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In Reply to: RE: I think it's a lousy movie posted by danj on August 11, 2009 at 18:00:46
Like many of Kubrick's films, this one was panned and misunderstood at the time of its release and gained in stature and grandeur only as time passed and the general public's sensiblities caught up with Kubrick's.
So it was with 2001, now widely considered one of the highest cenematic achievements of all ... so it was with Full Metal Jacket, which disappointed audiences with its failure to live up to their expectations of what a "post-Vietnam War Movie" should be (Kubrick's ambition was much greater, and masterfully realized) ... and The Shining, which disappointed King's horror fans, but horrified the discerning film goers with a terrifying study of that greatest of all evils, the imperishable capacity of the human spirit to murder and mutilate those it is most closely bonded to in nature.
EWS, in its own rite, is a stunning mediation on the power of the human sexual psyche, how we attempt to control it, how we attempt to confine it within social conventions and moral systems, and how this all amounts, ironically, to a mere absurd masquerade -- ironically, since, in the film's venacular, it is the true carnal nature of the human psyche which finds its expression in a masquerade. The film asks, poignantly, if our human experience is a fountainhead of our animal spirits, or an ethereal dream of social ideals -- a dialectic which reveals itself as a paradox, and the conceptual fulcrum of which is, for Kubrick, the institution of marriage. How do we make this social concoction work, when, as the film clearly shows, it can so easily be knocked out of its orbit.
I liked it.
BTW, Pollack is barely passable, in my opinion. The film suffered when Harvey Keitel, Kubrick's original choice (and who would have been SENSATIONAL in the role), walked off the film. And for those who found Leelie Sobiesky "wanting" in her role as the Lolita-esque prostitute, I can only say that I found myself "wanting" whenever she was on the screen.
Finally, future generations of men for time immemorial will be grateful to Kubrick for his cinematic rendering of Nicole's exsquisite physical attributes.
Follow Ups:
Kidman (bonus features) said all scenes weren't 50 takes but close.
NO GRITS NO GLORY
"Just because you're a perfectionist doesn't mean you're PERFECT, Stanley."
dfs
N/T
“ The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as the night... Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music ” - William Shakespeare
I'm not sure this was more than cow patties. Also, I would not agree that the Shining is any kind of great film although it passes for amusing entertainment. My favorite Kubrick is still Dr. Strangelove. Kubrick did have a way of making simple things pretty opaque.
I think has never been surpassed for its crescendo of horror, for the building sense of doom which explodes in maniacal fury. Seeing a reasonable guy become deranged bit by bit.... I found it disturbing. Also, the story of the young girls and the bartender....... creepiness on an unmatched scale. Add to all of this magnificent set decoration, score, and photography and you have terror raised to a Poe-like artistry.
your quote
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." -HST
I thought Jack was the worst thing about the film. For me, his acting was totally unbelievable. The film didn't hold a candle to the book.
-Wendell
Are you a chronic disliker of Jack or is it just this film? I'd agree the "Here's Johnny" thing has been overdone to death but one can't blame him for creating an iconic scene.
Anyhow, good to have another opinion. They work better, of course, with a few reasons.
I've always been a fan of Jack's. The last few years he's simply being playing himself but his body of work is impressive.
It wasn't the "Here's Johnny!" quote. His whole performance rang false for me. I haven't seen it since the theatrical release. Who knows, I may feel differently now.
Film and books are different media. My point was I found the book truly frightening in a way the film missed entirely.
-Wendell
I really like the book but was able to appreciate the movie as something different. The movie has good points but is also stilted in ways. I do not like Jack's performance -- seems way over the top and probably because it is forced and unnaturally done to force the story pattern. Also Scatman is pretty poor in this movie (and I mean acting-wise). SPOILER For him to come all the way up to end up with an axe in him was one of the stupidest plot points I have ever seen. The Danny finger thing and the redrum certainly were inspired. All the spooks in the Overlook seemed like some plot point Kubrick was trying to create but known only to himself. I preferred the King plot idea that the Hotel really wanted Danny -- The Shining is a scary book.
Growing up reading Steven King, I found 'The Stand' to be far and away his best book and was disappointed that it was only turned into a low-budget TV mini-series.
Best Regards,
Chris redmond.
The little girls wanted Danny. They, to me, represented "the hotel."
quite poor as an actor. Wooden is being kind. That Sobieky gal was hot. The film.... was not. I do agree with your general point about Kubrick's "cellaring."
And not just for Nic's norks. I think it's a minor masterpiece (the movie, not Nic's norks).
Cheers. Doug
.
NO GRITS NO GLORY
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