The Shining

Didn't hate it, but watched both this and the Kubrick version after reading the book.

Firstly, this is a TV show and not a movie - so lower your expectations slightly and enjoy it for what it is.

No doubt about it, this is a good version of King's vision. Love it or hate it, it's pretty faithful and I gotta say that you needn't overanalyse this to see that Steven Weber and Rebecca de Mornay did a good job playing the very average Torrance spouses, come on, give Weber some credit - those are some ridiculous shoes to fill after Jack Nicholson.

Danny was a miscast for me, but then again so was the kid in the Kubrick version.

So this doesn't get all the stars, but it does get some credit for leaning into the source material and busting a gut to 'rectify' (at least for Stephen King) the many omitted moments from the book in Kubrick's version... which is of course, in a different league.

We all know that - so haters, chill out and enjoy the fact that there are two versions of the story and there's no undoing that.

While Kubrick's "The Shining" is just based on the famous King's novel, the 1997 adaptation is much more faithful to the source material, as King himself adapted the story for television. Kubrick's version is an objectively better film, but essentially these two movies are not quite comparable, because their approach to the story, techniques and intentions are pretty much different. While Kubrick's film is more a psychological horror drama, mini-series directed by Mick Garris is a typical supernatural horror with an atmosphere distinctive of these two legends of the genre.

Although no one can feign madness as Jack Nicholson (if he fakes it at all), and the fear of Shelley Duvall creeps chills to the bone, the cast is okay for such a TV movie, and it is composed of recognizable and dear faces who gave quite decent performances. Rebecca De Mornay is a sight for sore eyes, Steven Weber is not nearly as intimidating as Nicholson, but his madness is convincing enough, and although it took me some time to get used to the unusual appearance of little Courtland Mead, his performance in some scenes is really striking.

The mini-series consists of three parts for a total of four and a half hours. The first part is a bit slow, which is typical for King, who likes to introduce us to the characters and their backgrounds, and to wait for us to develop a closeness to them, before he leisurely leads us into the main story. In the second part, tension gradually increases and what seemed to be a family drama slowly transforms into supernatural horror, with jump-scares and... visual effects. And I think that is exactly where the biggest drawback of this film lies. What had the potential to be a great psychological horror drama, by decently done (except for the scenes with topiaries, which are an unforgivable failure) but totally unnecessary effects, has been transformed into something similar to the B horrors of the eighties, and for that genre, which is more often ridiculous than terrifying, over four hours is definitely too much, the tension is lost and the whole thing becomes quite unconvincing and even boring. The third part is probably the best done, both visually and story-wise, but it is spoiled by inappropriate and somewhat pathetic ending, that is better suited to melodrama than horror. Not to be perceived as a nag, I just want to praise really extraordinary sound and music.

Although I preferred this version of the story itself over Kubrick's, the movie is terribly over-stretched and the atmosphere is, although I admit that it kept me on the edge of the chair on several occasions, too frivolous to leave an impression that could compete with the Kubrick's masterpiece.

7/10

The Shining (1997) was a Stephen King/ Mick Garris collaboration. Stephen King was dissatisfied with the way Stanley Kubrick adapted his novel for the silver screen. He only retained the bare minimum of the book when he directed the film Several years later, Stephen King jumped at the chance to adapt his novel as a mini-series. The people at A.B.C. let him get away with as much as he could during the production of this series. The results are a more entertaining film that follow's more closely to the source material. But this film is either a love it or hate it kind. People will hate it because they fell in love with the theatrical production or they'll love it because it's almost like the original novel.

What I liked about the mini-series is the way the characters are portrayed in the novel. The father (Steven Weber) is more of a likable character, the kid (Courtland Mead) this time around is a much better actor, the mother's (Rebecca De Mornay) character is better written (and hotter too). The biggest improvement is the character of Dick Halloran (Melvin Van Peebles). His character from the book was sorely missing in the theatrical version. Even though the mini-series wasn't a technical masterpiece of film maker, I enjoyed it more.

Highly recommended for fans of the novel.

When I first saw this mini-series I thought it, despite being more faithful than Kubrick's film, was pointless and nowhere near as atmospheric. Watching it again, I think I was being unfair. I do consider Kubrick's film the superior and more atmospheric film overall(I shall never forget the Here Comes Johnny and Woman in the Bathtub scenes), but aside from being much more faithful to the book, which is excellent by the way but as far as King's works go I prefer It and The Stand, there are improvements made here. Jack's transformation is much more subtle, and his and Wendy's relationship is explored much further here. Rebecca DeMornay also is a far better female lead in my opinion, and Steven Weber brings a more human touch while being quite frightening too. The mini-series does look good, the photography and production values are fine, the sound and music are atmospheric, the story is compelling and the dialogue is mostly good. My complaints however are the overlong length, some of the CGI effects which were sometimes unnecessary and the pace is occasionally a little dull. Overall, it is a solid mini-series and much better the second time of viewing. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I have loved Kubrik's interpretation of The Shining since the first time it scared me. But that's what it really is, an interpretation. It's well known how Kubrik did his work and the limited amount of input that King had in the original movie. This new interpretation stays closer to the book and you genuinely get the idea that it's the hotel that is evil, while I've always felt that Kubrik's design made it feel more like the Jack went mad. The final scene of Kubrik's version, where he pans over the photos and you see Jack in all of them, has always felt like an homage to what the true meaning was supposed to be. This new version filled me with chills and goosebumps the whole way through. In one scene, when all the chairs in the dining area slide from their tables to the floor, not only was I shivering but I actually jumped. I've read the book; I knew it was coming but it was so perfectly executed that the creepiness was sustained throughout the entire show. That kind of horror/suspense is so rare nowadays, especially for a television mini-series! I truly feel that both versions stand on their own and applaud King for showing the chutzpah to go back and show us another view of The Overlook.