The Shining (1980)

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by topdolla69

does any1 know what the hell was with the guy in the dog suit at the end? It completely baffled me as a child, much as it does today. I mean there was no mention of guys wearing dog suits let alone any ****ing dogs. I dont even think where were any weird "Furry People" back then that would be turned on by such a thing.

if you're referring to the guy in the bear costume giving fellatio to the guy in the suit:

The Shining - Weirdest Scene - YouTube

here is the explanation I would give:

[Show spoiler]
(1) note the native american chanting in the background of the video
(2) remember in the film they said the hotel was built on a native american burial ground
(3) we see cans of "calumet" baking powder in the food storage area, with an indian logo on it
(4) during the intro sequence of the film (car driving to hotel), we hear what sounds like a native american woman screaming
(5) the hotel is called the "overlook" in reference to our (USA) overlooking the slaughter of native americans
(6) because of (1)-(5) above, the hotel is arguably haunted/cursed by native american spirits
(7) jack and danny can communicate/see spirits via "Shining" - and they start to invade/corrupt Jack right when he steps foot in the hotel
(8) shelly can't see/communicate with the spirits UNTIL THIS SCENE: this is the first scene (I think?) when she actually sees spirits/ghosts. Why now? Good question. Perhaps because the spirits are so prevalent and strong that they've invaded Shelly's psyche to the point that they are detectable by her

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by formula_nebula

I haven't seen the movie for a long time. So, I don't know what type of effect it would have on me today. But as a kid, it scared the crap out of me. The twin girls were creepy, and so was the blood pouring out of the elevator. The scary moments for me were; the lady in the bathtub, that Jack pays a visit to, and when Jack axes Scatman Crothers. The labyrinth scene at the end, also had me frightened. This was one of those movies, as a kid, I could not watch alone, and would keep me up at night.

I was in high school so it really wasn't that scary to me. And I don't know how young you were, uncut it was rated R. I guess if I was 8 or so it would be a different matter. In that same time frame when it was released, I was more scared watching Alien in the theater the year before. I skipped school and drove to the theater to see it.

[formula_nebula]

Originally Posted by slick1ru2

I was in high school so it really wasn't that scary to me. And I don't know how young you were, uncut it was rated R. I guess if I was 8 or so it would be a different matter. In that same time frame when it was released, I was more scared watching Alien in the theater the year before. I skipped school and drove to the theater to see it.

I was 11 at the time. Wish I had seen Alien in the theater. I wanted to real bad. I don't think I caught it until it was on VHS.

[I KEEL YOU]

I haven't read the book, but I've heard that the guy in the bear suit and the guy he was pleasing were characters from the book with a background story.. Which totally ruined the scene for me, knowing that they had a background. It was much more interesting seeing that scene before I knew that, when that scene was completely bizarrely random and "WTH?"-like.

As for the picture quality: It's amazing! It's a paradox because it has an average bit rate of only 15 mbps, one of THE lowest for any movie on Blu Ray, but the picture quality doesn't suffer at all. I think it's because there are many "simple" images in the movie where one color or shade takes up a lot of the picture, and that doesn't require a huge bit rate to look great. Like the bathroom scene where one shade of red is dominant. But I could be wrong.

As for the movie, it's one of my two favorite horror movies of all time. Certainly the favorite horror movie that fits in the psychological genre of horror movies, while The Thing is my favorite when it comes to graphical horror. In the audio commentary they mentioned how Kubrick read a ton of background material on human psychology and what fundamentally makes us scared of something. It sure shows in the movie. There is something eerily frightening about long empty halls, and it gets even scarier when those halls aren't empty anymore. I've written a paper about this movie when I was in school, I think that was 12 years ago. I watched it countless times then. Then after that, I haven't watched this movie at all for 11 years until I bought it on Blu Ray last year. After watching it again, it scared me just as much as the first time and I had nightmares the first night sleeping after watching it on Blu Ray again. It's THAT powerful! At least for me it was.

People talk about how Kubrick's movies don't fit any conventional genre and that his movies are a genre on its own: He made all kinds of movies. He made a comedy with Dr. Strangelove and it's regarded as one of the best comedies of all time. 2001 is regarded as one of the best science fiction movies of all time. Full Metal Jacket is regarded as one of the best war movies of all time. Barry Lyndon is regarded as one of the best period movies of all time. The Shining is regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time. But they're still hard to classify as those genres because they are ultimately Kubrick movies. In my opinion, the Kubrick genre or whatever you want to call it, with all it's mysterious psychological profiling, is best suitable for horror. And that is why The Shining for me is the most powerful and my favorite Kubrick movie.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by formula_nebula

I haven't seen the movie for a long time. So, I don't know what type of effect it would have on me today. But as a kid, it scared the crap out of me. The twin girls were creepy, and so was the blood pouring out of the elevator. The scary moments for me were; the lady in the bathtub, that Jack pays a visit to, and

[Show spoiler]when Jack axes Scatman Crothers

. The labyrinth scene at the end, also had me frightened. This was one of those movies, as a kid, I could not watch alone, and would keep me up at night.

I agree with you, but c'mon...put some spoiler tags for those who may not have seen the movie. Pretty big one there.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

I haven't read the book, but I've heard that the guy in the bear suit and the guy he was pleasing were characters from the book with a background story.. Which totally ruined the scene for me, knowing that they had a background. It was much more interesting seeing that scene before I knew that, when that scene was completely bizarrely random and "WTH?"-like.

As for the picture quality: It's amazing! It's a paradox because it has an average bit rate of only 15 mbps, one of THE lowest for any movie on Blu Ray, but the picture quality doesn't suffer at all. I think it's because there are many "simple" images in the movie where one color or shade takes up a lot of the picture, and that doesn't require a huge bit rate to look great. Like the bathroom scene where one shade of red is dominant. But I could be wrong.

As for the movie, it's one of my two favorite horror movies of all time. Certainly the favorite horror movie that fits in the psychological genre of horror movies, while The Thing is my favorite when it comes to graphical horror. In the audio commentary they mentioned how Kubrick read a ton of background material on human psychology and what fundamentally makes us scared of something. It sure shows in the movie. There is something eerily frightening about long empty halls, and it gets even scarier when those halls aren't empty anymore. I've written a paper about this movie when I was in school, I think that was 12 years ago. I watched it countless times then. Then after that, I haven't watched this movie at all for 11 years until I bought it on Blu Ray last year. After watching it again, it scared me just as much as the first time and I had nightmares the first night sleeping after watching it on Blu Ray again. It's THAT powerful! At least for me it was.

People talk about how Kubrick's movies don't fit any conventional genre and that his movies are a genre on its own: He made all kinds of movies. He made a comedy with Dr. Strangelove and it's regarded as one of the best comedies of all time. 2001 is regarded as one of the best science fiction movies of all time. Full Metal Jacket is regarded as one of the best war movies of all time. Barry Lyndon is regarded as one of the best period movies of all time. The Shining is regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time. But they're still hard to classify as those genres because they are ultimately Kubrick movies. In my opinion, the Kubrick genre or whatever you want to call it, with all it's mysterious psychological profiling, is best suitable for horror. And that is why The Shining for me is the most powerful and my favorite Kubrick movie.

Nicely said. Kubrick was a master at just about every genre he tackled. The Shining is one of my favorite horror films, and for me it represents the best type....psychologic, creepy, and suspenseful. I don't care for slasher or overly graphic gore-fests. If that is someone's type of "scary movie", then they may not think much of the The Shining.

[Kryptonic]

Is the sky blue?

[nefilim]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

Is the sky blue?

sometimes

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by camper

The film itself is quite good IMHO, but if you're looking for the King story you'll be dissapointed. Many elements of it are there, but overall they could easily classify as two totally different stories.

Those who were brought up on gore-porn like Hostel and the Saw series will definitely be bored by it. I hate to say it's 'thinking man's horror', because I don't want to make it sound like more than it is...but it's definitely more subtle than most of the horror you find today. More buildup to the 'scare' and due to today's standards the 'scare' isn't quite as scary as when it was initially filmed.

Still, because it's referenced so much in pop-culture it's a must see film like Deliverance or Apocolypse Now.

~Camper

Thats a good way to put it. It has the traditional Kubrickian slow build-up. The camera lingers on shots longer than most shaky-cam, ADD directors would ever consider. The music and sound effects are part of the package.

It doesnt have much in common with Kings version. Its darker in tone, not very redemptive, and its hard to feel sorry for the main character, unlike Kings version.

Great blu-ray, great film..... but thats just my opinion.

[Ernest Rister]

Barry Lyndon is regarded as one of the best period movies of all time.

By who?

The use of natural lighting is, perhaps, the only element of Barry Lyndon that is ever discussed anymore.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Thats a good way to put it. It has the traditional Kubrickian slow build-up. The camera lingers on shots longer than most shaky-cam, ADD directors would ever consider. The music and sound effects are part of the package.

It doesnt have much in common with Kings version. Its darker in tone, not very redemptive, and its hard to feel sorry for the main character, unlike Kings version.

Great blu-ray, great film..... but thats just my opinion.

That mode of horror film making didn't come out for 19 years until Blair Witch.

Don't know about the "traditional Kubrickian slow build-up".

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

By who?

The use of natural lighting is, perhaps, the only element of Barry Lyndon that is ever discussed anymore.

Come on man, it won a BAFTA! lol j/k

[slimdude]

It was OK! I"ve seen much better.

[Atreyu]

For what it's worth, here is my two cents worth. I love the film and is one of Nicholson's best in his off the wall repitoire. Cannot say it really scared me, but can be haunting at times. If you've never seen it, it is well worth a look.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

The use of natural lighting is, perhaps, the only element of Barry Lyndon that is ever discussed anymore.

By who?

Every conversation I've read or engaged in has involved much more than candlelight. In fact, the score is more significant to me than the candlelight. THe controversial but effective spoiler narrator (can't name a film that does that either). THe controversial but effective O'Neal casting is still hotly debated in most any conversation on the film too.

[Shuwatch]

For the $7.99 it's going for on Amazon, it's the best blind buy out there.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

By who?

Every conversation I've read or engaged in has involved much more than candlelight. In fact, the score is more significant to me than the candlelight. THe controversial but effective spoiler narrator (can't name a film that does that either). THe controversial but effective O'Neal casting is still hotly debated in most any conversation on the film too.

On those very rare occasions when someone decides to discuss the film, perhaps.

[slick1ru2]

Originally Posted by Shuwatch

For the $7.99 it's going for on Amazon, it's the best blind buy out there.

For some. At that same price point, I enjoyed several movies immensely more than The Shining. Dawn of the Dean, IMO the best zombie movie ever made, Stir of Echoes, which I thought was more scary than The Shining. The Others, a unique twist ending, The Fly an awesome Sci-FI movie, Hellraiser, a very gory, scary movie, Quarantine (American version of Rec 2), The Omen, From Hell, Sleepy Hollow, etc.. I own several of those and not The Shining.

I think that what people here have said, its more cerebral, not overtly gore and some will get it, others will take it or leave it. Many times you will be going WTF? If you like Resident Evil or Saw, I don't know if you'd like The Shining. Its a classic, I'll leave it at that.

[kcuber]

Originally Posted by Stinkin Mushroom

Is the picture quality of the shining good? cause i have the DVD already so i'm hesitating of taking the bluray one..

It is without a doubt a great transfer. I was just saying to my wife the other day when we were watching it that it is one of the best transfers I've seen. don't hesitate to get it. REDRUM

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

By who?

The use of natural lighting is, perhaps, the only element of Barry Lyndon that is ever discussed anymore.

By who? How about a mere footnote in cinema history, Martin Scorsese? It's his favorite Kubrick movie.

Maybe it's been somewhat disregarded by the masses as relatively poor box office numbers indicate, but critically, and by those who practice film making, it's been received much better than its legacy among the masses indicates.

[Batmon77]

Classic film that I dont need to own. I'd watch it once every 7 years or so.

But it was scary as hell in the 80's on HBO.