Customer Reviews

Stephen King's the Shining [VHS]

5 star:		(93)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(38)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Most are familiar by now with the criticism connected with the Stanley Kubrick version of the The Shining - It was not faithful to the novel in many ways and, most egregious, it had Shelley Duvall in it. I agree with those who have these complaints. In the end, though, Kubrick's movie is great. It is genuinely scary, and while Nicholson's portrayal of Jack makes it seem like he was nuts from the first minute of the movie, his descent into craziness ("HEEEEEEEEEERE'S JOHNNY!!!" will never be beat for pure terror/comedy), Danny's visions of blood-filled hallways, the dead twin girls, and the rest get under your skin. Kubrick's movie gets under your skin, and will stay with you.

The complaints that the Kubrick version was not faithful to the book miss one very important element: Much of the terror in the novel is internal. It is not something which translates well to film, and arguably, Kubrick's liberties with the plot were necessary in order to make the FILM better. It did not improve the story as told by King, but as anyone who has seen Christine or some other flops adapted from King novels knows, sometimes being faithful to the book makes for a bad movie. Kubrick's version has become a classic. Will this version be a classic in twenty years? No.

This version moves at a lethargic pace, and should have been much shorter. I love the book - it is one of my King favorites behind The Stand, Dead Zone, It and The Dark Tower series, but this version is lacking something. The performances are mostly great, even by Steven Weber who has the unenviable task of following Nicholson in the Jack Torrance role. The kid who played Danny, however, was highly annoying and was just terrible in the role. He did not ruin it, but the second most important character in the story was a zero as far as bringing credibility to the role. The end result is this: This mini-series was not that scary. After the first disc, which is good, the film goes downhill. And like I said, this was just not that scary. For an adaptation of a great horror novel, that is pretty much all that needs to be said.

I read the Stephen King book when I was 14, and I loved it. Then I saw the Stanley Kubrick film, and it was godawful. Many key parts of the plot were deleted, while other stuff was just added for the hell of it. For instance, Kubrick took out the scene with the hedge animals and the wasp nest, and while those weren't crucial to the plot, it was nice to see them in the miniseries. Kubrick also added "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" which is a classic line. Too bad it wasn't in the book. Overall, if you read the book, you should have been waiting for years to see a version of The Shining as faithful as this one. This is the best miniseries I've ever seen.

Those of you who saw this on TV/ABC are right. It was very difficult watching with the hundreds of commercials and too many interruptions but now it is on DVD. Give it another chance now that there is DVD with some deleted scenes as well. I really enjoyed it even better on the DVD than when I watched on TV over 3 nights. The only thing I didn't like was having to flip the movie over. They should have made 3 discs (for us who have multiple disc players).

I saw the 1980 Kubrick version as well and enjoyed it when it came out but was left wondering why it ended with so many unanswered questions and just had some visual spooky stuff but no real reasoning as to what we were watching and WHY. And the kid that kept talking to his finger was ridiculous and Wendy aka:Olive oil in Popeye was also quite mousey with no backbone really bugged me. In the 1980 version, it thought it left out the importance of who Tony really was. I liked the MAZE but the new version of the Topiary animals was even better. If the movie did not have Jack Nicholson, it wouldn't have been as good.

I also think Stephen Weber (it is hard to compare to Jack Nicholson) is getting a bad rap here. I am sure he doesn't even try to compare himself to Laker-fan Jack. He did a good job.

Give the new version another chance and if you don't like it this time then....who cares! Don't ever watch it again.

Firsly, I can't stop laughing at some of these reviews concerning Courtland Mead (Danny Torrance) and his apparent inability to close his mouth. I thought the same thing when I saw this mini-series of 'The Shining' and am glad others noticed how his barn door stayed open, as it were. BUT ... that said, Stephen King's adaptaion of his own epic and wonderful novel 'The Shining' is a very good adaptation. While Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance is iconic as far as horror films go, Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay are almost identical to what you picture of the Torrance family when you read King's 1977 novel. In fact, Rebecca De Mornay is exactly the character King wrote about. Her strong and proactive character is a nice change from Shelly Duvall's pop-eyed and hysterical Wendy Torrance (though in fairness, most of this was due to Stanley Kubrick's direction). Watching Steven Weber slowly succumb to the Overlook's demonic hold is both sad and terrifying, the way it should be. Nicholson was terrific, but he was unbolted from the start (again, probably a Kubrick directive). 'The Shining' is originally about a descent into madness, and this mini-series allows the time for madness to slowly descend. It is creepier when we see the commonplace and friendly give over to murderous violence. Comparisons to Kubrick's 'The Shining' are inevitable. And both are great. Kubrick made a fine movie. Stephen King and crew made a fine adaptation. Sadly, little Courtland Mead -- open mouth notwithstanding -- is the weaker of the comparisons. The Kubrick movie Danny Torrance is a much stronger character. But two out of three ain't bad, and Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay serve up 'The Shining' in intelligent high-style. This is a very strong movie version of a classic horror novel.

I'm a big fan of the TV mini-series work done by Mick Garris and Stephen King. "The Stand", "It", "Tommyknockers", "The Langoliers", "Salems Lot", "Storm of the Century", "Rose Red" etc. (I know Garris wasn't involved with all of them, but he's helmed the best of the lot so far and is synonymous with the King Mini-series niche)I was looking forward to "The Shining" when it was first broadcast, and recently re-watched the DVD presentation.

The Good: Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay do a really good job as Jack and Wendy Torrance. Weber specifically handles the job of playing an alcoholic struggling to remain sober very well. Melvin Van Peebles is also fantastic as Dick Holleran who first recognizes Danny's ability to shine. Outside of the acting, the setting is top notch, and creates a great sense of isolation. I love the way the "Overlook Hotel" becomes a formidable and frightening place as the movie plays out, and the soundtrack by Nicholas Pike is top notch, at times echoing "The Amityville Horror" and "The Haunting" scores.

The Bad: The special effects are fairly weak, while the "lady in the bathtub" looks pretty chilling, all suspension of disbelief is lost when the topiary begins moving onscreen. The initial topiary attack on Jack is done with sound and quick cuts to the various hedged wildlife, and is very effective. This is soon replaced with lousy CGI effects of the woodland critters moving through the snow, and it just looks awful. Courtland Mead as Danny Torrance is a tough call. It's such a HUGE and integral part of the story you need a really strong actor to carry the role, and Mead just isn't up to it. His lisping, baby-talk voice gets grating very quickly.

I thought this was a decent film, nowhere near the adaptations of "It" or "The Stand" though. And it's tough, because inevitably comparisons will be drawn to Kubrick's "The Shining". Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance in that film has become a horror icon. And while Weber is good, you can't help but draw comparisons to Nicholson's character. Still, if you are a fan of King's novel, and enjoy the various mini-series that have come out over the past few decades based on his work, you will probably like this version of "The Shining".

There have been two adaptations of Stephen King's book--the classic Stanley Kubrick movie and this recent TV miniseries directed by Mick Garris (The Stand).

The miniseries is very faithful to the book and is a little long because of it (4 and 1/2 hours). What's great about the miniseries (and one of the ways it tops the original) is that it builds tension and mystery slowly. In the Kubrick version, Jack Nicholson is crazy from scene one. In this miniseries, you get to watch Jack Torrance (played quite well in the miniseries by Steven Weber) slowly lose his mind. I really got wrapped into the story, and the miniseries maintains the tragic tone that was so resonant in the book.

The problem with the miniseries, however, is that the climax (Jack Torrance attempting to kill his family) doesn't work as well as the Kubrick movie. In fact, it pales in comparison. The climax is too drawn out, and it doesn't have the excitement and sheer terror of the Kubrick movie. Still, it is a good movie, and by TV standards, it's pretty good.

The DVD includes two main features--deleted scenes and a commentary (by Weber, Garris, and King himself). The deleted scenes--like most other DVD deleted scenes--are nothing special. The commentary is great though. Weber is pretty good. And Garris provides good insight and antecdotes. The real treat though is King, who is funny, animated, extremely humble, and very smart. The commentary is worth checking out if you buy the DVD.

...I am actually glad to have added to my dvd-collection. As a tv-show in three episodes it nearly is a masterpiece. The locations, the hotel itself, the actors (and characters) -highly entertaining, and quality horror. "The lady in the bathtub"-scene is perhaps one of the most scariest things I have ever seen on tv. I mean it!

If you liked Stanley Kubricks' version of the book (that King obviously did not?) you might find this closer-to-the-book-version by the author himself interesting. But it is very, very different. Keep that in mind.

Good entertainment, recommended to those of you who enjoyed "Storm of the Century" and "Rose Red". This is perhaps even better.