The Shining: A Review

Fig 1: The Shining Poster, 1980

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, Warner Bros., 1980) is a psychological horror film, based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name. It follows the story of the Torrance family, played by Jack Nicholson (The Father, Jack Torrance), Shelley Duvall (The Mother, Wendy Torrance), and Danny Lloyd (The Son, Danny Torrance). They head to the isolated and remote Overlook Hotel for the winter, where a spiritual and evil presence turns Jack to violence, while Dylan sees disturbing images from the past and the future.

The film does a very good job of constantly making the viewer feel uneasy, keeping them in suspense for when Danny's next vision will happen, or when Jack will snap angrily and harshly. One scene of note in this theme is when Wendy discovers Jack's typing. The camera cuts from in front of her, to behind her, looking at her from a distance. We then see Jack creep into shot, so that his entrance is not a surprise, and so that it doesn't detract from the impact of his lines, or when he attacks Hallorann, his only unexpected appearance in the film, and the only on-screen murder.

Fig 2. The Shining (1980)

"The way he told stories was sometimes antithetical to the way we are accustomed to receiving stories" - Spielberg, Kubrick Remembered (2014)

This scene was praised by Steven Spielberg, calling it a "great example of counter-intuitive direction", noting that the obvious way of the scene playing out would be Jack suddenly appearing over Wendy's shoulder as she's reading the manuscript, saying that this unusual way of filming and editing the scene had 2 main benefits: It allowed the remainder of the sequence to maintain tension without a moment of relief that would follow from a 'shock', and, as previously stated, that it saved the biggest surprise/scare for when Jack suddenly appears and kills Hallorann.

As Steven Spielberg said in Kubrick Remembered (2014), Kubrick had a habit of telling stories and portraying things on screen differently to other people. This can be seen in the lighting, the dolly shots, the crane moves, the zoom-ins on people's faces, the framing, the hot windows as backlight, his choice of lenses and his steadicam work, all playing a part in making this film, and Kubrick's others, stand out, making them memorable.

Fig 3. The Shining (1980)

"[On Stanley Kubrick] He was a chameleon. He never made the same picture twice. Every single picture is a different genre, a different period, a different story, a different risk" - Spielberg, Kubrick Remembered (2014)

Again, looking at Spielberg talking about and praising Kubrick's work, we can see that Kubrick strived to make each individual film he produced stand out from not only the other films available at the time, but also his own work. The Shining was one of the first films to use Steadicam technology, along with Marathon Man, Bound for Glory, and Rocky. Again, by using techniques that were new to the industry, and by already breaking the norms of cinema, Stanley Kubrick was able to make The Shining stand out from everyone else.

The Shining doesn't really do many things similarly to other films. As stated in the previous two quotes, and their supporting paragraphs, Kubrick did things differently to other filmmakers, and to his previous works. It was one of the first films to use Steadicam, like Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977), another Psychological Thriller. Apart from this, there are not really any things that the film did similarly to others - which can be seen as both a good, and a bad thing - good in the sense that it's breaking the conventions of horror films, and it stands out more against the others, but bad in the sense that you aren't really able to compare the details of the film to another.

Fig 4. The Shining (1980)

"In several of your previous films you seem to have had a prior interest in the facts and problems which surround the story -- the nuclear threat, space travel, the relationship between violence and the state -- which led you to Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange. In the case of The Shining, were you attracted first by the subject of ESP, or just by Stephen King's novel?" - Ciment, Kubrick on The Shining (1981)

This question was posed to Kubrick not long after the release of the film, and adds to the next point being made - Kubrick's films were always influenced by prior interests he had. In the case of The Shining, as he said in reply to the question, "I've always been interest in ESP and the Paranormal". This prior influence allowed Kubrick to take a more detailed approach when creating an atmosphere within the film, making the events seem more realistic than they normally would. On the manuscript of the novel, Kubrick said that;

"It was one of the most ingenious and exciting stories of the genre I had read. It seemed to strike an extraordinary balance between the psychological and the supernatural in such a way as to lead you to think that the supernatural would eventually be explained by the psychological" - Kubrick, Kubrick on The Shining (1981)

Kubrick saying this shows how much believability was important. He liked the fact that there was a possibility of the psychological, fact-based elements could be tied to the supernatural elements. This adds to the already well-established brand/recognisability of Kubrick's prior films.

Bibliography:

Fig 1: The Shining (1980) [Poster] At: http://designbuddy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/saul-bass-poster-design.jpg

Fig 2: The Shining (1980) From: The Shining, Warner Bros. Directed by: Stanley Kubrick [ Film Still] Great Britain: Warner Bros, Hawk Films, Peregrine.

Fig 3: The Shining (1980) From: The Shining, Warner Bros. Directed by: Stanley Kubrick [ Film Still] Great Britain: Warner Bros, Hawk Films, Peregrine.

Quotes:

1. Kubrick Remembered, From: Stanley Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection. (2014) Directed by Gary Khammar. [DVD] USA:  Light Source & Imagery

2. Kubrick Remembered, From: Stanley Kubrick: The Masterpiece Collection. (2014) Directed by Gary Khammar. [DVD] USA:  Light Source & Imagery

3. Kubrick on The Shining, From: Kubrick. (1981) Written by Michel Ciment
4. Kubrick on The Shining, From: Kubrick. (1981) Written by Michel Ciment