Video analysis of the Shining

I'll try to find them. I sort of went on a wikipedia extravaganza last night; I'd start reading something and then click every link I didn't know about until I had fleshed that topic dry, then go back to the first page and keep reading.

Essentially reading about The New World Order, which led to this guy , who isn't scary at all but very interesting, which led to The Book of Revelations and The end of the world.

...topped off by the fact that I have giant windows that you can't close in my bedroom. I still can't imagine how I was scared though, thinking back.
 
This guy reviewing these flicks is pretty sharp... one thing that some of you probably know is that The Shining was one of the first flicks to utilize what is now steadicam... I think this may have been one of the pioneering films... brand new idea at the time.

When the reviewer says that the wide angle shots of the big wheel chase, running chase, and maze chase... were all asthetic choices, I have to wonder a bit and say that to this day you're kidding yourself if you think you can get very good steadicam footage with anything less then a wide-angle shot.

Perhaps this was a choice... but I'm just saying, I think "steadicam" and how to best use it may have appeared as a set of 10 pins in which case Kubrick just had to roll the ball... yes he still got a strike, but I question whether the wide angle steady shots were totally premeditated or if they were partly decided by the brand new tech.

Kubrick was nuts though... I doubt there were many... if any, happy accidents in his flicks... although the scream with the girl seems oddly out of place to me.
 
[Cue post from Mikko]

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bballplaya283, The reviewer explains that the wife screaming BEFORE she sees what she's screaming about... was to display psychic abilities that she knew what she was going to see behind her. Seems like an odd choice to me... or an odd explanation... take your pic.

Maybe the combo scream/turn heightens the audience fear because we see her face DIRECTLY since she is turning around and the peak of the terror is while she is facing us DIRECTLY at the midpoint of her turn. I could buy that... but to say that she starts her scream a little early because Kubrick wanted us to sense that she was psychic? Hmm... I don't know... seems odd to me.

Terry... yeah, Rocky was four years older... I'd seen something where they talked about Steadicam in The Shining and they talked about it like it was fairly new tech... maybe I missed something in the analysis.

Hey and since I didn't say so sooner... this is an excellent thread! I really enjoy this guy's analysis. He's very engaging.

JDS... the BTS of Jack N... man... that was perfect casting. That dude gives me chills even when he's talking about food.
 
MattinSTL said:
bballplaya283, The reviewer explains that the wife screaming BEFORE she sees what she's screaming about... was to display psychic abilities that she knew what she was going to see behind her. Seems like an odd choice to me... or an odd explanation... take your pic.

Maybe the combo scream/turn heightens the audience fear because we see her face DIRECTLY since she is turning around and the peak of the terror is while she is facing us DIRECTLY at the midpoint of her turn. I could buy that... but to say that she starts her scream a little early because Kubrick wanted us to sense that she was psychic? Hmm... I don't know... seems odd to me.
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OK, that's what I thought you meant. It's possible Kubrick meant for her to scream early, but I think you're probably correct.
 
Am I the only one who's never liked The Shining or any Kubrick movie? I thought that it was extremely boring and not scary in the least. Jack wasn't really acting, he was just himself. Shelly Duvall was beyond terrible and so was the kid. It seems to me that Kubrick only knew how to make part of a good movie. The only decent part of 2001 was the part with Hal. The only decent part of Full Metal Jacket was the boot camp part. Besides those segments, I can't think of anything he's done that's worth watching. I don't understand the worship. Maybe it's just me?
 
Ouch!!! But I do tend to agree with you about Kubrick. I just don't get him, though I did like The Shining. I liked 2001 when it came out, but it hasn't worn well with time for me. The only other Kubrick movie I ever really cared about was The Killing.
 
HorseFilms said:
Am I the only one who's never liked The Shining or any Kubrick movie? I thought that it was extremely boring and not scary in the least. Jack wasn't really acting, he was just himself. Shelly Duvall was beyond terrible and so was the kid. It seems to me that Kubrick only knew how to make part of a good movie. The only decent part of 2001 was the part with Hal. The only decent part of Full Metal Jacket was the boot camp part. Besides those segments, I can't think of anything he's done that's worth watching. I don't understand the worship. Maybe it's just me?
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Just to play devil's advocate... I did wonder why Rob Ager didn't have anything to say about the kid's talking finger. :cheesy:


Also... I watched ALL these Rob Ager reviews today... and he definitely give a lot of credit to birth trauma... returning to the womb... etc. Basically he makes a comment about birth trauma and the security of the womb a lot.

I still think Kubrick (and this guy) are very clever... but I probably shouldn't have watched Rob's analysis of Cape Fear... I started to get bored with him all of a sudden... like he might be a little selective (within each movie) in order to give high praise for what should be basic building blocks of a story.
 
MattinSTL said:
I started to get bored with him all of a sudden... like he might be a little selective (within each movie) in order to give high praise for what should be basic building blocks of a story.
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Look around holly wood. how many directors can actually do the simple task of building a coherent story?
 
I never liked The Shining.

I've seen all of his stuff though. I like 2001, Barry Lyndon, Clockwork Orange, and The Killing the most. I thought Dr. Strangelove was over appreciated.

Kubrick, IMO, makes very smart and complex films with many layers of meaning, but they just aren't ridiculously entertaining.
 
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