performances across the board. (Even Scatman Crothers - he felt just fine to me.) The kid who played Danny is the weak spot, but he at least didn't phone in his performance. (I love it that he had no idea what kind of movie it was until he was older and saw it for the first time.) The elevators had the appropriate creepiness and evoked the desire to avoid them that Jack mentions in the book - they succeed on so many levels.

What does everyone else think?

[_Delly_01]

I haven't seen the movies, but I have stumbled across a lot of information about it that makes the decision for me. Stephen King hated Kubrick's version and pushed for a newer, true-to-book version. Stephen King said in an interview with Bouzereau:

"In the novel, The Shining, Jack Torrance is a difficult character, but he's fundamentally a sympathetic character... ...I saw these all as warm characters, characters that were being threatened by forces from without. From ghosts, from real, supernatural creatures. And the film is extremely cold. Stanley Kubrick saw the haunting as coming from Jack Torrance, from the Jack Nicholson character, whereas I always saw it from outside. So, we had a fundamental difference of opinion about it. I always thought, that, the real difference between my take on it-- and Stanley Kubrick's take on it-- was this: In my novel, the hotel burns. In Kubrick's movie, the hotel freezes. It's a difference between warmth and cold... The images are striking, but, to me, that's surface. It's not substance. So, I used to describe The Shining film as something like a beautiful car that had no engine in it."

Shelley Duvall wasn't acting in the scene with the bat. She won a Guinness World Record in for doing 127 takes of that scene because Kubrick felt she wasn't authentic enough. He pushed her to her physical, emotional, and mental limits to make her authentic. Kubrick told Nicholson to stay in his fierce character on- and off-set to keep her on edge. And Duvall was forced to stay in character on- and off-set, crying. Kubrick bullied and belittled her off-set, and told the crew not to sympathise with Duvall to push the sense of hopeless and isolation into her acting. She became dehydrated and exhausted, and was ready to quit, but stayed. This went on for nine months, and her experience was so traumatic, she began losing her hair, and suffered a mental breakdown when filming ended.

Her mental health declined severely in 2017, but it is unknown whether it is related to her trauma in the film industry. She believes Robin Williams is still alive, and is a shape-shifter.

Regardless of how stunning the cinematography and acting is in the first movie, it is not true to the author's intentions, and was detrimental to a crew member. Stephen King's claim is gospel: "...the film is extremely cold."

[Chikari]

I have only seen the Kubrick version of the movie. After watching it for the first time I looked up more information about the book since I hadn't read it before. I was honestly surprised with how many differences there were! I can see why King would have wanted a remake to happen. I will have to watch the other version sometime soon so that I can compare the two. I enjoy your discussion about it though! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[mamilla93]

Kubrick version. I felt it was more natural in terms of direction and acting and scared the hell out of me!

[sush_destiny]

I love the Kubrick version. The characters were natural in acting and direction is awesome. One of the best movies ever!

[David Milaham]

I would say that I think I love all. It's hard for me to decide what's best with things like this sometimes and I guess I just don't mind, as long as it's good.