Title: THE SHINING
Date: 6/15/1995; Publication: Magill's Survey of Cinema;
Magill's Survey of Cinema
06-15-1995
THE SHINING
Abstract:
Accompanied by his wife, Wendy (Shelly Duvall), and son, Danny (Danny Lloyd),
writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) settles into the spacious Overlook Hotel
in the Colorado Rockies as a winter caretaker, but strange events soon cause
him to become demented. Elaborate and attenuated, Kubrick's characteristically
ambitious horror film attempts to expand the aesthetic dimensions of the genre.
Summary:
Based on the best-selling novel by science-fiction author Stephen King, THE
SHINING deals with the disintegration of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), an
ex-teacher-turned-writer who agrees to serve as winter caretaker for the
Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies. During his interview for the position,
the hotel manager Ullman (Barry Nelson) reveals some of the hotel's disturbing
history. A previous winter caretaker had brutally murdered his family on the
premises. Moreover,
The Torrances are now alone, and Jack's descent into madness begins. He becomes
irritable, he neglects his duties as caretaker, he spends all his time typing
feverishly, and he fraternizes with a ghostly crowd in the hotel's bar. When
Wendy discovers that his typing has resulted only in reams of paper covered
with "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy" in various
typographic configurations, Jack begins to stalk the family with an ax, perhaps
reenacting the crime of the earlier caretaker. Jack's pursuit of Wendy and
Danny continues through the empty halls of the hotel and through the
snowencrusted maze built of hedges on the grounds, despite the efforts of
Hallorann, whose psychic sensibilities have summoned him to the hotel from his
The film does not clearly indicate what causes Jack's metamorphosis, although
it may result from the influence of the ghosts. A spectral bartender (Joe
Turkel) panders to Jack's weakness for alcohol. A ghostly waiter (Philip
Stone), whose name is the same as that of Jack's murderous predecessor as caretaker, encourages him to "correct" his wife
and child when they offend him. Jack's transformation could also stem from the
pervasive influence of the past. Not only is there the hotel's history of
violence, but also in his personal background Jack has a history of brutality,
having injured his son while in a drunken rage -- an incident which
corresponded with the beginning of Danny's psychic power. Furthermore, the film
suggests the possibility of reincarnation. The ghostly waiter tells Jack that
the ex-teacher has always been present in the hotel, perhaps in previous lives,
and the film's last shot focuses on a photograph of a group of people taken at
the hotel in 1921 with Jack's face prominent in the scene. A third explanation
for Jack's change may arise from the bleak view of human nature which pervades
much of Kubrick's work. The Overlook Hotel, snowbound for the winter, loses
almost all touch with civilization. As social influences recede, the veneer of
civilization disappears from Jack's character, leaving a raw human nature which
is violent and brutal. Uncontrolled by the restrictions of society, man is
worse than an animal. Living at the Overlook Hotel has stripped Jack Torrance
down to his bloodthirsty heart of darkness.
In addition to this negative view of humanity, another theme in THE SHINING
involves the ambivalence between illusion and reality. This confusion becomes
evident in several ways. First, Jack -- and the viewers of the film -- may be
only imagining the ghosts at the Overlook Hotel. No one else seems to encounter
them in the crowded bar until right at the film's end, when the terror of the
situation can account for any illusion. At a point earlier in the film, Jack
has visited the mysterious Room 237 to find a beautiful, seductive bather who
becomes a wrinkled crone in his embrace before disappearing altogether; the
illusory loveliness yields to another illusion, that of a hag, before it
evaporates into the reality of nothingness. After the experience Jack is unsure
what, if anything, has happened.
Another way in which the problem of illusion and reality emerges occurs in the
visionary life of the psychic Danny. He sees a pair of young girls, perhaps the
murdered daughters of the previous caretaker, witnesses a torrent of blood
spilling from an elevator, and is lured into Room 237. Are these visions part
of the hotel's past, of its future, or of the fevered imagination of a young
boy who has been mistreated by his father? Still another way in which the film
explores this theme is its emphasis on the effects of the mass media. On the
way to the hotel, for example, Jack and Wendy discuss the Donner Party, a group
of early American pioneers reduced to cannibalism by the rigors of the
wilderness. Wendy is afraid that young Danny will be upset by their reference
to this ugly episode in American frontier history, but the boy claims that he
knows all about cannibalism from television. His reality is apparently shaped
by that medium, at least in part. Moreover, it is television that remains the
only real link between the isolated Overlook Hotel and the outside world, and
the Torrance family spends a good deal of time in front of the screen. Perhaps
the fact that their impressions of outside reality come through the illusory
medium of television contributes to the malaise which comes to infect them.
Although THE SHINING is Kubrick's film, it also owes much to the performance of
Nicholson. Much of the horror may come from special effects such as the
elevator filled with blood, but the most horrifying effect of all is
Nicholson's mobile face. As Jack Torrance gradually loses control, Nicholson's
expressions frenetically shift from rage to gloom. During the film's climax,
the pursuit of Danny through the maze, Nicholson creates an animalistic
characterization as Jack snarls, spits, and hunches into the chase. Using some
of the characteristics which he employed for positive effect in his portrayal
of McMurphy in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975), Nicholson creates in
Jack Torrance a crazed maniac bent only on brutality and reminds the viewers of
the potential for violence and horror present in everyone.
THE SHINING elicited mixed reviews after its long production schedule created
much interest on the part of the press and the theatergoing public. The film
was faulted for its excessive length, its failure to meet the expectations of
the horror genre, and Kubrick's overemphasis on technical flourish at the
expense of narrative development. It was praised, however, for its magnitude of
scope. Historically, the horror film has been a low-budget affair, often
hastily put together to provide cheap thrills for a young audience. The
Shining, however, three years in production, employs no cheap tricks and leaves
much for adults in the audience to think about.
Release Date: 1980
Production Line:
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cinematographer: John Alcott
File Editor: Ray Lovejoy
MPAA Rating: R
Run Time: 146 minutes
Cast:
Jack Torrance - Jack Nicholson
Wendy Torrance - Shelley Duvall
Danny Torrance - Danny Lloyd
Dick Hallorann - Scatman Crothers
Ullman - Barry Nelson
Bartender - Joseph Turkel
Waiter - Philip Stone
Doctor - Anne Jackson
Durkin - Tony Burton
Watson - Barry Dennen
Nurse - Robin Pappas
Secretary - Alison Coleridge
Policeman - Burnell Tucker
Stewardess - Jana Sheldon
Review Sources:
New York Times: May 23, 1980, III, p. 8
Newsweek: May 26, 1980, p. 96
Time: June 2, 1980, p. 69
Variety: May 28, 1980, p. 14
Named persons in Production Credits:
Stanley Kubrick
Studios named in Production Credits:
Warner Bros.
Screenplay (Author):
Diane Johnson
Stephen King
Color
Video Available.
Genre:
Horror
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