The Shining (1980)

[Nicolawicz]

But he realized it was a mistake, that's why he cut it. The shorter cut is the definitive version. I think the reason he allowed the American cut to exist is because too many people had seen it already. Have you seen the international cut? It's better in every way (the "Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance" scene is pretty good, but it had to go because it's the continuation of a scene that definitely needed to be cut).

[MifuneFan]

Oh hey, look at that can of worms.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

I didn’t realize there was a shorter version of the movie until reading about it recently. According to movie-censorship.com, “Kubrick said that Europeans were more smart than Americans and would not need the additional stuff to get used to the background of the story.” Did Kubrick really say this? That’s hilarious if he publicly stated that. It also states,” It is important to mention that no version was preferred by him. Both have Kubrick’s blessing and can be considered as two single director cuts.“ I’d be curious to watch the shorter version. If cutting out 25 minutes can make the film tighter and more intense, that sounds interesting to me. Is this a similar case to James Cameron’s Aliens? I much prefer the shorter version of that movie.

He also hated Duvall's performance and the Euro cut eliminates some of her scenes, like the long (rather pointless) radio call to the US weather service, which does slow down the film some.

It's a good example for students of editing to see how much editing affects a film, pacing-wise.

[Eye Candy]

Stanley Kubrick’s Right-Hand Man Leon Vitali Speaks: The Personal Toll of Working With a Genius

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stanle...-with-a-genius

Tony Zierra’s Filmworker, a superb documentary about Vitali’s career alongside Kubrick that serves as a case study of both selfless devotion and self-destructive mania—as well as a much-deserved celebration of a true artist-behind-the-artist. And according to its subject, it certainly doesn’t overstate how uniquely demanding it was to work with one of cinema’s true geniuses.

[BluProofie]

I own both(I have the UK Kubrick set and the US blu) and I prefer the longer cut.

[Takeshi666]

When I finally watched the US version, the scenes that stuck out to me the most - besides all the additional scenes of Scatman Crothers' character - were stuff like Ullman telling Jack why they're closing the hotel for the winter (mostly because that's one thing a lot of people who've only ever seen the Euro version seem to wonder about), Danny watching cartoons, and the skeletons.

The last two in particular stand out to me because, in case of the former - much like the scenes showing Hallorann's trip back to the hotel - they detract from the claustrophobic feeling of the hotel, providing some reprieve from the isolation, and the room full of skeletons just seemed too much like a haunted house cliche to fit the mood of the film.

[Filmmaker]

People seriously need to build a bridge and get over this five-second shot of skeletons.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I'm honestly waiting for a 4K UHD of The Shining to come out before upgrading it to HD.

Maybe they include 4K transfers of both cuts, as the Euro cut is unavailable in the states and visa versa.

[Cherokee Jack]

Grew up with the American cut and only very recently realized international audiences saw a shorter version. I've always enjoyed the film but felt it dragged. So glad I imported the international version because now I finally have a Shining that I love. It loses a few nice scenes and some of the cuts were clearly rushed but overall it's just so damned tight and effective. The cut from Danny's first vision of the blood straight to the family's drive to the hotel sold me on it alone. But it's probably the trimming of the endless introduction of the hotel and then Hallorann's pointless journey that helped the most (the Hallorann stuff is interesting during the first and maybe second viewing but incredibly tedious once you know the film well). Unfortunately, it's the hotel tour scenes that had some of the most awkward cuts added to get it moving properly. The pacing is also off for the transition to the Hallorann/Danny conversation scene which has been, correctly IMO, largely left to play out at a snail's pace.

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

People seriously need to build a bridge and get over this five-second shot of skeletons.

It wasn't the biggest problem in the American cut for me but I can see how it could be a turd in the punchbowl for some. That and the furry blowjob scene both stick in my memory from that portion of the film but for very different reasons: the furry stuff is deeply unsettling whereas the skeletons are just cheesy. They feel like they're from different films.

[stepeanut]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

... the Euro cut is unavailable in the states and visa versa.

Not quite true. The U.S. cut is available on the HMV-exclusive Premium Collection BD:

[Takeshi666]

The funny thing is that Warner doesn't region code their releases so you could easily just import the other version if you wanted to see it.

[infiniteCR]

Interesting recent ghost photo from the hotel.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-captu...190100440.html

[jlyon1515]

Originally Posted by infiniteCR

Interesting recent ghost photo from the hotel.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-captu...190100440.html

PLUS, there's even a ghost backpack in the photo! Oooooh!

Sorry, I'm being sarcastic. I just thought I'd point out that many objects are blurred in the photo like this supposed girl ghost. Clearly it's just a person. It would be an interesting idea for places that claim to be haunted to insist people turn off their flashes if they want to take photos. That way you'll often get blurred people and thus further the ghost stories.

[rroeder]

Watched my copy this wkd LOVE this movie!

I used the PCM track this time, I've always just used the Dolby Digital. WOW it was much better audio I could hear things I never had before and the clarity was much better too. Definitely more "punch" from the front sound stage less surround but it was still much nicer

This was the first time I've watched the movie with a proper sound system tho, the creepy music really helps set the atmosphere.

[MifuneFan]

New poster from Bottleneck Gallery. Right now only 16 left.



https://bottleneckgallery.com/collec...ch-the-shining

[Mr. Pink]

hmm interesting

[surfdude12]

look dumb to be honest. no image from film resembles that. is his face on fire? hotel scenery is wayyy too bright for the mood of film. I get it, his face is "shining", but the use of that term in film is anything but literal.

[Doctor Jack]

Yeah, that’s pretty awful.

[MifuneFan]

I love the color palette used, but I'm not crazy about how Danny is featured. I do think it's interesting that the light emanating from him is reminiscent of Struzan's poster for The Thing.

With that said, the complaint that an artists' personal interpretation has to match an actual image from the movie is completely silly.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

With that said, the complaint that an artists' personal interpretation has to match an actual image from the movie is completely silly.

I said "resembles"