A movie that doesn't necessarily make you jump out of your seat, but will haunt you and crawl into your mind when you least expect it. First to clear this up, if you are familiar with Stephen King's opinion on this movie, put that to the side before watching it. Forget the fact that there even is a book... It doesn't matter. To fully appreciate Kubrick's work on The Shining appreciate it as its own work of art, not as a recreation of the book. I for one have read and enjoyed both the book and the movie, and love them both, but for different reasons.
Kubrick is truly a God with sounds in his movies. This applies to many of his movies from The Shining, to 2001: A Space Odyssey, to A Clockwork Orange, etc. I think The Shining is one of the best films ever in the usage of sounds and music. If one were to watch The Shining with the music from Seinfeld, and put a laugh track over it, the film totally can be sold as a comedy. Maybe to do that some of the gore would have to be removed though... But truly, the sound is one of the key components of what makes the film work so well. One of the sounds unique to this film is the intense violin noise which I discovered months after seeing the movie for the film for the first time is akin to the sound of a broken down escalator (look out for that noise the next time you're on an old escalator, you won't be disappointed).
Another piece of the film that allows it to stand out so much is the unique creepy cinematography. The way hallways seem so long and eerie, the shot of Danny on his tricycle going around the main floor (the sounds of his tricycle going on and off of the carpet is amazing too), the shot of the two twins from afar, and the twisty shots through the maze.
The acting is brilliant too (from some of the cast), making you fear Jack Nicholson, although you may laugh a bit at Shelley Duvall as she throws a fit swinging a bat around like a maniac (fun fact, the reason Shelley Duvall was probably having trouble keeping herself together in reality because that scene took 127 takes to film).
So for anyone who is a fan of horror movies, but want something more than just a guy jumping out of the woods with a machete, here is a movie where you truly get into the mind of the crazy guy with an axe.
Review of The Shining
