Why did Kubrick cut down "The Shining" for international release?

Where would I find the international version?

 

The blu ray is region free

 

The international version of 'The Shining' is indeed a far better movie. I made a cut of this for myself when I was in school studying cinema & it blew me away how much better it is to watch. Terrifying & seemingly over in the blink of an eye, as opposed to the bloated & boring 145 minute version.

 

This is a great thread! I didn't know about a cut down Euro version. I must see that now. i thought there were was draggy bits to the US version and I'm looking forward to a tighter cut. I will kubrick would have left the longer murder of Halloran in. The film needed some old fashion gore. It really did. The one axe swing and done just was satisfying enough. A good bloody murder would have pumped up the fear factor.

I'm so pissed I never saw the cut ending. I drove from PA to NYC to see the film the day AFTER it opened. I was going to go opening day, but my date couldn't go that day, so I had to settle for the second day version. Women!

Can someone point to a link where I can buy the european Blu Ray?

 

I agree, the movie is a terrible representation of the book, but I disagree that he was a "nice guy, decent father with occasional drinking problem". He's a decent enough guy, but he's a major alcoholic who's at the end of his rope. His marriage is falling apart, he's lost his job, and he's taken his drunken anger out on his son, although not physically, yet...that's not a decent father, imo.

That said, he is a tragic figure, wanting to be better, and he is on the correct path to recovery, abstaining from the booze. That's not shown in the movie...his better side... and of course, because of that they ignore the great ending where we see that he's a tragic figure whose nobility wins out when it matters most....that makes his death a good thing, because he's paid his dues and is now at peace.

Just my two cents....I despised the movie when it came out because of how it ruined the wonderful story, and while I've mellowed over the years, I still don't own a copy.

 

I'm with you both on this one. I've always been baffled by the praise of the film version, even though it has some good moments. And don't get me started on Shelly Duval's performance. Yeesh! However, I think the novel is probably Stephen King's finest work.

 

Yes, probably King's best book. I agree. I, too, admire the film, but for some reason never FOUND IT SCARY. I can't wait to see the European cut, now.

 

My question about the European cut on Blu-Ray is whether or not it's got PAL speed-up. I'm one of those that's very sensitive to that and wouldn't enjoy it sped up.

Harry

 

I saw The Shining when it came out, shortly after reading the novel. I was pretty unhappy with the film, especially Wendy's endless crying, Jack's scenery chewing, the various script changes fron the novel, and killing off Halloran, who was dragged across the country just to get killed. I was OK with the hedge maze vs. topiary, though.

Now I'm OK with all that except for too much blubbering Wendy. One of my favorite films. It never seems too long to me.

 

I would like to know if others here , see some similiarity between the story line of The Shining and "its hark back to the past" ...with that of The Thirteenth Floor?

 

What I find memorable most about The Shining is the capturing of those vast empty cold entertainment/reception spaces. Surely we have all experienced coming across such similiar spaces . Built long ago with all their prior grand aspirations now long vanished. Now hardly if ever used, and then, not for anything whatsoever like - what it was intended. You can almost feel the sounds and activity of the past, seeping out of the lonely walls. Tired faded posters, tacky styled ballrooms and bars with disused tarnished soda fountains plus an excess of chrome and dead neon. Then you see things like glass made cups and saucers laying somewhere - which were made during and for the WW2 rationing period.. You know full well, the hub of patrons that once made it a success are now probably all dead . It is freaky and scary!

 

I seriously doubt it, StudioCanal is to my knowledge the only company that can put out 1080p24 material and still mess up the audio pitch. Warner doesn't.

 

The "serpentine" (I forget which critic used this analogy) road, meandering like a snake in the opening starts the sense of dread. The ever-increasingly thickening snowstorm adds to the feeling of total isolation. I love the outdoor scenes as well as your descriptions of the interiors and furnishings.

 

Try watching it right after 'Last Year At Mareinbad'! If that doesn't help put it into perspective, nothing will.

 

I actually feel the opposite. The longer sequences and additional footage adds to the quiet foreboding evident in the film. This would be like Ridley Scott cutting 20 minutes from "Alien" because the pacing is too slow or there's not enough that happens during the first hour of the film.

 

Having seen both Shinings and both cuts of Alien, I'd have to disagree. The so-called "Director's Cut" of Alien proved just how perfect the 1979 cut really was. Every scene lost was deeply felt, while all the new footage just stuck out like a sore thumb.

But with The Shining, the shorter cut really does a fantastic job of keeping absolutely everything of import and substance, while trimming a good deal of fat. I think the reason The Shining can be cut down so much without the sense of losing much because of how redundant much of the film is. Sure, we can have the doctor's visit at the beginning, but we learn nothing from those scenes that we don't learn later from Halloran's talk with Danny and Jack's "conversation" with Lloyd the bartender.

That's just one example. Pretty much everything cut from the North American version for the rest of the world was already redundant to something else that was left in.

 

I'm far more familiar with the international cut but the US version is the only one I'll watch. The international version may be tighter but those longer scenes give the film more room to breathe.

 

I've got to see this at some point. Some of the deletions sound better to me, and some not so much. Odd that there was no word as to which was definitive.

 

So this list supposedly names the cuts to the European version.



The full-length version runs approx. 145 minutes and is the U.S. theatrical version, available in the USA on VHS, DVD and laserdisc. All the other versions, however, run just under two hours (115), omitting about half an hour of footage. This is because Kubrick cut some scenes from his film, which he thought were unnecessary. British television network ITV screened the full US version of The Shining during the late eighties, as did More4 more recently in July 2008. The following is a list of all the scenes or parts of scenes not present in the other versions of The Shining.
The last line of dialogue (spoken by Wendy) in the kitchen scene, the subsequent dissolve, Bill Watson's arrival to the interview (and all his dialogue), Jack recounting his previous jobs and the reason for shutting the Overlook in winter.
After Danny's vision in the bathroom, the entire Doctor scene is removed (making Anne Jackson's name in the opening credits a mystery), where Danny discusses "Tony" and we discover Jack dislocated Danny's shoulder in a moment of drunken rage, and joined the wagon afterwards.
The scenes where Mr. Ullman shows Jack and Wendy around the Colorado Lounge, when they walk outside the maze and when Dick Halloran shows Wendy and Danny round the kitchens have been shortened, but not removed completely.
The scene where Jack, Wendy and the hotel managers first enter the Gold Room and are introduced to Dick Halloran, the subsequent dissolve, a line of dialogue between Halloran and Wendy about the woman's name.
The first shot of Wendy wheeling the breakfast trolley.
The second half of Wendy and Jack's breakfast conversation where Jack says how he feels he's been to the Overlook before.
A shot from behind of Jack throwing the ball against the wall, the subsequent dissolve and the line "Loser has to keep America clean, how's that?" (8 seconds in all!)
Wendy seeing the news and weather report on television in the kitchen while preparing food.
The title card "Thursday" and part of Wendy and Danny's snowfight.
Wendy and Danny watching television in the Colorado Lounge.
Some lines of dialogue between Jack and Lloyd during their first encounter.
A line of dialogue spoken by Jack after the encounter with the old woman, referring to Danny's vision of the blood.
The scene where Wendy goes over her plan to leave the Overlook verbally in their room and Danny gets possessed (?) by "Tony", sitting bolt upright in bed.
Halloran's third attempt at trying to contact them via the telephone and County Office.
The 8am title card.
Halloran's question to the stewardess on the plane.
A long shot from behind of Jack at the typewriter.
Halloran's plane touching down and phoning his friend Larry to arrange the rental of a Sno-cat.
The scene where Danny watches Roadrunner (not actually on screen) and Wendy goes to find Jack, taking a baseball bat, just before she goes to find his manuscript.
Wendy seeing skeletons in the hotel lobby.

 

Some of the scenes listed above seem to be too essential to be taken out.

 

Yep. It also adds to the tension for me

I actually wasn't referring to the so-called "Director's Cut" (which it isn't--Scott has made it clear that he considers the original the version he prefers but wanted to try an alternative version as well).

I was referring to a hypothetical situation where Scott would recut the film shortly after release because the first hour very little happened. It's about the relationships between the characters just as it is in "The Shining". Now whether or not that element is important to you is up to you but I think that Kubrick LOST the point of the film by cutting and making it leaner. Sometimes less IS less and, for "The Shining", I feel that's the case.

By the way the other version of "Alien" that Scott cut is roughly 1 minute shorter than the original version and material was added to it in addition to having it subtracted so it's not exactly the same thing.

 

Can someone explain where this international cut can be found, please?

 

I believe the UK Blu-ray is region free and contains the 119 minute European cut.

The Australian and US Blu-rays have the long 144 minute US cut.

 

The same reviewer has another Shining analysis on his page in which he concludes that the Shining is about the gold standard/monetary policy and that the photo at the end of the film includes President Wilson, his family, and members of his government.

 

Thanks!