Product Details

• Actors: Rebecca De Mornay, Steven Weber, Courtland Mead, Wil Horneff, Cynthia Garris
• Directors: Mick Garris
• Writers: Stephen King
• Producers: Elliot Friedgen, Laura Gibson, Mark Carliner, Stephen King
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: Unrated
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 7, 2003
• Run Time: 143 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008G8NC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,086 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Actors: Steven Weber, Courtland Mead Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC Language: English Rated: Unrated Number of tapes: 2 Studio: Warner Home Video VHS Release Date: January 7, 2003

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars TV vs. Kubrick, January 15, 2003

By 

QuantumDesign (houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition) (DVD)

The Stanley Kubrick version of this story was a classic in its own right, but IMO should not be considered to be a movie version of the book at all. Stephen King's book, and the miniseries version on this DVD, are a "haunted house" story. Kubrick's film is a psychological thriller. They are not even in the same genre.
That said, the Kubrick film is better in terms of sheer filmmaking - when Kubrick was on, he was really, really good, and it shows in his version of this story. Sadly, that fact is often missed by the legions of fans who get so caught up in "it's not like the book"-itis that they don't enjoy the film for what it is. Jack Nicholson is a far better actor than Steven Weber, and it shows.
The miniseries, however, has one HUGE advantage - with a total of nearly 8 hours of "movie" to work with, they were able to keep the storyline virtually untouched. Although I am typically not a believer - there are just not very many movies made from novels that even remotely resemble their original source material ( "Exit To Eden," originally an erotic novel by Anne Rice, turned into a Dan Aykroyd comedy, just LEAPS to mind for some reason...) - this movie is as close to a perfect conversion of a novel as I've seen.
The creepy moments are really, really creepy - the scene with topiary animals moving closer every time the camera pans away absolutely makes your skin crawl, even if you're prepared for it. Although Steven Weber isn't Jack Nicholson, the character he's playing isn't a "Jack" kind of guy - and Weber fills the role admirably, even though occasionally the touching family scenes teeter RIGHT on the edge of being maudlin.
If you have the patience for it, which I notice at least one other viewer didn't, this is in fact an excellent film. Just don't consider this and the Stanley Kubrick movie to be different versions of the same story - they're not, and the comparison will make both films suffer. You're better off to enjoy them both as distinct, separate entities, with very different agendas.

Oh, and do NOT turn your back on any hedge lions.

Heh.

64 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A whole new experience!, September 10, 2003

By 

P. Powell (The People's Republic of Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition) (DVD)

As someone who has always loved the Stanley Kubrick interpretation of this story, I have to say that I REALLY enjoyed this one. Having never read the book, I never knew that the Kubrick version was so different from Stephen King's original story. The two films are definitely two completely different stories.

The charactors in this version are so much more developed and believably realistic.

Steven Weber's Jack Torrence is a normal guy that is trying hard to deal with his alcoholism and anger, and also keep his family together, while at the same time being slowly consumed by the forces of the Overlook Hotel. He is much more that just a babbling Psycho.

Rebecca De Mornay's Wendy is a more believable, strong wife also struggling to maintain her marriage and protect her son. This is definitely not the whimpering and submissive Wendy of the Kubrick version.

I rcommend this film to any fan of Stephen King. This DVD makes a great addition to any good horror library.

If you liked the Stanley Kubrick version of this story, I think you will be pleasantly suprised.

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Way It Was Meant To Be!, November 5, 2002

By 

Ed Durlak (Fontana, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition) (DVD)

I have been waiting for this one. This mini-series is, by far, the best of the King epics. A great story woven around very interesting, and very human, characters. Slick Steven Webber proves to be much more than just cocky Brian Hackett from Wings, and really delivers the goods. Whereas Nicholson was crazy from the get go (King's major objection to the Kubrick film version), Webber's incarnation of Jack Torrance runs the gambit of human emotions throughout. Even in the depths of his psychosis, he is is a tragically compassionate figure, fighting evil and himself as best he can. Also, the Overlook hotel never looked better. This mini-series was actually filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Colorado, the much fabled place where King stayed one weekend with his family that inspired him to pen the Shining in the first place. This is the Shining the way Stephen King wanted it made and, frankly, it puts the Nicholson version in it's place.