The Shining Movie not even close to its namesake!

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TONIO

New Member
Feb 1, 2014
1
9
67
Kaw City, Oklahoma
The entire point of "the Shining" was lost in the movie! Very little emphasis on the boys powers. The book was so engrossing and scary and got me hooked on Stephen King forever, the moving hedges in the maze, hello!!!! I did enjoy putting faces with the characters, but the "shining" was the bond and the thrill and the movie did not depict that at all. But I figure it is hard to put all the written words into a 2 hour script?
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The entire point of "the Shining" was lost in the movie! Very little emphasis on the boys powers. The book was so engrossing and scary and got me hooked on Stephen King forever, the moving hedges in the maze, hello!!!! I did enjoy putting faces with the characters, but the "shining" was the bond and the thrill and the movie did not depict that at all. But I figure it is hard to put all the written words into a 2 hour script?
Welcome to the SKMB @TONIO

wolf and raven.jpg
 

doowopgirl

very avid fan
Aug 7, 2009
6,946
25,119
65
dublin ireland
The entire point of "the Shining" was lost in the movie! Very little emphasis on the boys powers. The book was so engrossing and scary and got me hooked on Stephen King forever, the moving hedges in the maze, hello!!!! I did enjoy putting faces with the characters, but the "shining" was the bond and the thrill and the movie did not depict that at all. But I figure it is hard to put all the written words into a 2 hour script?
Welcome. I love Kubricks film The Shining... BUT as divorced from the book. It's atmospheric and spooky. But I will always prefer the book.
 

MandarkC

Active Member
Mar 11, 2014
26
93
London, United Kingdom
I actually love them both equally. Having watched the Shining as a kid and then now as an aunt (as adult as you can be when you basically just turned 21, I don't know) but I have a huge appreciation for the way Kubrick filmed the Shining. I like how he had his own twist, and I will forever love the ending sequences.

I discovered the book sometime last year (I don't know why the connection never made it in my head that Kubrick's Shining was Sai King's Shining, but better late then never right?) and fell in love with the story and the explanations of some of the scenes in the movie, as well as the different ending in Sai King's book.

I think the only way you can really take both the movie and the book is if you use one to explain/enhance the other. For example, I now have the cast in my head as a base outline for the characters in my head when I read the book. For the movie, I have explanations from the book to add to the feelings/atmosphere that the movie depicts for different scenes. (If that made sense)
 

guido tkp

Well-Known Member
Oct 1, 2009
2,632
480
outside the dome
across the world...everyday..there are the uninitiated...
those who somehow expect, against all odds...against all reason...that a movie will be exactly like the book....

there are some harry potter fans who cringe...twilight fans who moan over something other than the beefcake...bond fans who get shaken and stirred...and, in the case of this great movie, king fans who chomp rabidly....

i've read the book 2, 3...4 times...i don't 'member...the movie is not all that far from the mark: i saw it in the theaters when it was released...the book fresh in my memory...never once cried at the HORROR !!

...that said, it ain't wholly on targert, either...and, coming from kubrick, i didn't expect it to be: a clockwork orange anyone ??

it remains in the eyes of many whose souls are not tortured by such things a highly regarded movie of the genre...and well it should be...

not exactly like the book ?? as a lectroid once bemoaned...so what...big deal
 

bigkingfan91

Well-Known Member
Mar 1, 2014
190
921
32
WV
For one thing the original movie wasn't intended to be a mini series, so there was a limit as to what could be fit into a movie. I've always enjoyed the original, I don't always look for movies to be just like the book, as sometimes with a movie there are things that can be changed, to better suit a film. I always thought the original was pretty creepy and a solid movie. The Apollo 11 stuff isn't a big deal to me, as just the casual fan wouldn't notice that stuff, and they would see the movie for the movie, not the fake moon landing stuff... I don't blame King though for not wanting that crap included in the movie, and I'd be furious too to even have my name mixed in with that, but I enjoyed the movie myself. As for the mini series or whatever from years back, I wasn't a big fan of it but it was ok. Some of the filmed versions of Kings work has always seemed cheesy to me, but the earlier big hit movies like The Shining, Carrie, Christine, Cujo, Salem's Lot, etc were great in my book. I haven't even watched Under The Dome, or Haven or any of that, honestly I'm more of a fan of the books. But The Shining original has always stood out for me as a good movie.
 

Winter

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2013
999
3,191
I have only read The Shining in the last week, after having loved the movie for always, I never wanted to read it in case I hated the differences and it ruined one or the other for me. It was great...
I loved how the 1st maybe half to 3 quarters seemed to be reasonably close to the book, basically...but then the ending was so different. I was uber happy that Hallorann survived. It always seemed a bit of a rip off to me that he was set as a possible important character, receive a 'shine' from Danny to come, make it all that way, get in the door and die.
Anyways, Dr Sleep next I think.
 

Kurben

The Fool on the Hill
Apr 12, 2014
9,682
65,192
59
sweden
...good to have you here, and you'll get no argument from me on that "movie"...there really seems to be no middle ground amongst the crew here-we either love it, or it makes us have hives...
I can actually enjoy it as a movie. But he has completely changed from what the book is focusing on. The Book is great, the movie is a so-so horror flic. Nicholson is very good in playing creepy guys and hearing him saying Heres comes Johnny!! is fun. But as an adaptation of the novel it is a failure.
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
Kubrick's movie scared the ever loving crap out of me as a kid, and it's still creepy as hell. I guess since I saw it before reading the book, the differences never bothered me all that much. Both are awesome in my opinion.