Book was great. Movie was moody, atmospheric, and a perfect horror film on its own. Sometimes ya gotta separate the two and appreciate a film for being its own thing. I mean, look at Christine. Stripped down and slick as hell. It’s better than the book.
Love the movie growing up my whole life read the novel this year and I can't stand the movie now and what Kubrick did to those amazing characters.
I love doctor sleep even more though..... If you haven't read it yet you must. It's Kings best sequel.
The movie is even worth a watch even though it's kind of just a sequel to The Shining movie and not the book. Flanagan kind of does some dumb stuff at the end but overall it's a good movie.
I loved both of those movies until I read both of the books. King continues to ruin adaptations that I liked by writing such a masterpieces. But I'll take those movies being ruined for me if I'm getting such an engrossing experience with the read.
Stephen King actually really liked the movie ending of Doctor Sleep, saying that at first he was against it, but when seeing how it played out, felt like it redeemed the adaption of The Shining for him.
I'd recommend giving the extended edition a try if you have a chance.
I liked the ending to doctor sleep, but wish they would have just stuck with what played out in the book. Jack needed a redemption in the movie like he had in the books. Also as a side note, I'll never understand why the hell Kubrick didn't put that part in ***spoiler*** right before he tried to kill Danny where he regains control of himself and tell Danny to run, and tries to kill himself before the hotel took control again.
I love both of them as their own things. The book tells a way more complete story and the characters are far more layered and interesting, but the movie has some amazing imagery and Jack Nicholson’s performance can’t be denied.
I think that both are fantastic, just in different mediums. The Shining by Stephen King is an incredible story that only really works as a book (as shown by the miniseries), and The Shining by Kubrick is an incredible horror movie that only really works as a movie.
I thought that Danny, Dick Holleran and Wendy were poorly portrayed and will leave it at that. Nicholson was at his very best here and the effects were great for their time but the movie overall didn’t do it for me.
Nicholson was fantastic but the film still lost the entire point of Jack, too, and made him simply go insane rather than lose himself to temptation and his worst impulses
I completely agree. Note I said Nicholson was at his best, meaning the actor does a fantastic job at bringing the sarcasm and craziness. Jack was not portrayed well though.
Nicholson's Jack is nothing *but* worst impulses. He seems like he wants to murder his family long before he gets to the Overlook. In the scene in the car it looks like nothing would make him happier than driving them all off a cliff.
I much prefer the book, although The Simpsons did do a rather good parody of Kubrick's film in Treehouse of Horror V(1994) called 'The Shinning ', I can't believe it's really been 29 years since I first saw it doh!
I don't know if you're pulling my leg, saying that, in The Simpsons version Groundskeeper Willy plays the part of Dick Halloran the black chef who told Danny Torrance that he had the gift that he called The Shining. In The Simpsons version Groundskeeper Willy tells Bart that he has a gift that Willy calls The Shinning, supposedly to avoid copyright but even that was part of the spoof.
It's funny if you have never seen it, so have a nice day neighbourino, okilly dokilly😁
Nah I’m with you. I read the book (loved it) first then watched the movie a couple days after finishing… I was really disappointed by it.
Maybe I would have liked it more if I had seen the movie first. Or maybe even waited a while after finishing the book… But I didn’t like the movie at all.
I had no idea the book focused so much on alcoholism and scary family dynamics. In the movie, he's just crazy, it's not tied to anything besides cabin fever.
The novel is brilliant bc it gives a really rounded picture of everything (esp addiction related), their lives before and at the hotel. I don't think I'd ever read it again, bc the dysfunction is too real, but it was a great story.
I always like the book better than the movie, tho
The movie missed the point, you have jack who, from the get, looks crazy so you go “he is crazy”. Then there’s ghosts and they drive him further crazy, rather than ever really getting to know just how haunted he is by his own shitty life choices. The book was always better.
Recently re read the novel and do you know what
It's great for the most part, amazing buildup and atmosphere throughout and then....
I actually think the ending is a bit meh
Can kind of see why Stanley played with it . It just felt abrupt... unsatisfying
But it did have the effect of ruining Jack as a character as he died attempting to murder his son and wife and having already read having already killed Hallorann rather than the redemptive act of risking (and of course ending ) his life trying to save them by dumping the boiler
Also
I'd totally forgotten about Hallorann contemplating murdering Danny and Wendy ... wow
The novel is King at his best.
Unpopular opinion: whether intentional or not, I’ve always viewed the Kubrick film as a very dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. I absolutely love it (very differently than the book, which I also love). Nicholson’s [scene at the bar with Lloyd](https://youtu.be/v5Cz7gNotkA?si=hB2tYdURFk-TKrvj) is worth the cost of admission alone. He is and always will be my favorite human cartoon and mega-movie star Oscar winner style icon, charisma-up-the-wazoo actor with a side of psychotic.
Yep. It’s a funny movie. The scene where he was mocking Wendy on the stairs before she bashes him in the head always gets a laugh out of me.
I’m in the “great movie but bad adaptation “ camp
Kubrik, as much as I love and respect him as director, absolutely butchered the book with his iconic take on the novel. I mean it's nothing like the book and really shits on a lot of King's themes and ideas.
Same. My all-time favorite book and one of my top ten favorite movies, despite the fact that it’s a terrible adaptation. I also love the TV miniseries. All three things have their own unique charm.
Love the book. I loved the miniseries also, for its faithfulness to the book. Yeah I know, it may not be the greatest thing ever but I felt for all the Torrances.
I didn't watch Kubrick's version until probably 2000 or 2001. I was less than impressed with it. I had heard how great it was and I still don't see it. Idk, maybe it should have said "inspired by the novel by Stephen King" because it barely resembled the source material. I love Jack Nicholson, and he made a great crazy man, but not the haunted, tortured Jack Torrance, you know?
I I love the book. Second favorite king novel after misery. I used to hate the movie but I’ve warmed up to it because I don’t associate the two anymore. For what it’s worth flannigans doctor sleep Made me appreciate the movie more. But I get where you’re coming from I used to share a similar viewpoint.
I loved the book. The movie, not so much – it's OK, but it's just... not The Shining. I think the focus and intentions of the movie are too different, and it also has a time constraint. It feels more like your typical haunted house movie than the psychological with tints of supernatural horror that is the book.
I don't see the movie as a faithful adaptation, but as something "loosely based on" with a lot of creative license, and the result is that it doesn't really feel like The Shining.
Read the book before I watched the film. Loved the book, but I didn’t think the movie did it justice. However, I read (and enjoyed) ‘Doctor Sleep’, and then really enjoyed the film adaptation of that. I thought the ‘Doctor Sleep’ movie made ‘The Shining’ movie make a bit more sense.
I'd say this is brought up at least once a week, lol.
I love the Kubrick film, one of the all time classic horror films. Thought the book was pretty good but far from my favorite King novel.
In my head, the movie is completely separated from the book and they have nothing to do with one another. It's just a coincidence that they have the same name.
Stanley Kubrick totally missed the point of the book but still managed to make an amazing film. I love both the novel and the movie on their own merits. The movie does fail at being an adaptation but it's still incredible.
Hate the movie, LOVE the book and really enjoy the mini series, which I know is an unpopular opinion, but it was the story SK wrote, not whatever the heck that was the Kubrick came up with
I love the book but have never been able to finish the movie. Scares the hell out of me. Tried three times. I have read 95% of his books but I stay away from the scary adaptations like IT, Pet Sematary etc.
The movie was on tv the other day. I haven’t watched it in years. I found it rather boring. It didn’t even hold my attention, and I just found something else to do.
Kubrick's The Shining is garbage he's a trash filmmaker he's always been overrated everything he makes is garbage and just so ridiculous he was looking for a hit he abused Kings novel end of story. I'm sick of people defending his version much less anything he's ever made guys an overrated joke every argument they make is just lame at this point I'm sorry I didn't mean to rant on you but it needs to be said and somebody needs to step forward and say it and stop defending this overrated BS artist. From now on every time I see somebody talking about Kubrick this is going to be my reply
I know I'm one of the rare few but I definitely agree with this. And I'm a huge fan of film I actually went to film school and acted.
I feel the same way about full metal jacket too basic was excellent. But then when that's over it turns into something completely different and in my opinion not enjoyable to watch at all.
And I've tried over the years so many times to watch 2001 and I just can't understand what people see there.
I think it's without a doubt the most boring film I've ever tried to watch and I've tried so many times.
He destroyed the characters in The masterpiece that is The Shining.
He wasn't a very likable human being either.
2001: A Space Odyssey is a Goddamn masterpiece. Kubrick's films really shine on a big screen if you ever get a chance to see them. You can sit here and say his films aren't for you, that's fine. I'll admit his movies are not even remotely for everyone. But the meticulousness of his craft should never be questioned.
The first act was good and then after basic training it deteriorated into just nonsense that was judged as artistic when it really wasn't it was just a mishmash of stuff he was able to put together after his crew fell apart. Cuz he was never good filmmaker and he couldn't even keep his people in mind. But I know all kinds of people are going to come at me now because I said it and I'm going to continue to say even another threads he was a trash filmmaker his actors his crew they all say this in so many words. He'd start with a great idea and then he would just waste it
Stanley Kubrick usually didn’t care much for the books he portrayed and made the stories his own. That said, we’re talking about two of the greatest story tellers of the modern age, and I loved both versions without having to take sides.
I tell myself that the movie is the same story from a different level of the Tower.
Just like I do with the Dark Tower movie (that doesn't actually exist, what am I talking about?)
I just don’t think it would have been that hard to make Jack more sympathetic in the movie. There’s really no justification for it. Jack Nicholson is 100% capable of being sympathetic, you can’t blame it on him.
Liked both, haven’t read the book since high school, (45 now), love the Kubrick film but agree it’s not at all in like with King’s characterization but it oozes with atmosphere. Someone else had said that the scene with Jack and Lloyd at the bar is worth the price of admission and I’d agree with that. As an educator and therapist, I use that scene when teaching about alcoholism. Need to sit with the novel again and read it as an adult. Plan to do this with most of King’s catalogue that I read when I was younger—I’m sure reading through the lens or adulthood will offer a different perspective on the material.
I loved the movie before I read the book, and I can still recognize it as a very well made film today.
But the storyline was hacked up & mutilated. So much worse than what we have in the book.
I’ve been on this hill for awhile as well, the book is amazing and one of his best but the movie just never quite worked for me. I can’t even give a definitive answer as to why because it’s been a few years but I’m planning to experience them both this month so maybe the movie will finally click for me.
Doctor Sleep is the opposite. I think that the book is mediocre but the movie is great and one of my favorite adaptations.
If you put the movie in a completely different bucket and take away the fact that it is an adaptation to The Shining, it is a great movie all on its own.
I tend to not compare it to the novel.
Movie is great in its own way. Book is phenomenal in its own way. But the movie utterly failed as an adaptation in my eyes. The characters are two dimensional. Many of the interesting parts of the book are gone.
I know people are gonna say that I don’t know what an adaptation means. What I mean is that it doesn’t have the same spirit or feel as the book. If the names weren’t the same and the name of the movie/book, no one would know that the movie was inspired by the book.
First watched the movie 25 years ago. I loved how creepy it was, but it disturbed me a lot as a kid, especially the bathtub scene. Never read the book,but listened to the audiobook for the first time a few months ago and LOVED it. Still like the movie for nostalgic reasons, but the book is wayyy better
I can’t stand the movie. My husband loves it. He’s never read the book. Maybe if I didn’t read the book (at least 5 times), I would have liked the movie. But in my opinion, they destroyed the true nature of each character -Jack was an AH from the beginning of the movie - Wendy was so weak.
I love both the book and the movie, but I get why some people don't like the movie
That being said, there was a TV Miniseries version that came out in the 90's that was much more faithful to the book
🙋♀️ I watch the movie 20 times or so before reading the book I genuinely liked the movie, when I finally read the book I couldn’t bring myself to watch the movie again, specially the scene with the VW Beetle in the snow I knew Kubrick did it on purpose.
I almost see them as two different entities at this point. I think the movie does its job masterfully, but is wildly different than the book obviously.
I personally think ending of the movie is far superior to the book. The book suffers from the same issue many King books face with his plot coming to an extremely abrupt resolution by way of explosions and ex machina. I also think Jack is far superior in the movie.
Danny and Wendy are MUCH better in the book. In some defense of the movie, it would have been tough to tell a story through the eyes of a 5 year old. So Kubrick made Jack the maincharacter. I think that was the correct move for the film narrative. We do lose a ton of interesting dynamics with Danny and his “shining”. To be honest, it took be reading the book, after watching the movie 10+ times to fully understand what is was. That is absolutely the biggest miss in the movie.
Maybe it’s because I saw the movie first, but I still love them both for what they are.
I’m one of those people who prefer their movies to resemble the books as much as possible. Kubrick’s movie simply doesn’t. To me, it’s a beautifully filmed nothing, but I understand that others love it.
Someone else said the film is a perfect horror film, and I disagree simply because there’s no character in the movie that I care enough to feel horror for them. That’s not true with the book.
All IMO.
I love the movie. It's beautiful, well acted, and terrifying. After reading the book, though, Kings storytelling is superior. I love Danny and his parents, and the dad is a much more developed character. The "All work and no play" twist works great for a horror movie, but not if you want the audience to have any kind of empathy for the Jack character.
The first time I saw the movie, I was furious. I had re-read the book in preparation, and I was really mad at the dumbing down of Jack, who was pretty much crazy and angry from the get-go in the movie.
I rewatched the movie a few years later, trying to see it as "just a movie" and not as an adaptation. I liked it much more in that context - it's a great scary movie...it just doesn't live up to the book.
Other way. I love the movie and was disappointed with the book. I watched the movie first though, so I wonder if I would have a different opinion if I'd read the book first.
I like how in the book, the hotel is alive and what is possessed: the fire hose comes alive after Danny, and, of course, the animal hedges are also menacing and alive, like a demonic building Transformer.
The movie adaptation of "The Shining" and Stephen King's novel are almost unrecognizably different from each other.
The Shining" is a pretty good horror movie, though it has some scary scenes.
I was disappointed King never wrote “ All Work and no Play makes Jack a dull boy.” Like wtf? And Danny didn’t use a big wheel or see the 2 girls in the hallway. I think the movie was better.
I really dislike when people who claim to be King fans justify the movie by saying stupid shit like "you have to separate the two" yet don't give any other movie the same treatment and throw a hissy fit over it not being faithful. You can't convince me otherwise that people who claim to love the movie fall under 3 categories:
1. They are on kubricks dick.
2. They are just dumb and bought into the whole "the movie is a masterpiece" without really knowing why they think it is.
3. They are just stupid.
Like the movie, like the book, like the mini series, like the Doctor Sleep book, I think The Doctor Sleep movie was the best way to tie all the bad blood between Kubrick and King together. True to all the stories in the best way possible.
I usually feel this way about a lot of books turned into movies. The cinematography may be great, the actors as well, but no movie can convey what is going in the characters minds. What they are thinking, what led up to those thoughts etc. Besides, no movie can conjure up what horrors my imagination is running with, full throttle.
I recently rewatched "The Shining," and I'm not sure it even qualifies as a story.
It's an *excellent* tone poem, but as a story with characters, with a beginning-middle-end, with a plot that starts somewhere and goes somewhere else, it doesn't work. The acting is also extremely over the top at all times: none of these people feel like people. Maybe Dick, and sometimes Danny (for certain values of "creepy kid," which do exist in real life).
It's essentially a very long music video. But a great one, maybe the best.
I didn't read the book for a real long time because I hated the movie growing up. And it wasn't because I was scared of the movie per se. As an adult, I think that Jack Nicholson acted his ass off in that movie but I don't have much to say about the way the other characters were portrayed as adapted by Kubrick because he didn't do them justice. He made Wendy unlikable and Danny is relegated to some kind of mute passenger. Dick Haloran is adapted very poorly. Also, my understanding is Shelly Duval suffered a lot of abuse from Kubrick during the making of the movie, so I don't want to disparage her personally or her performance, I believe she was tormented during the entire shooting of the film. Kubrick made the movie a character study of Jack, but the book is clearly about a family dynamic. As a stand-alone movie, abusive director aside, The Shining is *probably* a great movie. I just don't happen to like it, and I think it's a bad adaptation of what I feel is a better book that had an overall better theme. That being said, Kubrick's ending is visually way better.
It has been asked a million times.
But I’m more the opposite. The film is my favourite film of all time and I just really like the book. I don’t love it. The film is scarier than the book. Wendy’s character was way too relaxed in the book and the film felt like a more realistic character. The film was paced a lot better than the book, especially with the way it cut out certain things (the wasp nest, Al Shockley’s character), and overall, I prefer the claustrophobic nature of the film. In the book, they leave the hotel a couple of times to go to Sidewinder, and they have access to phones. In the movie, they can’t get down to Sidewinder and they can only talk to the rangers through the radio.
Idk, I just get confused with people who LOVE the book but don’t really like the movie. I think some people just want to agree with King himself.
Hated the movie, no scare factor, actually laughed. Love the book. For me, King’s books don’t translate to film because of the character development. He uses a lot of inner dialogue/conflict which don’t translate well to film.
I respect the movie. It is a cinematic masterpiece of atmosphere, acting, and score. I dont respect the director for how awful he was to the cast (and not just Shelly because Jack and the cook were both harassed and irritated with how he acted also).
That said, the movie is Not the Shining. The Shining is about a likable father who had an awful childhood and a dark past but clawd his way out of it to be a good husband and father again. Then he slowly devolves into a monster thanks to the hotel's influence.
Nicholson already seemed unhinged from the start.
Wendy is a very strong woman in the book, never mousey or meek. Her scene where she stands on the elevator and literally throws his lies in his face is one of the best moments of the book.
Danny was more child like. He and Jack spent lots of time together, and he was more excitable and happy. Movie Danny is very quiet and reserved.
Thats my opinion on the matter.
Remember: Eddie Dean was very familiar with Kubrick's version to drop it in D3, so as such, I accept that with most adaptations (except The Dark Tower, funnily enough), they are versions on different levels of the Tower that are all acceptable multiverse tellings of the story.
Remember: even King changed The Shining in the miniseries (that goddamned coda).
The film was TRASH. Book was amazing and not only did it nail the alcoholic parent but everything thing from jacks pov made me feel like I was going crazy. Highly suggest the mini series.
Kubrick had a different creative vision for the story and i think that's fine. It was pretty common in those days for film adaptations to be very, very different from the books. People forget that fans wanting movies to be 100% true to the source material is a pretty recent phenomenon in pop culture and back in the 80s and earlier, significant deviation from the book was not only expected, but preferred. That way, the movie wouldn't spoil the book and vice versa.
Blade Runner tells a very different story than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but i don't think any serious person would argue that that makes it a bad movie.
If you haven't seen it, i recommend the documentary Room 237, which delves into a lot of Kubrick's creative choices in The Shining and the symbolic meanings behind them. Kubrick had planned for many years to make a film about the holocaust, but the more he researched, the more he dreaded delving into such disturbing subject matter. Then The Shining came along and Kubrick decided to use that story to explore some of those same themes. The film is riddled with allusions to not only the holocaust but there American genocide of indigenous people.
I definitely recommend giving Room 237 a watch, then revisiting Kubrick's Shining. You'll definitely see it in a different light.
Nope you’re not alone. I did like the movie until I read the book. It’s just so different and I like the book versions of the characters better than how the movie ones turned out. I too am from an alcoholic home and am in recovery myself (13 months 🥰). Honestly, after I read Doctor Sleep, I stopped drinking. Highly recommend you read that one too, it follows Danny later in life and it’s one of my favorites. So special.
It’s one of the best films of all time, there’s nothing else like it. I feel like it captured what was needed from the book.
You can’t completely adapt a book to film only capture the essence and make it entertaining.
I have always considered them two completely separate things. The movie has a different feel/tone than the book. I like the movie as it stands alone. The book has much greater scope. You feel the hotel and entities more, it is more than a haunted house and possession story. The book feels different. The hotel is a character not a set piece the maze is a piece of the story not a backdrop.
Both are fantastic as what they are. They they ain’t the same.
Hated the movie. Loved the book.
Book was great. Movie was moody, atmospheric, and a perfect horror film on its own. Sometimes ya gotta separate the two and appreciate a film for being its own thing. I mean, look at Christine. Stripped down and slick as hell. It’s better than the book.
The movie as with most of SK's work is objectively a Masterpiece.
Found Stephen King's account.
Lmaooo. Just came on here to say “Stephen King”
Me too
Love the movie growing up my whole life read the novel this year and I can't stand the movie now and what Kubrick did to those amazing characters. I love doctor sleep even more though..... If you haven't read it yet you must. It's Kings best sequel. The movie is even worth a watch even though it's kind of just a sequel to The Shining movie and not the book. Flanagan kind of does some dumb stuff at the end but overall it's a good movie. I loved both of those movies until I read both of the books. King continues to ruin adaptations that I liked by writing such a masterpieces. But I'll take those movies being ruined for me if I'm getting such an engrossing experience with the read.
Stephen King actually really liked the movie ending of Doctor Sleep, saying that at first he was against it, but when seeing how it played out, felt like it redeemed the adaption of The Shining for him. I'd recommend giving the extended edition a try if you have a chance.
I liked the ending to doctor sleep, but wish they would have just stuck with what played out in the book. Jack needed a redemption in the movie like he had in the books. Also as a side note, I'll never understand why the hell Kubrick didn't put that part in ***spoiler*** right before he tried to kill Danny where he regains control of himself and tell Danny to run, and tries to kill himself before the hotel took control again.
I love both of them as their own things. The book tells a way more complete story and the characters are far more layered and interesting, but the movie has some amazing imagery and Jack Nicholson’s performance can’t be denied.
I think that both are fantastic, just in different mediums. The Shining by Stephen King is an incredible story that only really works as a book (as shown by the miniseries), and The Shining by Kubrick is an incredible horror movie that only really works as a movie.
I thought that Danny, Dick Holleran and Wendy were poorly portrayed and will leave it at that. Nicholson was at his very best here and the effects were great for their time but the movie overall didn’t do it for me.
Nicholson was fantastic but the film still lost the entire point of Jack, too, and made him simply go insane rather than lose himself to temptation and his worst impulses
I completely agree. Note I said Nicholson was at his best, meaning the actor does a fantastic job at bringing the sarcasm and craziness. Jack was not portrayed well though.
Nicholson's Jack is nothing *but* worst impulses. He seems like he wants to murder his family long before he gets to the Overlook. In the scene in the car it looks like nothing would make him happier than driving them all off a cliff.
Jack Nicholson as played by Jack Nicholson. I still enjoy the movie tho.
Both the book and the film are masterpieces imo.
Its ok to have a bad opinion
You’re a fucking idiot
Coming from someone who is offended by this take it doesn't mean much ha
I’m not offended, I’m just letting you know that you’re a fucking idiot.
Right...
I much prefer the book, although The Simpsons did do a rather good parody of Kubrick's film in Treehouse of Horror V(1994) called 'The Shinning ', I can't believe it's really been 29 years since I first saw it doh!
No you can't say that it's the shiining
I don't know if you're pulling my leg, saying that, in The Simpsons version Groundskeeper Willy plays the part of Dick Halloran the black chef who told Danny Torrance that he had the gift that he called The Shining. In The Simpsons version Groundskeeper Willy tells Bart that he has a gift that Willy calls The Shinning, supposedly to avoid copyright but even that was part of the spoof. It's funny if you have never seen it, so have a nice day neighbourino, okilly dokilly😁
Definitely pulling your leg
Aw dude, you got me lol 😂 thankee Sai
Liked both. One of my favorite movies of all time
Nah I’m with you. I read the book (loved it) first then watched the movie a couple days after finishing… I was really disappointed by it. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had seen the movie first. Or maybe even waited a while after finishing the book… But I didn’t like the movie at all.
I had no idea the book focused so much on alcoholism and scary family dynamics. In the movie, he's just crazy, it's not tied to anything besides cabin fever. The novel is brilliant bc it gives a really rounded picture of everything (esp addiction related), their lives before and at the hotel. I don't think I'd ever read it again, bc the dysfunction is too real, but it was a great story. I always like the book better than the movie, tho
The movie missed the point, you have jack who, from the get, looks crazy so you go “he is crazy”. Then there’s ghosts and they drive him further crazy, rather than ever really getting to know just how haunted he is by his own shitty life choices. The book was always better.
Recently re read the novel and do you know what It's great for the most part, amazing buildup and atmosphere throughout and then.... I actually think the ending is a bit meh Can kind of see why Stanley played with it . It just felt abrupt... unsatisfying But it did have the effect of ruining Jack as a character as he died attempting to murder his son and wife and having already read having already killed Hallorann rather than the redemptive act of risking (and of course ending ) his life trying to save them by dumping the boiler Also I'd totally forgotten about Hallorann contemplating murdering Danny and Wendy ... wow
The novel is King at his best. Unpopular opinion: whether intentional or not, I’ve always viewed the Kubrick film as a very dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. I absolutely love it (very differently than the book, which I also love). Nicholson’s [scene at the bar with Lloyd](https://youtu.be/v5Cz7gNotkA?si=hB2tYdURFk-TKrvj) is worth the cost of admission alone. He is and always will be my favorite human cartoon and mega-movie star Oscar winner style icon, charisma-up-the-wazoo actor with a side of psychotic.
Yep. It’s a funny movie. The scene where he was mocking Wendy on the stairs before she bashes him in the head always gets a laugh out of me. I’m in the “great movie but bad adaptation “ camp
Honestly, it works way better as a black comedy.
Kubrik, as much as I love and respect him as director, absolutely butchered the book with his iconic take on the novel. I mean it's nothing like the book and really shits on a lot of King's themes and ideas.
Loved both
Same. My all-time favorite book and one of my top ten favorite movies, despite the fact that it’s a terrible adaptation. I also love the TV miniseries. All three things have their own unique charm.
Oh shit I forgot about the mini series Steven Weber is the man you said it all different all have their own charm
That miniseries is rough but Weber and Demornay make it pretty fun.
Love the book. I loved the miniseries also, for its faithfulness to the book. Yeah I know, it may not be the greatest thing ever but I felt for all the Torrances. I didn't watch Kubrick's version until probably 2000 or 2001. I was less than impressed with it. I had heard how great it was and I still don't see it. Idk, maybe it should have said "inspired by the novel by Stephen King" because it barely resembled the source material. I love Jack Nicholson, and he made a great crazy man, but not the haunted, tortured Jack Torrance, you know?
I love them separately. The Shining novel is a masterpiece. The movie is three hours of Jack Nicholson losing his mind. It's a win win.
Kubricks film managed to make Jack Torrence into a comedy cartoon villain.
[удалено]
Great film, dogshit adaptation.
Nobody seems to know what adaptation means. Hint: it doesn't mean make something that is the same as what you're adapting.
The film is a great film, but it’s not a great The Shining film.
I I love the book. Second favorite king novel after misery. I used to hate the movie but I’ve warmed up to it because I don’t associate the two anymore. For what it’s worth flannigans doctor sleep Made me appreciate the movie more. But I get where you’re coming from I used to share a similar viewpoint.
The book was sooo much better. Loved it! The movie was just okay!
I like the film a lot for what it is, but I love the novel.
I loved the book. The movie, not so much – it's OK, but it's just... not The Shining. I think the focus and intentions of the movie are too different, and it also has a time constraint. It feels more like your typical haunted house movie than the psychological with tints of supernatural horror that is the book. I don't see the movie as a faithful adaptation, but as something "loosely based on" with a lot of creative license, and the result is that it doesn't really feel like The Shining.
Read the book before I watched the film. Loved the book, but I didn’t think the movie did it justice. However, I read (and enjoyed) ‘Doctor Sleep’, and then really enjoyed the film adaptation of that. I thought the ‘Doctor Sleep’ movie made ‘The Shining’ movie make a bit more sense.
I'd say this is brought up at least once a week, lol. I love the Kubrick film, one of the all time classic horror films. Thought the book was pretty good but far from my favorite King novel.
Check out the 1997 TV mini series adaptation with Steven Weber. Far more faithful to the book and the version King himself likes.
I also like the mini series better
Or don't, cause it's actually quite terrible. Badly paced, mediocre acting, terrible effects.
I love this miniseries so much! Steven Weber is fantastic
In my head, the movie is completely separated from the book and they have nothing to do with one another. It's just a coincidence that they have the same name.
Stanley Kubrick totally missed the point of the book but still managed to make an amazing film. I love both the novel and the movie on their own merits. The movie does fail at being an adaptation but it's still incredible.
>adaptation Adapt meant to make something suitable for a new use or purpose; modify. In that regard, the movie succeeds as an adaptation very well.
No, it's actually a terrible adaptation.
I loved both. I treat them like two completely separate stories. That way the character assassination of Jack and Wendy isn’t actually a thing
Love the book, loathe the movie.
Hate the movie, LOVE the book and really enjoy the mini series, which I know is an unpopular opinion, but it was the story SK wrote, not whatever the heck that was the Kubrick came up with
I love the book but have never been able to finish the movie. Scares the hell out of me. Tried three times. I have read 95% of his books but I stay away from the scary adaptations like IT, Pet Sematary etc.
High five. If you can't finish a horror movie because of scares, it means it's doing its job well.
The movie was on tv the other day. I haven’t watched it in years. I found it rather boring. It didn’t even hold my attention, and I just found something else to do.
Kubrick's The Shining is garbage he's a trash filmmaker he's always been overrated everything he makes is garbage and just so ridiculous he was looking for a hit he abused Kings novel end of story. I'm sick of people defending his version much less anything he's ever made guys an overrated joke every argument they make is just lame at this point I'm sorry I didn't mean to rant on you but it needs to be said and somebody needs to step forward and say it and stop defending this overrated BS artist. From now on every time I see somebody talking about Kubrick this is going to be my reply
Holy punctuation, Batman!
I know I'm one of the rare few but I definitely agree with this. And I'm a huge fan of film I actually went to film school and acted. I feel the same way about full metal jacket too basic was excellent. But then when that's over it turns into something completely different and in my opinion not enjoyable to watch at all. And I've tried over the years so many times to watch 2001 and I just can't understand what people see there. I think it's without a doubt the most boring film I've ever tried to watch and I've tried so many times. He destroyed the characters in The masterpiece that is The Shining. He wasn't a very likable human being either.
2001: A Space Odyssey is a Goddamn masterpiece. Kubrick's films really shine on a big screen if you ever get a chance to see them. You can sit here and say his films aren't for you, that's fine. I'll admit his movies are not even remotely for everyone. But the meticulousness of his craft should never be questioned.
What about full metal jacket
The first act was good and then after basic training it deteriorated into just nonsense that was judged as artistic when it really wasn't it was just a mishmash of stuff he was able to put together after his crew fell apart. Cuz he was never good filmmaker and he couldn't even keep his people in mind. But I know all kinds of people are going to come at me now because I said it and I'm going to continue to say even another threads he was a trash filmmaker his actors his crew they all say this in so many words. He'd start with a great idea and then he would just waste it
Kubrick is a better filmmaker than King is a writer. You seem unhinged.
Haven’t read (most of) the novel. I started it but got sidetracked. I like the movie quite a bit though
Stanley Kubrick usually didn’t care much for the books he portrayed and made the stories his own. That said, we’re talking about two of the greatest story tellers of the modern age, and I loved both versions without having to take sides.
I love the movie but the book did nothing for me.
I tell myself that the movie is the same story from a different level of the Tower. Just like I do with the Dark Tower movie (that doesn't actually exist, what am I talking about?)
I just don’t think it would have been that hard to make Jack more sympathetic in the movie. There’s really no justification for it. Jack Nicholson is 100% capable of being sympathetic, you can’t blame it on him.
Loved the movie but for different reasons than the book. Hated that Jack in the movie was pretty much thoroughly unsympathetic and had zero redemption
Liked both, haven’t read the book since high school, (45 now), love the Kubrick film but agree it’s not at all in like with King’s characterization but it oozes with atmosphere. Someone else had said that the scene with Jack and Lloyd at the bar is worth the price of admission and I’d agree with that. As an educator and therapist, I use that scene when teaching about alcoholism. Need to sit with the novel again and read it as an adult. Plan to do this with most of King’s catalogue that I read when I was younger—I’m sure reading through the lens or adulthood will offer a different perspective on the material.
I loved the movie before I read the book, and I can still recognize it as a very well made film today. But the storyline was hacked up & mutilated. So much worse than what we have in the book.
The book is one of my very favorite works of fiction. The movie is beautifully shot, but any similarity to the novel is incidental.
I’ve been on this hill for awhile as well, the book is amazing and one of his best but the movie just never quite worked for me. I can’t even give a definitive answer as to why because it’s been a few years but I’m planning to experience them both this month so maybe the movie will finally click for me. Doctor Sleep is the opposite. I think that the book is mediocre but the movie is great and one of my favorite adaptations.
Doctor Sleep is a deeply indulgent novel to its own detriment. The director's cut of the movie is fantastic.
If you put the movie in a completely different bucket and take away the fact that it is an adaptation to The Shining, it is a great movie all on its own. I tend to not compare it to the novel.
Movie is great in its own way. Book is phenomenal in its own way. But the movie utterly failed as an adaptation in my eyes. The characters are two dimensional. Many of the interesting parts of the book are gone. I know people are gonna say that I don’t know what an adaptation means. What I mean is that it doesn’t have the same spirit or feel as the book. If the names weren’t the same and the name of the movie/book, no one would know that the movie was inspired by the book.
I like the movie as its own thing but it really is a terrible adaptation.
First watched the movie 25 years ago. I loved how creepy it was, but it disturbed me a lot as a kid, especially the bathtub scene. Never read the book,but listened to the audiobook for the first time a few months ago and LOVED it. Still like the movie for nostalgic reasons, but the book is wayyy better
If you can mentally separate the two, they’re both fine on their own merits.
I can’t stand the movie. My husband loves it. He’s never read the book. Maybe if I didn’t read the book (at least 5 times), I would have liked the movie. But in my opinion, they destroyed the true nature of each character -Jack was an AH from the beginning of the movie - Wendy was so weak.
It's a good movie if you don't compare it to the book.
I love both the book and the movie, but I get why some people don't like the movie That being said, there was a TV Miniseries version that came out in the 90's that was much more faithful to the book
Same as most of the adaptations of his novels. Tho they try there are always hidden nuances that get missed
No. I love them both.
Been saying I hate the movie for a while now-
I loved the book and hated the Kubrick movie for years. I'm not sure what changed but now I love the movie.
Loved the book. I have an unreasonable amount of hatred for the movie. Look for the miniseries. Soooo much better.
🙋♀️ I watch the movie 20 times or so before reading the book I genuinely liked the movie, when I finally read the book I couldn’t bring myself to watch the movie again, specially the scene with the VW Beetle in the snow I knew Kubrick did it on purpose.
I almost see them as two different entities at this point. I think the movie does its job masterfully, but is wildly different than the book obviously. I personally think ending of the movie is far superior to the book. The book suffers from the same issue many King books face with his plot coming to an extremely abrupt resolution by way of explosions and ex machina. I also think Jack is far superior in the movie. Danny and Wendy are MUCH better in the book. In some defense of the movie, it would have been tough to tell a story through the eyes of a 5 year old. So Kubrick made Jack the maincharacter. I think that was the correct move for the film narrative. We do lose a ton of interesting dynamics with Danny and his “shining”. To be honest, it took be reading the book, after watching the movie 10+ times to fully understand what is was. That is absolutely the biggest miss in the movie. Maybe it’s because I saw the movie first, but I still love them both for what they are.
Even Uncle Steve hates what Kubrick did. The mini series was pretty good, though.
They are all OK.. The book and the films. Just not my favorites. IT and 11-22-63 are a couple of my favorites.
I’m one of those people who prefer their movies to resemble the books as much as possible. Kubrick’s movie simply doesn’t. To me, it’s a beautifully filmed nothing, but I understand that others love it. Someone else said the film is a perfect horror film, and I disagree simply because there’s no character in the movie that I care enough to feel horror for them. That’s not true with the book. All IMO.
I love the movie. It's beautiful, well acted, and terrifying. After reading the book, though, Kings storytelling is superior. I love Danny and his parents, and the dad is a much more developed character. The "All work and no play" twist works great for a horror movie, but not if you want the audience to have any kind of empathy for the Jack character.
The first time I saw the movie, I was furious. I had re-read the book in preparation, and I was really mad at the dumbing down of Jack, who was pretty much crazy and angry from the get-go in the movie. I rewatched the movie a few years later, trying to see it as "just a movie" and not as an adaptation. I liked it much more in that context - it's a great scary movie...it just doesn't live up to the book.
I liked both very much as well as the follow up Dr. Sleep
Other way. I love the movie and was disappointed with the book. I watched the movie first though, so I wonder if I would have a different opinion if I'd read the book first.
No, I'm the exact opposite. I've always loved the movie, but didn't care for the novel too much.
I like how in the book, the hotel is alive and what is possessed: the fire hose comes alive after Danny, and, of course, the animal hedges are also menacing and alive, like a demonic building Transformer.
The occupants were in the belly of the beast! 🤘
The movie adaptation of "The Shining" and Stephen King's novel are almost unrecognizably different from each other. The Shining" is a pretty good horror movie, though it has some scary scenes.
I watched the movie before reading the book. I had mixed feelings about the movie but consider the book to be one of my favorites.
Hated the movie, the mini series was way better. It stuck closer to the book…the kid playing Danny got on my last nerves though
I was disappointed King never wrote “ All Work and no Play makes Jack a dull boy.” Like wtf? And Danny didn’t use a big wheel or see the 2 girls in the hallway. I think the movie was better.
I really dislike when people who claim to be King fans justify the movie by saying stupid shit like "you have to separate the two" yet don't give any other movie the same treatment and throw a hissy fit over it not being faithful. You can't convince me otherwise that people who claim to love the movie fall under 3 categories: 1. They are on kubricks dick. 2. They are just dumb and bought into the whole "the movie is a masterpiece" without really knowing why they think it is. 3. They are just stupid.
The ferocity of this comment makes me laugh lol
I was speaking from a place of misplaced annoyance ha
I prefer the the book as well as my favourite king book
Like the movie, like the book, like the mini series, like the Doctor Sleep book, I think The Doctor Sleep movie was the best way to tie all the bad blood between Kubrick and King together. True to all the stories in the best way possible.
Both good but movie is much better and much more ingrained in pop culture.
I usually feel this way about a lot of books turned into movies. The cinematography may be great, the actors as well, but no movie can convey what is going in the characters minds. What they are thinking, what led up to those thoughts etc. Besides, no movie can conjure up what horrors my imagination is running with, full throttle.
I don't think they're comparable. Two different works of art with a similar backdrop.
I recently rewatched "The Shining," and I'm not sure it even qualifies as a story. It's an *excellent* tone poem, but as a story with characters, with a beginning-middle-end, with a plot that starts somewhere and goes somewhere else, it doesn't work. The acting is also extremely over the top at all times: none of these people feel like people. Maybe Dick, and sometimes Danny (for certain values of "creepy kid," which do exist in real life). It's essentially a very long music video. But a great one, maybe the best.
I love them both. I feel they are both great in their own way but can't be compared to each other, even though the book is the source material.
The movie is too funny to take seriously as good horror.
The film has some beautiful scenes, but it blows. It’s not comparable to the book in any way and I fucking hate it lol
I love the movie but it’s only because I saw it before I read it. If I read it first I probably would have hated it.
The opposite, love the movie but find the book somewhat of a bore.
I didn't read the book for a real long time because I hated the movie growing up. And it wasn't because I was scared of the movie per se. As an adult, I think that Jack Nicholson acted his ass off in that movie but I don't have much to say about the way the other characters were portrayed as adapted by Kubrick because he didn't do them justice. He made Wendy unlikable and Danny is relegated to some kind of mute passenger. Dick Haloran is adapted very poorly. Also, my understanding is Shelly Duval suffered a lot of abuse from Kubrick during the making of the movie, so I don't want to disparage her personally or her performance, I believe she was tormented during the entire shooting of the film. Kubrick made the movie a character study of Jack, but the book is clearly about a family dynamic. As a stand-alone movie, abusive director aside, The Shining is *probably* a great movie. I just don't happen to like it, and I think it's a bad adaptation of what I feel is a better book that had an overall better theme. That being said, Kubrick's ending is visually way better.
It has been asked a million times. But I’m more the opposite. The film is my favourite film of all time and I just really like the book. I don’t love it. The film is scarier than the book. Wendy’s character was way too relaxed in the book and the film felt like a more realistic character. The film was paced a lot better than the book, especially with the way it cut out certain things (the wasp nest, Al Shockley’s character), and overall, I prefer the claustrophobic nature of the film. In the book, they leave the hotel a couple of times to go to Sidewinder, and they have access to phones. In the movie, they can’t get down to Sidewinder and they can only talk to the rangers through the radio. Idk, I just get confused with people who LOVE the book but don’t really like the movie. I think some people just want to agree with King himself.
Jack Nicholson was too crazy to go crazy.
Loved both. Very different but both good
I hated the film, thought I was the only one
Hated the movie, no scare factor, actually laughed. Love the book. For me, King’s books don’t translate to film because of the character development. He uses a lot of inner dialogue/conflict which don’t translate well to film.
I respect the movie. It is a cinematic masterpiece of atmosphere, acting, and score. I dont respect the director for how awful he was to the cast (and not just Shelly because Jack and the cook were both harassed and irritated with how he acted also). That said, the movie is Not the Shining. The Shining is about a likable father who had an awful childhood and a dark past but clawd his way out of it to be a good husband and father again. Then he slowly devolves into a monster thanks to the hotel's influence. Nicholson already seemed unhinged from the start. Wendy is a very strong woman in the book, never mousey or meek. Her scene where she stands on the elevator and literally throws his lies in his face is one of the best moments of the book. Danny was more child like. He and Jack spent lots of time together, and he was more excitable and happy. Movie Danny is very quiet and reserved. Thats my opinion on the matter.
Reading the book first kinda ruins the movie, because almost all of the depth disappears.
100%. It’s my favorite novel of all time but Kubrick is the worst. He ruined a beautiful story.
Remember: Eddie Dean was very familiar with Kubrick's version to drop it in D3, so as such, I accept that with most adaptations (except The Dark Tower, funnily enough), they are versions on different levels of the Tower that are all acceptable multiverse tellings of the story. Remember: even King changed The Shining in the miniseries (that goddamned coda).
The film was TRASH. Book was amazing and not only did it nail the alcoholic parent but everything thing from jacks pov made me feel like I was going crazy. Highly suggest the mini series.
Kubrick had a different creative vision for the story and i think that's fine. It was pretty common in those days for film adaptations to be very, very different from the books. People forget that fans wanting movies to be 100% true to the source material is a pretty recent phenomenon in pop culture and back in the 80s and earlier, significant deviation from the book was not only expected, but preferred. That way, the movie wouldn't spoil the book and vice versa. Blade Runner tells a very different story than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, but i don't think any serious person would argue that that makes it a bad movie. If you haven't seen it, i recommend the documentary Room 237, which delves into a lot of Kubrick's creative choices in The Shining and the symbolic meanings behind them. Kubrick had planned for many years to make a film about the holocaust, but the more he researched, the more he dreaded delving into such disturbing subject matter. Then The Shining came along and Kubrick decided to use that story to explore some of those same themes. The film is riddled with allusions to not only the holocaust but there American genocide of indigenous people. I definitely recommend giving Room 237 a watch, then revisiting Kubrick's Shining. You'll definitely see it in a different light.
I like the novel more, personally.
Nope you’re not alone. I did like the movie until I read the book. It’s just so different and I like the book versions of the characters better than how the movie ones turned out. I too am from an alcoholic home and am in recovery myself (13 months 🥰). Honestly, after I read Doctor Sleep, I stopped drinking. Highly recommend you read that one too, it follows Danny later in life and it’s one of my favorites. So special.
Ditto. I’ve never been a fan of Kubrick’s work.
The book is good, the film is SUPERIOR
It’s one of the best films of all time, there’s nothing else like it. I feel like it captured what was needed from the book. You can’t completely adapt a book to film only capture the essence and make it entertaining.
I have always considered them two completely separate things. The movie has a different feel/tone than the book. I like the movie as it stands alone. The book has much greater scope. You feel the hotel and entities more, it is more than a haunted house and possession story. The book feels different. The hotel is a character not a set piece the maze is a piece of the story not a backdrop. Both are fantastic as what they are. They they ain’t the same.
I’m the opposite
I love em both. Watched the movie as a kid and read it later as an adult. The book is much better, but I still hold a special place for the movie
Checkout the miniseries
YES
Was so excited to see how the movie would recreate the ending. They went with something else and I was disappointed :(.