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

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by C6H12O6, Oct 18, 2011.

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  1. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    You haven't read the Stanley Kubrick threads then...

    For the record, I figured out what you were trying to say. It just took longer because of the initials being the same for both parties. My English teacher taught us that you should never make the reader do the work. The writer should do the work and spell things out.

    I realize that's an antiquated concept in this txtng crz wrld...

    Harry
     
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  2. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    I think Mick might have been the reason I went to see it at the theatre - and it was the kind of theatre where everything showing was 99p - so we've come full circle! And you probably will be speechless at the end. ;)
     
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  3. Toby Benjamin

    Toby Benjamin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales
    270108.jpg
     
  4. Toby Benjamin

    Toby Benjamin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales

    I think I'll be speechless from the start judging from the trailer.
     
  5. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    I still remember our local paper reviewing it - probably 1 star out of 4 or something like that - and the film critic closed his thoughts with the immortal line "Dumb, Dumb, Dumb." :nyah:
     
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  6. Toby Benjamin

    Toby Benjamin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales

    At least he didnt just say '**** Sandwich'

    Its got a 15 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Out of 15 reviews so maybe its still yet to reach a wider audience who'll discover its brilliance :)

    I went to see Anthony Hopkins at St.Davids Hall giving a performance of his music. He did a Q and A afterwards and I just wish I could go back in time and ask him about Freejack.
     
  7. Combination

    Combination Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    By all means, please start a new thread and share your thoughts once you have finished your journey!
     
  8. Because it was written by a guy with the initials SK ;)
     
  9. Toby Benjamin

    Toby Benjamin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales


    Worth watching for Mick Shagger attempting a US accent.

    Cant believe he went from 'Performance' to this. I think everyone involved mustve been sucking on the glass dick if you know what I mean.
     
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  10. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    Geez. I tried to be pleasant. I tried to be gentle. I said I understood what you were trying to say. Yet I get called shallow and pedantic. Thanks so much.

    Harry
     
  11. Toby Benjamin

    Toby Benjamin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cardiff, Wales

    I was only taking the mick, Harry. Didn't mean to be nasty :)
     
  12. HGN2001

    HGN2001 Mystery picture member

    I'll chalk it up to a cultural misunderstanding. All's well. :)

    Harry
     
  13. Patrik Pitic

    Patrik Pitic New Member

    The ending from the book would have been such a let down. Yeah, Jack, after going completely bonkers and trying to kill his son and his wife, suddenly, with no other explanation then that he was good guy after all(!!!) saves the day! Yeah, so we can all go home happy, knowing the good always prevails. Ha! It's ridiculous and so tacky, that even Spielberg, the king of happy-endings, would have been ashamed of it! The thing that pisses off fans of King's novel is that the best bits from the movie are not even from the book! The classic and probably most used movie line of all times, the famous "Here's Johnny!" was improvised by Jack Nicholson on set. The hedge maze, the Gold Room, killing of Halloran, the ending, "all work and no play...", all these scenes are not from the book and probably the reason King dislikes the Movie. And the fact that there are a few scenes in the movie where Kubrick is literally telling King that this is His Movie, and not King's(the beetle that Torrences are driving is red in the novel, while yellow in the movie, but when Halloran is driving to the hotel, he drives by a car accident and you can see red beetle totally smashed as in saying " I killed your freaking beetle!". Lol! Kubrick made, in my opinion, the best horror picture ever, from the average to good ghost story. And yes, I've read the book(and a good few of King's books) and it's not bad, but it so straightforward and obvious, it's nowhere near as good as the movie, and that's probably one of the few(if any) movies that have managed to do that. The fact is, most people will always think of The Shining as a Stanley Kubrick/Jack Nicholson picture and not as a Stephen King novel, and that in itself is great achievement, being that King is one of the most popular and best selling novelist of our time.
     
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  14. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    That is not the ending of the novel. The ending of the novel had Jack about to kill Danny (his young son) in the hotel, but the son reminds him, "didn't you forget something?" And the father realizes to his horror that he's forgotten to adjust the boiler down in the basement. He rushes downstairs to the bottom of the Overlook Hotel, but it's too late: the boiler is already bubbling over and explodes in a huge ball of fire, incinerating the entire building, but the mother and son get out in time and are rescued by Halloran and are able to get to safety.

    Kubrick thought blowing the hotel up was a cheap, crappy ending, so he opted not to use it, much to Stephen King's dismay. I see King's point, and I also think Kubrick killed off Halloran (Scatman Crothers) unnecessarily; his death was not even in the original script, but Kubrick just decided to do it spontaneously on the set on Crothers' last day.
     
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  15. The Wanderer

    The Wanderer Seeker of Truth

    Location:
    NYC
    simply Kubrick's indecision on display
     
  16. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    Prior to that, though, Jack is able to keep himself from killing Danny.
    So there is an element of "he was a good guy after all" in the ending.
     
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  17. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Improvisation, not indecision.
     
  18. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I didn't get that from the story. He was on the verge of killing his son, making him a permanent part of the ghosts and demons of the Overlook Hotel, and stopped only because the son reminded him of the boiler. Not a good guy -- just trying to make sure the whole place didn't blow up... which it did.
     
  19. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Vancouver
    No, he stops himself from killing Danny before Danny tells him about the boiler.
     
  20. Encuentro

    Encuentro Forum Resident

    I had seen the film many times before reading the novel. I finally sat down, read the novel and thought it was ridiculous. I can't believe King thought that having hedge animals come to life and attack people was a good idea. Kubrick's film was a vast improvement upon King's novel, in my opinion.
     
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  21. progrocker71

    progrocker71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I love the movie. I like the novel. I view them as two completely separate experiences.
     
  22. Patrik Pitic

    Patrik Pitic New Member

    The Halloran scene was actually quite gory and bloody. In the original scene, which was cut down to one chop, Jack chops Halloran several times(hence why Wendy finds him on his belly and not on his back) and this scene was always in the script. As for the ending, I believe King aproved the ending for the mini-series, which is just as, if not even more tackier than the ending in the book. It's been a while since I've read it, but I believe that the mini-series is very true to the book and I watched that one, sorry to say, not so long ago, so yeah, I stand by my comment. The ending where Jack redeems himself and has a small "shining" conversation with Danny? Sentimentality at it's worst!
     
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  23. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Actually, Scatman Crothers was sandbagged by the entire moment and (according to quotes in interviews) kept saying, "why are you gonna kill me, Stanley?" as the effects guys were rigging his body with blood bags and a stunt vest. It wasn't in the script up to the day they shot that scene, a total surprise for the actor.

    I confirmed that in a conversation I had with Shelley Duvall once, who regaled me of stories of how Kubrick sometimes went 70, 80, 90 takes on a scene. She also said Kubrick treated her very badly, and noted that few actors work with the director twice. I believe she said the scene with the highest number of takes was the 2-minute conversation Scatman had with the kid in the car, 148 takes, and that took about two days to shoot (which is pretty unbelievable). Kubrick also drove Steadicam operator Garrett Brown crazy, because when they finally got a "perfect" take, Kubrick had to have a second "perfect take" so that he could store it in a separate guarded warehouse. Kubrick was paranoid that the film might be stolen away by terrorists and held for ransom, as had happened with an Italian production the year before.
     
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  24. EddieVanHalen

    EddieVanHalen Forum Resident

    Kubrick liked to end films his way. Remember how The Clockwork Orange finished? I'm speaking from memory, but I recall the Burguess' novel had 13 chapters and kubrick finished the film right at chapter 12, ignoring the full chapter 13 and its optimistic ending. The same with The Shinning. I do think too The Shinning is a bit uneven, but I also think this comes from the novel. I first saw the movie and years later read the novel and when I finished it I thought "Kubrick made a good and beautifully shot movie from a so so novel".
     
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  25. Avenging Robot

    Avenging Robot Senior Member

    I wonder if all of the conspiracy theorists will ever have a convention and elect what they think the film is about. So far we have the faked Apollo moon landing missions, the slaughter of Native Americans, the Holocaust etc.

    I just think it's a wonderful film...
     
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