When I say the name Stanley Kubrick, I'm guessing the first images that spring to your mind are Jack Nicholson in The Shining, HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Vincent D’Onofrio sitting on the toilet in Full Metal Jacket. And, all of those are great! However, one movie that I feel not enough Kubrick fans talk about is 1975's Barry Lyndon, which I think is secretly the director's hidden gem.

In fact, when I ranked Kubrick's best movies, I actually put Barry Lyndon above The Shining and Full Metal Jacket (though, not above 2001, as how can I rank anything above the greatest sci-fi movie of all time?) That’s because Barry Lyndon is totally unique in Kubrick's filmography.

It's a war movie, an adventure story, and a period piece, all rolled up into one. So, here are some more reasons why Barry Lyndon is Kubrick's underappreciated masterpiece.

First Of All, Barry Lyndon Might Be The Most Aesthetically Beautiful Film You Will Ever Watch

Not too long ago, I wrote an article focused on books about filmmaking. Well, on that list, I mentioned a book titled Every Frame a Rembrandt: Art and Practice of Cinematography by Andrew Laszlo, and I think that's every cinematographer’s goal - to create a work of art with every shot.

Well, while I think very few films accomplish this feat, Barry Lyndon is the exception. Frequent Kubrick collaborator, John Alcott (who won an Oscar for his cinematography), really knocked it out of the park with this one. To say it looks like a painting at times is an understatement, as some of the settings are literally based around artist William Hogarth's paintings.

Most of the movie uses natural light for the outdoor scenes and candlelight for the indoor scenes. Even though the film came out in 1975, I'd argue that it looks better than any film in the modern era. This is because Kubrick cared about that sort of thing. When he employed Alcott, I'm sure he made it clear that he wanted this movie to look as beautiful as possible, and Alcott delivered.

Barry Lyndon may be considered “slow,” or even “boring,” but I don't think anybody can deny its beauty. It's a true work of art.

And The Score Perfectly Compliments What's Happening On Screen

I've already complimented the visuals for this masterpiece, but now I have to gush over the score, as it's utterly transcendent. In fact, this is the movie that truly got me into Mozart (and not, you know, the actual movie, Amadeus, which is still one of the best music movies of all time).

That's because all of the classical music fits. I'm talking about compositions by Bach, Schubert, and Handel, just to name a few. Because that's the thing about classical music. It feels old (classic, as it were), and it should. But, by being classical, it used to be hard for me to get into since I couldn't put myself in that headspace.

However, Barry Lyndon transports me to that place, as the events happening on screen feel like they warrant these lavish songs. And, similar to how Barry Lyndon won an Oscar for its cinematography, it also won for Best Original Song Score, which feels highly justified if you ask me.

Honestly, Kubrick is known for using music in key moments of his films, such as “Also sprach Zarathustra" in 2001, and “Singin’ in the Rain” in A Clockwork Orange, but I truly feel like Barry Lyndon has the best overall score of all of his movies, and I will die on that hill.

Barry Lyndon Himself Is One Of Kubrick's Most Fascinating Protagonists

It's interesting how I've discussed the visuals and the music so far, but I haven't even discussed the story yet, which just goes to show how much the entire package is important to Barry Lyndon. Well, this is actually one of Kubrick's most interesting stories, too, as it contains one of his most interesting protagonists.

The movie itself is based on the 1844 novel, The Luck of Barry Lyndon, by William Makepeace Thackeray, and it features a true rogue of a character in Lyndon, portrayed by Ryan O'Neal. You see, Lyndon is actually not Barry's last name. Instead, he inherits the name when he marries a rich woman who soon becomes widowed. It is here that Barry climbs the social ladder until his ultimate downfall.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself, since that's Part II of this epic film, as in Part I, Barry fights in a fake duel, gets enlisted in the military, and begins to transform into the gold-digging scoundrel that he would eventually become. Barry is actually quite likable at first before he turns into a quite unlikeable fellow later.

All throughout, Barry becomes a true knave, and it goes from the point that you genuinely like him as a character, to genuinely not liking him all throughout the film's 3 hours and five minute runtime. Oh, and speaking of which…

It's A Period Piece That Doesn't Feel Old-Fashioned

We once wrote an article about period pieces that actually aren't boring…and Barry Lyndon wasn't on that list. That's because Barry Lyndon is notorious for being boring. In fact, when I once asked my favorite college teacher, Professor Miller, what his favorite Stanley Kubrick movie was, I was appalled when he told me it was Barry Lyndon.

Because, as I've been a Kubrick fan ever since high school, I had watched Barry Lyndon back then…and I HATED IT. But, much like Prof. Miller had been right about Kill Bill Vol. 2 being better than Vol. 1 (it is!), I realized that he was also right about Barry Lyndon's greatness. I just had to mature a little bit.

Now, I know a lot of people feel movies are way too long these days (I mean, I personally prefer shorter films to longer ones myself), but I think the length of this particular period piece fits, as this movie feels both epic and also incredibly modern, despite its length.

I think it's probably due to Thackeray's novel, as Barry Lyndon himself feels like a modern protagonist. He's a man, but he's also a gold digger. He'd prefer to stop adventuring and just settle down on a rich woman's money, which makes this period piece feel anything but old-fashioned. It just takes a long time to get Barry Lyndon to that point. But trust me, once you do, it's worth the wait, which brings me to my last point.

In The End, Barry Lyndon Is A Classic Kubrick Picture That Often Gets Overlooked

A lot of people think of Kubrick as a war movie director since he made two of the greatest war movies of all time with Paths of Glory and Full Metal Jacket…but they don't bring up Barry Lyndon.

People also think of Kubrick as a director of troubled male characters because he directed A Clockwork Orange and The Shining…but they don't bring up Barry Lyndon.

People even like to bring up how Kubrick directed epic films because he did Spartacus, and 2001…but they don't bring up Barry Lyndon! My point is, Kubrick made a lot of great films, but Barry Lyndon is often the one that gets overlooked, and it shouldn't because it’s honestly one of his very best films.

So, if you should decide to do a Kubrick marathon, don't groan at the prospect of rewatching Barry Lyndon. Give it another shot. I did, and now it's one of my favorites of his!

Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director. So, when I learned that he once said that 1979’s All That Jazz was quite possibly the best film he'd ever seen (which can be found in John Baxter's book, Stanley Kubrick: A Biography), I was nonplussed.

Really? All That Jazz? Isn't that a musical? Because I don't know about you, but given Kubrick's filmography, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who was deep into musicals. But then, I actually watched All That Jazz, and okay. Now I get it.

That's because All That Jazz isn't your typical musical. In fact, it has to be one of the most offbeat musicals I've ever seen in my entire life. It's the kind of musical where once it was over, I thought, OK, now I see why Kubrick liked this film so much. Here are some of those reasons.

All That Jazz Is An Incredibly Dark Movie

Now, even though I didn't take Kubrick to be a fan of musicals, I actually adore the genre myself. I've gone to see several Broadway shows, and I'm always delighted when I find out that a film I didn't know would be musical turns out to be one, such as the Mean Girls remake.

That said, I also love drama. So, when a drama can essentially double as a musical, I'm in Heaven. Some of my favorites include Miss Saigon, Sweeney Todd, and my all-time favorite, Pippin, which seems lively and fun on the surface, but is extremely dark at its core. It was also directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. And, do you know what Fosse also directed and choreographed? That’s right. All That Jazz.

However, do you know what All That Jazz is actually about? Well, it’s about death. And yes, I'm serious. The entire movie, with its rousing (and sexy) dance numbers, is 100% about death, and what, if anything, comes after it. And, I'm sure this spoke to Kubrick, as this is a man who reportedly told Stephen King that ghost stories were “optimistic” because they implied the existence of an afterlife (which is likely one of the many reasons why King didn’t like Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining).

But, like Pippin, this movie is pitch black, which likely resonated with Kubrick since most of his movies – even his comedies, like Dr. Strangelove – were tinged with darkness. So, it makes sense that All That Jazz, with its dark nature, would leave an impression on the auteur.

It Also Delves Into The Mind Of An Artist, Which I'm Sure Kubrick Likely Appreciated

Another thing that I’m sure hit Kubrick on an emotional level was just how much Bob Fosse poured his life story into this movie, which is something Kubrick never really did in his entire career (In a sense, Kubrick always remained an enigma). Fosse was fearless in criticizing himself in this semi-autobiographical story.

Fosse actually wrote and directed All That Jazz after he himself suffered a heart attack. This brush with death got him thinking about it, and the story very much plays out like a “what-if” scenario if Fosse had actually died on the operating table. Jaws’ Roy Scheider portrays a version of Fosse as Joe Gideon, a hyper-focused (and womanizing) stage and film director. Gideon is in the process of putting the finishing touches on a movie about a comedian, while also trying to stage a new play, and this mirrors Fosse’s own work on the movie, Lenny, and the play, Chicago.

And, wow. To be that open as a filmmaker? A part of me feels like Kubrick sometimes liked to hide behind his films. Yes, he did interviews, and yes, he spoke about his films at times, but he also seemed a little reclusive (especially in his later years).

I’m just speculating, of course, but a part of me feels like Kubrick admired something in a director who didn’t mind making himself look absolutely horrible on the big screen (Gideon is a philandering workaholic, and a pretty bad father). Just a thought.

It's A Musical, But Also The Kind You'd Probably Like Even If You Don't Like Musicals

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t picture Kubrick as somebody who liked musicals, but who knows? Maybe he would have liked to have seen a Broadway musical based around one of his movies, like Spartacus: The Musical! Or Full Metal Jacket: Live!

All jokes aside, though, All That Jazz is actually the kind of musical that I think even people who don’t like musicals might enjoy. A lot of it goes back to the story about Gideon, because, like Kubrick was apparently, he’s obsessive about his work. He’s the kind of director who will watch a scene over and over again in the editing process, even though it’s already great. Not only that, but he’s the kind of stage director who everybody wants to work with. In every way, he’s a director’s director, and this is killing him in the long run.

That’s because he won’t stop. I don’t think there’s a single scene in this movie where Roy Scheider doesn’t have a cigarette in his mouth. As the movie progresses, his health steadily deteriorates, and it’s painful to watch because you know he’s already got one foot in the grave.

Plus, the musical numbers all complement the story. I know most musicals are supposed to do that, but it often feels like a lot of them, such as one of my favorites, Wicked (Which I liked better in movie form since I think it better integrated the songs), often feel like the story is building toward the musical numbers, rather than the other way around. All That Jazz does, though, as they’re essential to this dark tale.

Finally, Roy Scheider's Against-Type Casting Is A True Sight To Behold

Much like I never expected Kubrick to be into musicals, I also never expected Roy Scheider to be in a musical. I mean, this is Detective Buddy ‘Cloudy’ Russo from The French Connection. It’s Agent Henry ‘Doc’ Levy from Marathon Man. Hell, it’s freaking Chief Brody from Jaws! This is not a man who sings and dances.

Yet, he is. At least in All That Jazz, he is. Now, given that Scheider spends a great deal of time being ill in this film (and even talking to a physical embodiment of Death, played by Jessica Lange), he’s not doing a lot of singing and dancing. In fact, he does the most moving about in the final number, which is a performance that Gideon is hallucinating while he’s on his deathbed. Be that as it may, you believe he was once a dancer. You believe he’s a master choreographer, and I think Kubrick was likely impressed by this as well.

Kubrick was, after all, the kind of director who could make the dreamy Tom Cruise resemble a jealous husband. He was the kind of filmmaker who could direct Peter Sellers in three different roles and make them all work. Hell, as much as I’m not a fan of the film, he could take Nabokov’s prickly novel, Lolita, and make it a palatable watch. So, Kubrick was probably as marveled as everybody else that Fosse could pull this out of Scheider.

Honestly, I think the main reason why Kubrick loved this movie so much is that Scheider’s character mentions Kubrick by name. I’m serious! In one scene, he wonders if Kubrick ever suffered for his art as much as he is. So, maybe that’s why Kubrick loved All That Jazz so much. As they say, flattery will get you everywhere.

Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director, and a long time ago, I ranked all of his movies. And, spoiler alert, I put 2001: A Space Odyssey at the top of the list.

Honestly, how could I not? Not only is it often considered the greatest sci-fi movie of all time, but it’s often considered one of the greatest movies of all time, period. That said, one thing that I often hear people say online is that “Stanley Kubrick is boring.” When I ask them why they say that, they’ll usually bring up 2001, since that’s the first movie they watch of his, because again, it’s considered his masterpiece.

However, I would never recommend that any burgeoning film fan start with 2001 if they want to get into Kubrick. Honestly, it is boring, but that slow pace is intentional. It represents how the concept of time doesn’t really apply to the endlessness of space (My interpretation). Anyway, interpretations aside, here’s how I would direct people to start if they want to get into Kubrick. First, you should…

Start With The Shining

Undoubtedly Kubrick’s most accessible film, a lot of cinephiles might have already seen The Shining and not even realize that it was a Kubrick movie. Often considered one of the best horror movies of all time, The Shining is quintessential viewing if you’re into the horror medium.

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name (even though there are several big differences between the book and the film), the story concerns an author, Jack, played by Jack Nicholson, who becomes a caretaker of an empty hotel during the winter, and he brings his wife and child with him.

Things go south when Jack starts seeing ghosts, and they tell him to kill his family. Luckily, his son has the ability to communicate telepathically with other people who also have what’s called the "shining."

Classic stuff, and The Shining has it all when it comes to Kubrick’s style.

You have his distinct way of framing shots, the coldness present in most of his films, the great performances, and of course, the Kubrick stare. The Shining has it all, but it’s actually enjoyable to watch. So, start with that.

Then, Watch The Documentary Room 237

Okay, so I know it’s weird to direct somebody to watch a movie that wasn’t directed by Kubrick next, but the documentary, Room 237, truly gets into the overall mythos that surrounds the director.

You see, one of the things that makes Kubrick so compelling is that he was kind of mysterious.

He wasn’t like Hitchcock, who would often show up in his own movies, or like Scorsese, who openly talks about filmmaking.

Nope. It’s cliche to say this, but Kubrick was a bit of an enigma, which only means that fans have come up with their own theories about him and his work. The most extreme fan theories appear in the documentary Room 237, where fans argue that The Shining hides several clues about a myriad of things about the director.

The most insane (but also compelling) argument is that Kubrick actually staged the moon landing and provided hints of this in The Shining. Again, it’s crazy, but if you want to fully understand why some people obsess over Kubrick, then this is a great film to watch next.

Move On To Full Metal Jacket To Get A Sense Of Kubrick's Coldness And Sense Of Humor

Considered one of the best war movies of all time, Full Metal Jacket is yet another movie that film fans might have already seen without knowing it was Kubrick.

Like The Shining, Full Metal Jacket is highly accessible. Some might say that the first half in boot camp is better than the second half in the actual war, but I consider them two sides of the same coin.

Private Leonard (“Gomer Pyle”), played by Daredevil’s Vincent D’Onofrio, is one of the best characters in any Kubrick film, and his story perfectly portrays Kubrick’s coldness as a filmmaker. We feel bad for Private Pyle, but we’re also captivated by his abuse. We know things will end badly, and we’re just waiting for it to happen, and it does. Shockingly so.

The war section is also fascinating. We really get in the heads of these soldiers, and by the end, we’re left wondering who really were the people that America sent over to foreign lands.

It’s an anti-war film, and one that is both hard to watch, but also humorous. It’s definitely one of his best.

Then, Jump Backward To Paths Of Glory

The other major Kubrick war film, Paths of Glory, jumps all the way back to the First World War and stars Kirk Douglas. The plot is about a commanding officer who forces a suicide mission, and when it goes awry, he tries to court-martial three soldiers, but Kirk Douglas isn’t having it.

I think this is an excellent film to watch next because it shows that Kubrick never really changed his stance on war being pointless for 30 years, as Paths came out in 1957, and Full Metal Jacket came out in 1987.

Now, here’s the thing. It’s black and white. In fact, a lot of Kubrick’s best films are. That said, I know some young movie fans aren’t into classic black and white films. And look, I get it. Black and white=old, right? Well, you’re not wrong, but any true film fan will be cool with older films because some of the best ones come from the ‘30s, ‘40s, and ‘50s.

Paths of Glory is one of those films. It’s a war movie, but it’s more about the consequences of war and the people leading men to their deaths. It’s a masterpiece and a great place to start in Kubrick’s older catalogue.

Dr. Strangelove Should Come Next

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Yes, that’s the full title) is undoubtedly Kubrick’s funniest movie.

It’s a satire about a nuclear apocalypse. If that doesn’t sound like Kubrick in a nutshell, then I don’t know what does. A bunch of men gather in a war room, and argue over everything. It’s a story about what if the wrong people are in charge of starting a war, and, yeah…I’m just going to leave it there.

This is another black and white movie, but I think people should go from Paths of Glory to this to see that Kubrick really wasn’t just “the serious director.

It’s also technically a “war” movie, but one that is more concerned with the politics of war, kind of like Paths.

Now we’re cooking when it comes to Kubrick. What’s next?

Follow It Up With A Clockwork Orange

My older sister warned me never to watch A Clockwork Orange, but I’m glad I did since it made me into a lifelong fan.

Based on the Anthony Burgess novel of the same name, A Clockwork Orange is about a group of delinquents called droogs who do all manner of terrible things and end up having to pay for it…or at least, one of them does.

You see, A Clockwork Orange is quite different from the book. In the novel, the characters are much younger, so the heinous acts are more of a reflection on dumb youth. Kubrick aged up the characters, so it really became a criticism of society itself for allowing these people to walk free.

It’s a tough watch, but it’s a huge tonal shift from Dr. Strangelove, while still maintaining a sort of wit that often gets overlooked since it’s such a hard film to sit through.

But, if you’ve made it this far…

THEN Move Onto 2001: A Space Odyssey

I think now is a good time to finally check out 2001. Now that you’ve seen that Kubrick could do multiple styles, the slower-paced 2001 seems like a nice place to go next.

2001 is interesting because it might be Kubrick’s coldest film. It has such a bombastic opening with the apes, but then it slows down considerably, and then it goes to strange, dark places.

Today, it might seem quite dated, and it is (I mean, this saw 2001 as the future, and we’re already 24 years past that). That said, it still feels bold and audacious.

The story goes from the cusp of humankind to us exploring the vastness of space, and it still feels relevant, what with how we’re still considering the prospect of going to distant planets.

It’s not my personal favorite film of Kubrick’s, but it’s essential viewing for any movie fan. Even if it is kinda boring.

Now, you can watch any Kubrick film you want. Enjoy!

With Halloween season here, one of the best new releases to watch with a Disney+ subscription to get into the spirit of things is the new Simpsons short “The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.” The new collaboration between the beloved TV family and the Disney universe is a great time, but if you get curious about the A Clockwork Orange reference, I have answers.

“The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year” has Sideshow Bob getting his revenge on the Simpsons by tying them up in their home and singing a parody to the classic Christmas song and making tons of references to Disney Villains as they terrorize Springfield. Bart Simpson finds a way to fight back, but not before wearing a Halloween costume of Alex from one of the most famous and controversial X-rated movies, A Clockwork Orange.

During CinemaBlend’s conversation with The Simpsons writer/producer Al Jean, here’s what he said about the reference:

So while someone jumping into the animated short after not watching The Simpsons (or not watching in a long time) might raise eyebrows as the costume reference, Bart channeling the Stanley Kubrick antihero is a total callback to the original series. Jean also said this:

That’s one of the beauties of The Simpsons, isn’t it? Its comedy is a pop culture minefield in so many ways, and has been across its 36 seasons, and it can either go over one’s head or inspire them to explore the reference further. Or, for example, if a kid watched this short and didn’t understand, years down the line when they learn about the Kubrick classic and disturbing 1972 movie, they will remember Bart Simpson in the costume.

Sure it would have been easy for The Simpsons to have Bart dress up like one of the many Disney characters now available to them through the series being under the House of Mouse’s umbrella, but as a longtime fan of the series who watched it growing up, I kind of love that they made this reference to the original series and kept the edge of the cartoon, even for a Disney+ exclusive short.

During my conversation with Al Jean, we also talked about the sweet reason behind parodying a traumatic scene from Bambi. The writer/producer also discussed getting Agatha Harkness in Simpsons form for the first time at the same time Agatha All Along is dominating. You can stream the short now on Disney+.

I have a rich new edition of The King Beat to serve up this week. Among the recent Stephen King-related news, Glen Powell discussed his work on the upcoming adaptation of The Running Man, and the underappreciated anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes celebrated its 18th anniversary, but those are not the only events from the past few days to emerge from the world of Stephen King. 

In addition to Danny Lloyd setting the record straight regarding his experiences on the set of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, there is also news of a new documentary about the film that is set to premiere later this month. But that’s not all, as those working to build the Ultimate Stephen King collection will also be excited to learn about a new special edition of Mick Garris’ The Stand that has been announced in coordination with the miniseries’ 30th anniversary. Let’s dig in!

Danny Lloyd Explains How Protected He Was From The Horror On The Set Of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

This might be hard to believe, but not every behind-the-scenes story about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is true. For example, Robin Williams was never among the actors considered to play Jack Torrance, and it’s extremely unlikely that the film was Kubrick confessing to staging the Apollo 11 moon landing. That being said, some of the legends about the modern classic are actually factual – including that Kubrick and the production made efforts to shield child actor Danny Lloyd from any scary material on set.

Lloyd was only five years old when he traveled with his family to London so that he could play Danny Torrance in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and while his memory from that time isn’t perfect, he knows in retrospect that he was “protected” from the shocking elements of the movie. The former child actor (he’s now a biology teacher) is featured on this week’s episode of Fangoria’s The Kingcast (guest co-hosted by Doctor Sleep writer/director Mike Flanagan), and he is specifically asked by Eric Vespe about the rumor that he was kept unaware he was making a “scary movie” during production. Lloyd responded in the affirmative, saying,

Watching The Shining closely, fans will notice that Danny Lloyd isn’t featured in any shots with bloody carnage or the ghosts of The Overlook Hotel. It’s not hard to assume that was very intentional – but Lloyd also emphasized a general lack of awareness of the genre when he was a young kid:

As Eric Vespe and Mike Flanagan pointed out, being part of a scary movie did ultimately influence Danny Lloyd’s performance. After all, some of the most memorable shots of The Shining feature the young actor looking straight down the lens of the camera with a look of pure terror struck across his face. Lloyd agreed and laughed, saying,

In addition to discussing his awareness of the horror in The Shining, Danny Lloyd also tells The Kingcast about the fascinating audition process for the film, his personal relationship with the books of Stephen King, his time with Jack Nicholson on set, and more. He provides some wonderful, unique insight into the movie, and I highly recommend giving the full podcast episode a listen.

A Surprise Documentary About The Shining Will Be Release On July 26

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a fascinating film. It’s a work that has inspired a tremendous amount of study, resulting in articles, essays, books, documentaries and more, but there are seemingly endless angles on the movie, and they are all interesting. Those who love the Stephen King adaptation can already enjoy Lee Unkrich and J.W. Rinzler’s Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and director Rodney Ascher’s Room 237, but soon there will be another exploration to enjoy, as a brand new doc is set to be released later this month by the official Stanley Kubrick YouTube channel.

According to Indiewire, a documentary titled Shine On – The Forgotten ‘Shining’ Location is going to premiere on YouTube at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST next Friday, July 26 (which happens to be Stanley Kubrick’s birthday). The work features narration from actor Michael Sheen and is specifically about the location scouting and art direction that went into creating the iconic Overlook Hotel for the big screen.

In the making of the documentary, director/producer Paul King successfully discovered sets from The Shining at Elstree Studios in London, and the film explores the various influences and decisions that went into the creation of The Overlook. In a press statement, King says,

The first trailer for Shine On – The Forgotten ‘Shining’ Location will premiere Friday, July 19, to provide Shining fans with a first look at the documentary.

The Stand Miniseries’ 30th Anniversary Is Being Celebrated With A New Steelbook

As a physical media collector, I’m a big fan of Steelbooks. In addition to being durable and simply different than the standard plastic cases that most movies come in, they transcend media format changes (namely Blu-ray to 4K UHD) and often feature unique art that’s not available in any other home video release. Suffice it to say, I own the Steelbook for every Stephen King adaptation that has been produced in the format, and I’m stoked to soon add Mick Garris’ The Stand to my shelf as well.

Blu-ray.com has the news that Paramount Home Media Distribution is planning to release a special Steelbook for The Stand to celebrate the miniseries’ 30th anniversary (the four-part show aired between May 8-12, 1994). The artwork on the front of the case depicts the journey that Stu, Larry, Glen, and Ralph take to Las Vegas in the third act of the film, while the back has a crow sitting atop a skull with a lightning strike behind in. The interior art includes the tagline “The End Of The World Is Just The Beginning” on one side and a shadowy, demonic depiction of Randall Flagg on the other.

I’m personally excited to add this new collectable to my collection, as an upgrade, but those who plan on purchasing it should know that the Blu-ray disc that’s included is the same one that was released in standard packaging back in 2019. So if you already own The Stand miniseries in HD and don’t feel the need to make this new purchase for the Steelbook alone, it’s understandable. This is the third Stephen King miniseries to be released in the format, the other two being Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot and Tommy Lee Wallace’s IT.

The Stand Steelbook won’t be a wide release, as the plan instead is for it to be sold as a Walmart exclusive. Pre-orders aren’t yet possible, but it has been announced that it will be in stores on September 24.

Recommendation Of The Week: "On Slide Inn Road"

If you ever get the suspicion that you might be living in a Stephen King story, allow me to recommend never going on any kind of a road trip. From “Children Of The Corn” to Desperation to “You Know They Got a Hell of a Band,” things rarely go well for King characters who decide to travel long distances via car. It’s a part of King’s literary legacy – and he most recently added to it with “On Slide Inn Road.”

The short story was first published in Esquire back in October 2020, but it’s now included as one of the 12 tales of terror in You Like It Darker. The road trip narrative finds the Browns – a mother, father, two kids, and a grandfather – on their way to Derry, Maine to visit a dying relative. While attempting to take a shortcut via an abandoned street called Slide Inn Road, they first get forced to turn around due to a washout, and then the car gets trapped in a ditch. It’s bad enough that the family is stranded, but things get far, far worse when they encounter a pair of strangers with horrible intentions.

That brings this week’s edition of The King Beat to a close, but I’ll be back next Thursday here on CinemaBlend with another roundup of all of the news from the world of Stephen King. And instead of counting down the days, you can explore my Adapting Stephen King series, chronicling the full history of King adaptations in film and television.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s marriage was the subject of public fascination in the '90s and also drew the interest of Stanley Kubrick. The revered filmmaker decided to construct his sexual thriller around the real couple's marriage via his film, Eyes Wide Shut. The controversial movie was his last, and has retroactively been considered one of Kubrick's best movies. However, rumors have swirled around the tedious, years-long process of making the movie, as well as Kubrick’s strange directing techniques allegedly leading to Kidman and Cruise’s divorce. Nevertheless, the movie remains iconic, and Kidman recently reflected on the experience positively and revealed a "great" note the directer gave her and Cruise.

In a recent interview with The LA Times, the Moulin Rouge star opened up about making Eyes Wide Shut, which came along so early in Nicole Kidman’s Hollywood career. She chatted about what it was like working with the famously meticulous Stanley Kubrick and how he wanted to create a comfortable environment for the actors to express their ideas. He wanted his actors to not treat him like a legend, and wanted input regarding creative decisions. She explained:

Many directors have also taken their approach to the creative process. Martin Scorsese encourages his actors to improvise some of their lines, and Yorgos Lanthimos has rehearsal sessions that just involve acting exercises to make performers more comfortable with movement. It’s a great technique and a smart way to ground the creative process and keep ideas flowing.

Because of this approach, this meant much of the production on Eyes Wide Shut was devoted to talking, not actually shooting footage. While the cast felt supported that their ideas and input was being respected by someone so renowned like Stanley Kubrick, at a certain point, the actors were anxious to actually start filming. One scene that took the longest was the scene where Cruise and Kidman smoke a spliff in bed together. By the time they ended up actually filming it, the two were very comfortable with the dialogue, and improvised some of it. Kidman said of the experience:

This level of preparation is probably why the actors ended up being game for some of the more racy scenes in the movie. For instance, Nicole Kidman is naked in the opening scene of Eyes Wide Shut and has said in the past that she felt completely safe filming those kinds of scenes. The Oscar-winning actress also explained that she understands the fascination with the process because it took two years to film, and the subject matter at the center. She also recalled a time where Sydney Pollack, who is a director himself, expected to only be filming his acting scenes for a couple of days. But she and Cruise knew from working on the film for so long that it would likely be much longer than that:

Even though the process was apparently draining for the two lead actors, many would consider the end product to be worth it. Eyes Wide Shut has garnered a significant following, and the mystique of the film is cemented in cinematic and pop culture history. It may not be everyone’s favorite Kubrick movie, but it is certainly one of his most discussed, and was revolutionary for its time.

You can check out Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, which is one of the best movies streaming on Pluto TV. For more information on some other great films starring Kidman.

Later this month, audiences will ride the stormy summer blockbuster season through the offering that is Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters, a reimagining/reinterpretation of the classic 1996 thriller, helmed by Jan de Bont. The new Twisters already is getting positive reactions, including a vote of confidence from the unofficial King of Blockbusters, Tom Cruise. Imagine the irony, then, if Cruise were to learn the full story behind his one-time Eyes Wide Shut collaborator Stanley Kubrick supporting Jan de Bont on the original Twister, allowing him to use a clip from The Shining during a pivotal scene in the original film?

Behind-the-scenes stories like this are the best. Jan de Bont was coming off of Speed, and looking for his next high-profile adventure. He found it in Twister, a movie about professional storm chasers who increasingly encounter more dangerous tornadoes over the course of the film. De Bont, from the very beginning, knew that he wanted to associate one of the bigger twisters – visually – with Stanley Kubrick’s horror masterpiece, The Shining. And while appearing on CinemaBlend’s official ReelBlend podcast, De Bont told the cool story about how the movie was included in his film.

You can see a clip of The Shining during this scene from Twister, when a massive tornado rips apart a drive-in movie theater:

Whenever a clip from an existing movie appears in a new movie, you know that permission had to be granted. So I asked Jan de Bont what it took to get The Shining in his tornado movie, and he told ReelBlend:

But Jan de Bont, as expected, met resistance from the studio. For one thing, they assumed that Stanley Kubrick would balk at his footage being used in a tornado blockbuster. Still, de Bont wanted to give it a shot. He told ReelBlend:

Just knowing that Stanley Kubrick, the legend behind so many cinematic classics, saw and loved Speed brings me such joy. But then, when you learn how important Kubrick was to Jan de Bont, the whole story collects a beautiful emotional bow. He finally tells ReelBlend:

And we are fans of Jan de Bont. You have to listen to his full conversation on the ReelBlend podcast.

And make sure that you grab the 4K release of the original Twister ahead of the new movie arriving in theaters on July 19.

Tragedy struck today when Shelley Duvall passed away at age 75 in her sleep due to complications with diabetes. She was known for playing eccentric characters in films like Popeye, 3 Women, and Annie Hall. And, of course, you can’t forget when the Texas native starred in one of the best Stephen King movies, The Shining. After the Primetime Emmy nominee’s death, celebrity tributes from Jamie Lee Curtis and more came pouring in to honor a famed actress.

Before becoming an actress, Shelley Duvall was going to explore a science career until she was “discovered” by three crew members at a party and asked her to be part of Robert Alman’s film Brewster McCloud. This would lead to many collaborations between the two as well as many other movies that would give her a big screen presence.

Ever since 1989, Shelley Duvall has been with longtime partner and musician Dan Gilroy. Her Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme co-star gave a wonderful tribute to The Hollywood Reporter, writing,

More beautiful tributes came from well-known celebrities who took the time to praise a memorable talent. One of them came from Jamie Lee Curtis, who posted on Instagram about the time she had the privilege to play Annie Oakley in one of Shelley Duvall’s television shows:

It’s incredible that Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband Christopher Guest had a connection to Shelley Duvall in giving Curtis an acting role and her husband a directing gig. For some context, the Halloween actress played Annie Oakley in Tall Tales & Legends, which was an anthology series created, executive produced, and presented by Duvall. It’s truly inspiring that she was able to show young women that actresses can have a place behind the camera as well as in front. Curtis sure found that place herself later in her career producing the Halloween Trilogy sequel series and the upcoming Freaky Friday 2.

Another loving tribute came from Stephen King, whose novel The Shining was the source material for one of Shelley Duvall's most memorable performances. He posted his thoughts about the Faerie Tale Theatre creator on Twitter, writing,

Shelley Duvall famously had a very complicated relationship with director Stanley Kubrick in the making of The Shining, but it's an iconic performance in one of the best horror films of all time.

The legendary director's estate shared sentiments via a dedicated Instagram page, and you can see the post below:

The Wire’s Wendell Pierce also took the time to pen a sweet tribute to Shelley Duvall. He wrote in a Tweet about how the comedy film Popeye first introduced him to the American actress:

Popeye is another great rom-com to get to know what a stellar talent Shelley Duvall was – the actress paired opposite Robin Williams in the titular role. With those big expressive eyes of hers and portraying the gestures and mannerisms of  E. C. Segar’s animated character, you couldn’t pick anyone better for Olive Oyl.

With many celebrities sending tributes to Shelley Duvall, it proves what a profound impact she had on an audience. The Peabody Award winner was truly an incredible talent from her best film roles to the television shows she headlined. Our hearts at CinemaBlend go out to the friends and loved ones of this extraordinary actress for all that she brought audiences. She’ll never be forgotten. 

Tim Blake Nelson is one of the most recognizable character actors of our time, with credits that include Lincoln, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and O Brother, Where Art Thou? The star has been performing in mostly supporting roles for years, and it seems like he still has career hits and misses. Nelson was recently cut out of the monster blockbuster Dune: Part Two, which was a big bummer for the actor. However, he still is keeping his head held high, and he even shared a funny Stanley Kubrick story to give some perspective. 

In a recent interview on the Inside of You podcast, the star chatted about his professional highs and lows, including his experiences working with auteur directors like Steven Spielberg and The Coen Brothers. He also opened up about being cut out of the latest Dune flick, having been told his scenes made the movie too long. While this may have truly been the case, he still felt like the cut could’ve been a reflection of his own performance. He said told podcast host Michael Rosenbaum:

This likely is more of his own personal desire to be the best he can be rather a real reflection on why his scenes may have been cut. After all, Part Two, in its final form, was close to three hours long, so cuts were inevitable. Director Denis Villeneuve admitted to cutting some of his favorite Dune scenes from the first film, including one involving Josh Brolin singing. Stephen McKinley Henderson's scenes were cut from the massive sequel as well, so Tim Blake Nelson Nelson shouldn’t take it too personally. 

However, this conversation did prompt a great story about an actor friend of the Incredible Hulk star's, who ended up being fired from Stanley Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut. Tim Blake Nelson recalled the tale, which sounds like a somewhat surreal experience, saying in the YouTube clip: 

This is a somewhat surprising story about Stanley Kubrick, who has a thorny reputation. There are stories about the acclaimed director, such as him allegedly putting Shelley Duvall through hell while making The Shining. A Clockwork Orange BTS fact also involves him making the film a torturous production for Malcolm McDowell. This is one of those rare stories where it seems Kubrick was trying to let an actor down easy, despite the sentiment not really sticking. 

Tim Blake Nelson shared this story to convey that he can’t imagine a skillful director like Denis Villeneuve to be the one who couldn’t get those since-omitted Dune: Part Two scenes to work. That's in the same way that Nelson couldn’t imagine the 2001: A Space Odyssey helmer being the one to blame for his friend's performance. Ultimately, even in his own disappointment, Nelson still had some sweet sentiments to share about working with Villeneuve and co.:

Considering how great the character actor has proven to be, I doubt the cut was a reflection on his performance. However, it’s great to hear that he had a wonderful time on set, regardless and, hopefully, this team can collaborate again in the near future. There is a Dune: Messiah in the works, so there’s always a chance we can see him return to the sprawling, sand-filled franchise.

It may be a while before another collaboration comes into fruition but, in the meantime, Tim Blake Nelson fans can still see the actor in his upcoming film, Greedy People, which is expected to hit theaters in October. For more information on other exciting titles heading to the big screen soon, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule. Also, know that Dune: Part Two will begin streaming for Max subscribers on May 21.

The directors on this list are among the greatest in the history of cinema, with films that are considered the best of all time; films that will never be forgotten. What about those movies they brought all their tremendous talents to, but which aren’t remembered as well? Here is our list of great movies, by great directors, that don’t get talked about enough these days. 

The Frighteners - Peter Jackson

The Frighteners is such a great movie, and it’s criminally underrated. No, it's not as sprawling or overwhelming as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, but it has all the heart and more. Michael J. Fox leads as a con man/exorcist who can see and interact with ghosts. The Frightners is really funny, well-paced, and delightful. 

The King Of Comedy - Martin Scorsese 

When you think of Martin Scorsese, “comedy” is not usually the first word that pops into your head, but The King Of Comedy is really a pretty great movie, and while it’s technically a comedy, it’s really dark. Goodfellas has some comedy in it, like Joe Pesci acting like a clown… but a true (dark) comedy? This Robert De Niro and Jerry Lewis-led film stands alone in Scorsese’s canon. 

Peggy Sue Got Married - Francis Ford Coppola

Peggy Sue Got Married is a deceptively simple film. Unlike Francis Ford Coppola’s more-talked-about epics like The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now, this film, starring Nicolas Cage and Kathleen Turner, is smaller, but that doesn’t mean it’s lesser. It’s a weird time-travel tale, but at its heart, it’s really a love story, and while it's not Coppola’s best work, it’s well worth a watch and should be talked about more often. 

Jackie Brown - Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Taratino has famously said that his next movie, his 10th, could be his last. Whether that holds true or not remains to be seen, but it’s a safe bet Jackie Brown will still be his least talked about.

Strange Days - Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow’s won Oscars (for The Hurt Locker) and she’s directed cult classics (Point Break). Strange Days is certainly closer to the latter. In it, Bigelow dabbles in science fiction, a rarity for her, but it’s unsurprising, as Strange Days was written by her then-husband James Cameron. It doesn’t have the iconic quotes that Point Break has, nor is it as white-knuckle as The Hurt Locker, but it is a great time capsule to filmmaking in the mid-90s and well worth remembering. 

Amistad - Steven Spielberg

Wedged between The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan in Steven Spielberg’s filmography, is Amistad. It’s easy to understand why this powerful historical drama revolving around a landmark court case regarding the slave trade is overlooked, but it shouldn’t be. It’s a moving story, told expertly as only Spielberg can, with a monster cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, and Djimon Hounsou, among many others. 

Clockers - Spike Lee

Let’s be clear here, Clockers is not Spike Lee’s finest work. It doesn’t reach the heights of movies like Do The Right Thing or Malcolm X, but it's still a really good movie. It gets lost in Lee’s stellar filmography, which is understandable. It’s also a testament to just how good Lee’s career has been. 

Talk Radio - Oliver Stone

Talk Radio has everything you expect from an Oliver Stone movie. Its pacing and storytelling are perfect, it’s a fascinating and terrifying story that pulls from the real-world events of a murdered radio show host. It also has a healthy dose of conspiracy, as any great Stone film does. 

The Bling Ring - Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring is a meta-tastic heist film that is not only a ton of fun to watch with celebrity cameos and great acting performances, but it also touches on some of the emerging trends that exploded in the years after the movie came out, notably influencer culture. It’s too often overlooked in Coppola’s stellar filmography. 

The Game - David Fincher

David Fincher is a master, and his filmography is full of great movies, like Se7en and Fight Club. The movie he made between those two classic is The Game with Sean Penn and Michael Douglas. Understandably, it’s overshadowed, but it’s an amazing film that is every bit as good as those two more talked-about movies. Even when people watch Fincher’s whole body of work, The Game gets overlooked and it shouldn’t. 

Casualties Of War - Brian De Palma

Casualties of War was released in 1989, which was the tail end of a slew of excellent Vietnam War movies released in the late ‘80s, like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and Hamburger Hill. Despite earning well-deserved praise from critics, the Brian De Palma film bombed, and as such, it's unfortunately one of the director’s least talked about movies when it should be one of the most. 

Matchstick Men - Ridley Scott

Usually, when movie fans talk about Ridley Scott, it’s his sprawling historical epics like Gladiator or Napoleon that dominate the conversation, along with sci-fi classics like Alien and Blade Runner. Matchstick Men is a smaller movie, a dark comedy about a con man with a myriad of personal problems played by Nicolas Cage. It’s a wonderful performance by Cage, and despite not performing well at the box office, it’s been well-reviewed over the years.

Inherent Vice - Paul Thomas Anderson

Inherent Vice from Paul Thomas Anderson is a complicated movie, based on a complicated book by Thomas Pinchon. It’s easy to understand why it’s not as talked about as some of Anderson’s other movies, like There Will Be Blood and Boogie Nights, but it’s every bit as good as those, featuring great acting performances and wonderful cinematography. 

Out Of Sight - Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderberg is known for stylish filming techniques with snappy dialog and interesting plot twists. It’s all right there in Out Of Sight, but the movie still gets overlooked. It was Soderbergh’s first big-budget film, and maybe that’s why it doesn’t get talked about enough. It was also his first collaboration with George Clooney, which makes it even more confounding that it’s not more popular. 

Barry Lyndon - Stanley Kubrick

It’s hard to really argue that any of Stanley Kubrick’s films are not talked about enough, but Barry Lyndon comes the closest here. It’s most revered for its cinematography, but it’s also a wonderful story. While it doesn’t have the panache of A Clockwork Orange or the scope of 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s still a Kubrick film and it’s one of the best ever made. 

Stardust - Matthew Vaughn

Matthew Vaughn has quietly put together one of the finest resumes in Hollywood. The Kingsman movies are a hot franchise, he’s dabbled in Marvel, and may have inspired the choice of Daniel Craig as James Bond after directing him in Layer Cake. Stardust seems to get lost in the shuffle, but it’s maybe, low key, his best film. 

Ryan's Daughter - David Lean

David Lean is rightfully most remembered for three films, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago. Lost in the discussion of those films is Ryan’s Daughter, a retelling of Madame Bovary set at the end of World War I. It was the last film Lean directed for 14 years and we can only wonder what he might have done had he not semi-retired. 

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson has developed one of the most distinct styles in film history, which translates brilliantly to animation, as well. Anderson’s first foray into the genre was Fantastic Mr. Fox, starring George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray, among others. While it may never outshine his live-action classics, it should be discussed more as one of his best works. 

Bound - The Wachowskis

The DNA of the Wachowskis is very evident in Bound, their first movie. It was made on a shoestring budget, so it doesn’t have the over-the-top effects of The Matrix series, but you can see where they were headed in their filmmaking. 

Intolerable Cruelty - Coen Brothers

When you have a filmography like the Coen Brothers, inevitably, some of the movies won’t get talked about as much as others. Intolerable Cruelty is one of those that gets lost in the mix, behind movies like The Big Lebowski and others that are among the best movies of the ‘90s and beyond. 

Insomnia - Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is among the most beloved directors of the 21st century, creating what feels like independent films, but with monster budgets. That DNA was on display early in his career with Insomnia, which has everything you’d expect from a Nolan movie, but with less than half the budget of Oppenheimer. 

The Fan - Tony Scott

There are few better action directors in Hollywood history than Tony Scott. Most remembered today for classics like Top Gun, and Days of Thunder, The Fan should be talked about more. It’s not a perfect movie, but De Niro’s performance is terrifying (in a great way) as a baseball fan obsessed with Wesley Snipes' character. It’s action horror, and it’s great. 

Vincent And Theo - Robert Altman

Robert Altman had one of the most up-and-down careers in Hollywood history. After a string of successes in the ‘80s, his career was almost sunk by Popeye. It took years for him to rebound, but he did with Vincent & Theo. That led to a career revival, but it’s hardly remembered anymore, overshadowed by his early and later films. 

She's Having A Baby - John Hughes

One of the biggest reasons John Hughes is so loved by people who came of age in the ‘80s and ‘90s was his ability to write and direct genuine teenage characters. That extended to a young married couple starting their lives together in She’s Having A Baby. It’s not as quotable as some of Hughes’ other movies, but it’s still sharply written and a fun watch. 

Only The Lonely - Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus has some directed some huge films in his career, most notably Home Alone and Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. He's also got movies like Mrs. Doubtfire and Adventures in Babysitting on his resume. One film that is not talked about enough is Only The Lonely starring John Candy as a man looking for a wife, but dealing with a controlling mother. 

Beowulf - Robert Zemeckis

Generations of high schoolers have been confounded and frustrated by Beowulf. Some love the old English classic, but many hate it. It takes a bold director to take it on as a movie. Robert Zemeckis makes it work, and work well. Still, given the material, it’s not a surprise it’s not talked about as much as Zemeckis’ more popular movies like Back to the Future. 

Great Expectations - Alfonso Cuaron

Director Alfonso Cuaron has made some of the best movies of the last 20 years, including Roma, Gravity, and Y tu mamá también. One of his films that doesn’t get talked about much anymore is 1998’s Great Expectations starring Gwenyth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke. It’s a bold modernization of the classic Dickens novel that can be polarizing, but still worth talking about more.

Ed Wood - Tim Burton

Of all the movies Tim Burton has made, it’s unsurprising that Ed Wood is one of his least discussed. It’s a love letter to legendary B-Movie director Ed Wood, and despite being filled to the brim with great performances, it's not as popular as many of Burton’s other works. 

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil - Clint Eastwood

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is not exactly the kind of film you might expect from Clint Eastwood, but you should. Some of his best work is when he strays away from the tough guy movies he’s so well known for and this is a great one, starring John Cusack and Kevin Spacey. 

Away We Go - Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes is best known for movies that cover heavy topics, movies like American Beauty, 1917, and Road to Perdition. That's probably the reason 2009's Away We Go with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph isn't talked about as much, but it's a sweet movie about a couple dealing with major changes in their life and how to handle them. 

Sleepers - Barry Levinson

Sleepers is a dark, dark film. It's also really, really good. With an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, and many more, it's surprising it doesn't get talked about as much as some of director Barry Levinson's other work, but given the subject matter, it can be a very hard watch.  

High Anxiety - Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks is a living legend and his filmography is filled with some of the most quotable movies of all time. One that doesn't get quoted much, or even talked about much, is High Anxiety. It was, believe it or not, the first time Mel Brooks also played the lead in one of his movies, so that alone should garner more attention. 

Great directors usually have long filmographies, so it's only natural that some of their finest work would be talked about less than their most groundbreaking or biggest films. That said, many movies should be talked about as much as those classics, but aren't. Here's to that changing now! 

Despite Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick differing creatively, The Shining, adapted from King's 1977 novel of the same name, stands as a cinematic masterpiece and a landmark in the pantheon of great horror movies. While the film is rife with chilling scenes that have etched themselves into the collective memory of audiences, one particular sequence stands out in its terrorizing glory: the elevator scene. This blood-soaked moment has become iconic, and the tale behind its creation is as fascinating as it is horrifying. In fact, it was such a horrific experience that it even scared the meticulous filmmaker himself. 

Where The "King Of Takes" Meets The "King Of The Macabre"

Dubbed the "King of the Macabre," Stephen King's novels have been the bedrock for spine-tingling tales translated to the silver screen. The Shining, a cornerstone in King's legacy, introduces us to Jack Torrance, portrayed by the iconic Jack Nicholson, navigating the eerie Overlook Hotel with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd). 

Stanley Kubrick, renowned for his meticulous approach, historically took liberties with King's narrative, creating a divergence that fueled both acclaim and controversy. Despite the Salem’s Lot creator’s reservations, the big screen adaptation, boasting some of the scariest scenes in horror movie history, holds a spot on the top of our best Stephen King adaptations, solidified itself as a classic and is easily one of the best '80s horror movies. 

The Elevator Scene: A Macabre Symphony

While there are many terrifying moments in The Shining, according to the Eyes Wide Shut filmmaker’s longtime personal assistant, Leon Vitali, speaking with Yahoo in 2018, there was one scene that unnerved the legendary filmmaker to the extent that he couldn't bear to be on the Overlook Hotel set during its filming. This is none other than the iconic "elevator of blood" sequence — a static shot capturing a lift door gradually opening as a deluge of sticky red liquid pours out, enveloping the walls, furniture and even the camera lens.

The sheer eeriness of this moment is so impactful that it recurs multiple times in the film, and Warner Bros. deemed it powerful enough to feature the entire sequence as one of the trailers for The Shining, which you can watch embedded below.

Strikingly, once captured on film, Stanley Kubrick, despite his initial trepidation, was captivated and happily watched the scene repeatedly. However, Vitali vividly recalled how the infamously hands-on director handed the reins to his crew on the actual shoot day. According to him:

However, the unsettling brilliance of The Shining's elevator scene was not without its share of challenges, which we'll get into next.

Kubrick's Unsettling Magnum Opus

Even though many horror fans know of Stephen King's discontent with the Spartacus filmmaker’s adaptation, particularly prompting him to produce his own TV miniseries rendition, the elevator scene alone became a beacon of horror cinema and is well worth the price of admission to the flick. The deluge of blood, cascading through the Overlook Hotel's corridors and seeping through the elevator doors, has become synonymous with the film's nightmarish ambiance.

Vitali delved into the intricate process behind this blood-drenched masterpiece in the same 2018 Yahoo Entertainment interview. Weeks of meticulous preparation were dedicated to perfecting the blood's quality, color and consistency. The quest for authenticity led to accumulating hundreds of gallons of fake blood, a crucial element in realizing Kubrick's vision.

Navigating the Nightmares 

Let's be clear – Stanley Kubrick didn't harbor a fear of blood. According to Leon Vitali, the filmmaker's apprehension stemmed from the anxiety of witnessing a meticulously planned scene potentially unravel. As Vitali elaborated, weeks were invested in achieving the right quality and color for the blood, aiming for a natural look without excessive redness. Consistency was paramount considering the substantial volume of blood being used. Additionally, the mechanics of the scene posed a challenge given the risk of pressure build-up within the confined space of an elevator.

Despite Kubrick's evident unease about the potential mishaps, one may wonder why he conceived the idea of filling an elevator with blood in the first place. It wasn't driven by a desire to stay faithful to Stephen King's 1977 novel, where the Overlook elevators held nothing more sinister than party favors and confetti – ghostly remnants of a long-past celebration.

The filmmaker’s right-hand man, now in his 70s, highlighted their intent to distill King’s story's essence, ensuring each scene served a dramatic purpose. The iconic blood-drenched elevator scene symbolizes the hotel evolving into a character itself.

If the movie were produced today, producers might rely on CGI to minimize the risk of a blood-filled elevator blowing up during post-production. However, given the absence of digital tricks in the late '70s, the crew had to nail the shot on the first take. Vitali affirms Kubrick's unwavering commitment to the idea, emphasizing that any setbacks would lead to a meticulous reevaluation. As he puts it:

That brings us to the day this iconic scene from The Shining was captured on film.

The Bloodbath Unleashed

On the shoot day, the crew filled the elevator compartment to the brim with hundreds of gallons of faux blood and strategically positioned four cameras to capture the entire gory spectacle. Each camera had a different focal length lens and film speed to ensure a comprehensive recording. Vitali vividly recalled the ingenious move of camera operators taking refuge inside oversized wooden chests to shield themselves from the impending deluge of red liquid, mimicking human hemoglobin. Working against the clock, they had to be swift, knowing the elevator's liquid contents had a limited holding capacity. According to Vitali, the telltale signs of this time constraint are evident in the film, as the liquid starts seeping through even before the doors open.

When the command for "Action" was given—and with the movie’s director having evacuated the set—the doors slid back, unleashing a torrential red tide that surged through the set, carrying furniture in its tumultuous wake. Recollecting the moment, Vitali revealed:

And now we come to the final section of this feature, delving into why The Shining's elevator scene is such a big deal.

A Cinematic Triumph Against All Odds

The elevator scene is a testament to Stanley Kubrick's unwavering dedication to his craft and is one of the many reasons why the movie version is superior to the book. The production team navigated challenges like managing the massive volume of fake blood, avoiding technical mishaps and meeting tight deadlines to create a sequence that defines the essence of horror cinema.

This amalgamation of visionary direction, meticulous planning and the unwavering commitment of the cast and crew resulted in a moment that transcends the confines of the screen. The elevator scene isn't just a cinematic spectacle; it's a visceral exploration of horror that leaves an enduring imprint on the viewer's psyche. Ultimately, it symbolizes the relentless pursuit of excellence the Lolita helmer was known for, solidifying his legacy as one of the greatest directors in history.

For those eager to revisit one of Stanley Kubrick’s best works, The Shining is available for streaming with a Paramount+ subscription. And, of course, don't miss our list of upcoming horror movies for a dose of spine-chilling entertainment. Or, if you want to see what upcoming Stephen King TV and Movie adaptations are set to hit the 2023 movie schedule, we've got you!

Few films have left as indelible a mark on horror movies as Stanley Kubrick's iconic masterpiece, The Shining. Despite Stephen King and Kubrick not agreeing creatively on the 1980 adaptation, the film continues to haunt audiences with its eerie atmosphere, unforgettable performances, and chilling storyline. One of the standout performances that made the haunted hotel flick the classic it is today came from actress Shelley Duvall, who portrayed Wendy Torrance.

Duvall sadly passed away at the age of 75 in July 2024, but spoke out about her harrowing experiences behind the scene while making of this cinematic gem. Let's dive into the story behind the beloved actress' intense experience filming The Shining, as well as the unfortunate toll it took on her.

A Push Into Madness

Known for his meticulous and often obsessive filmmaking style, the Lolita director was known for pushing his actors to their limits. Shelley Duvall's experience would prove this reputation to be more than accurate. In her portrayal of Wendy Torrance, she had to tap into a profound reservoir of fear and anxiety—a challenge Stanley Kubrick approached with utmost seriousness.

In 2022, The Mirror reported that the Roxanne star openly discussed her ordeal in David Hughes' book, The Complete Kubrick, revealing the emotional toll of sustaining such a high level of distress. She candidly shared at the time:

Duvall's portrayal of a terrified mother fighting to shield her son from her husband's descent into madness remains one of the film's most haunting and unforgettable elements. Sadly, the actress herself remained haunted by the experience, but in a mental and emotional sense, as opposed to anything supernatural.

All Work And No Play: The Baseball Bat Scene

One of the most unforgettable moments in the iconic horror flick is the baseball bat/stairs scene. Here, the Popeye alum’s character finds herself in a harrowing standoff with her crazed husband,o ne of the best '80s horror villains, Jack Torrance, portrayed brilliantly by Jack Nicholson. As Nicholson's character approaches her with fury in his eyes, he delivers the haunting lines: "Wendy, darling, light of my life! I'm not gonna hurt you. You didn't let me finish my sentence. I said I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just gonna bash your brains in. I'm gonna bash 'em right the fucking in! [laughs]."

In a 2021 career retrospective by THR, the now-reclusive actress requested that the interviewer revisit this scene. Watching her 30-year-old self opposite Nicholson for the first time in decades, Duvall became visibly upset. As tears welled up in her eyes, the interviewer asked her why she was crying, to which she later responded:

Her performance is no doubt one that some female viewers could find comfort in watching, knowing that she inevitably outlasts the Outlook's horrors, both ghostly and only too human.

The Intensity On Set

The “Here’s Jack/Axe scene,” one of horror’s scariest moments, was particularly brutal to film. It involved Jack violently breaking through a bathroom door as Wendy tried to escape through a tiny window. Shooting this scene took three full days, with Shelley repeatedly delivering intense hysteria to meet Stanley’s standards.

Astoundingly, critics panned the 3 Women alum’s emotionally charged performance upon the film’s release, calling it “comically exaggerated," erroneously winning her a Golden Razzie award, which the organization has since rescinded.

In an interview with Roger Ebert, the actress discussed this criticism:

Almost 60 wooden doors were used. Nicholson noted how Duvall had an exceptionally challenging role, even showing him clumps of hair that fell out due to stress, often feeling physically unwell.

When Does a Director’s Vision Go Too Far?

Stanley Kubrick is often hailed as one of cinema's greatest directors due to his unwavering commitment to a distinct artistic vision, resulting in a string of timeless classics. However, when does a director's relentless pursuit of their vision cross a line? A revealing behind-the-scenes glimpse into the making of a horror film, available on YouTube, offers insight into this question. Interestingly, the documentary was shot by the Paths of Glory filmmaker's daughter, Vivian, who was on set during the Stephen King adaptation’s production. 

This documentary provides viewers with an up-close view of how Kubrick treated Shelley Duvall differently from the other actors, even berating her at one moment. While the reasons for this differential treatment may remain unclear, it's hard not to empathize with Duvall as the director instructs crew members with statements like:

While the making of The Shining was undoubtedly grueling for Shelley Duvall, there's no denying that her performance is one of the film's standout features. Her ability to convey raw, unfiltered fear added a layer of authenticity to the film that continues to terrify audiences today.

If you want to revisit the actress’s supreme work to honor her in light of her passing, The Shining can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription. And don't forget to check out our list of upcoming horror films.

The new documentary, King on Screen, is a must-see for any fans of Stephen King or horror movies. Directed by Daphné Baiwir, it brings together over 20 filmmakers who owe their inspiration to the Maestro of the Macabre. While the film celebrates the author's massive impact on cinema, it skips over one juicy detail: why Stephen and Stanley Kubrick butted heads while making The Shining. It turns out the filmmakers in the doc have some theories about why the two couldn't see eye-to-eye creatively on that infamous haunted hotel story.

While we at CinemaBlend would put The Shining at the top of our best Stephen King adaptations, filmmaker Frank Darabont begs to differ. Known for his hit adaptations like The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Mist, Darabont knows a thing or two about what makes a good movie adaptation from the famous writer’s work, and he doesn't think Kubrick did a very good job at all, according to National Review. He said:

Every '90s horror fan will recall that King wasn't too happy with Kubrick's take on his novel. In fact, he produced his own TV miniseries version of The Shining, directed by Mick Garris. Garris backs up Frank Darabont's critique, offering his thoughts on why Kubrick's adaptation missed the mark:

There you go! Stephen King's stories tap into raw, emotional human experiences, focusing on everyday people in extraordinary situations. Kubrick, however, took a more cerebral, even detached, approach to horror. Mick Garris, a close friend of King, seems to hit the nail on the head with his analysis, echoing King's own thoughts. In a 2016 interview with Deadline, King said:

What is a car's engine if not the heart of the machine? It sounds like Garris was spot on.

The creative tension between writer and filmmaker isn't necessarily bad; it's two master storytellers, each taking their approach to horror. While Kubrick's film is iconic, Garris's TV miniseries holds a special place for King fans due to its faithfulness to the book. Steven Weber's portrayal of Jack Torrance adds emotional depth that differs from Jack Nicholson's version, although Weber wishes he could refine his performance.

The two different versions of the story showcase the flexibility and wide appeal of the Carrie creator's writing. It's adaptable yet unmistakably King-esque. The King on Screen documentary serves as a testament to the writer's lasting impact on both books and movies, touching on divisive subjects like his politics and public image. The Daphné Baiwir directed doc hit the 2023 movie release schedule on August 11 in select US theaters and will be available on demand and Blu-Ray on September 8. You can check out the trailer embedded below:

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest movie updates, and remember to check out our list of upcoming horror films.

Stephen King's miniseries adaptation of The Shining holds a strange, unique place in pop culture history. It's a work that will forever sit in the shadow of one of the greatest films ever made, being based on the same novel as Stanley Kubrick's iconic movie, but it's nonetheless appreciated by King fans as a faithful, well-made take on the author's beloved book. One of the standout qualities is the performance by Steven Weber, who hits on certain emotional levels as Jack Torrance not found in the Jack Nicholson version – though the actor himself wishes he could go back and change aspects of his performance.

Weber was recently a guest on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside Of You podcast, and he spoke at length about his work on The Shining and his relationship with the stories of Stephen King. Acknowledging the "descent into madness" qualities of the Jack Torrance role, the host asked the actor if it was a "taxing" experience playing the character, and it was in his response that Weber expressed some regret:

Directed by Mick Garris and written by Stephen King himself, The Shining miniseries first aired on ABC back in 1997, and it was specifically made to hone closer to the source material than Stanley Kubrick's adaptation. Production even took place at The Stanley in Estes Park, Colorado, which was the hotel that first provided the author inspiration to write the novel. Weber enjoyed his experience in the Rocky Mountains, but he would evidently argue that he enjoyed the experience too much.

Steven Weber spoke to the differences between the miniseries and the film, and he addressed the dissatisfaction that Stephen King has expressed about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. For one thing, Jack Torrance's alcoholism is much more front and center with the TV version of the character, and that was pretty important considering that's in many ways what the entire story is about. Said Weber,

It's worth noting that the world of Stephen King is one in which Steven Weber is well-versed. In addition to The Shining, the actor also starred in 2006's miniseries adaptation of Desperation and the finale of the cancelled-too-soon anthology series Nightmares & Dreamscapes. He made his directorial debut with an episode of The Outer Limits reboot from the 1990s based on the short story "The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson," and his audiobook reading of IT is phenomenal.

The Shining miniseries presently isn't available to stream on any subscription service or digital platform, but those inclined to watch can always pick up a copy of the DVD. To stay up to date with all of the latest adaptations of Stephen King's works, check out our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide, and read about the best of the best adaptations with our Stephen King Movies Ranking and Stephen King TV Projects Ranking.

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, one of the best horror movies of all time, is a film wholly constructed of indelible cinematic images, but few are as striking as the shot of the elevator doors of the Overlook Hotel opening up and unleashing a wave of blood that flows until it crashes up against the camera. It’s a psychotic vision that encapsulates the energy of the genius creation, based on the beloved book by Stephen King. Perhaps the greatest proof of the moment’s power is recognizing the specific influence it has had on filmmakers – which is a list that most definitely now includes writer/director Lee Cronin, who found an incredible way to reference The Shining in his new movie, Evil Dead Rise.

Without getting into too much detail, there is a sequence in the critically acclaimed new horror film where an elevator fills to the brim with blood and opens its doors on an apartment building’s lobby, and it’s impossible not to recognize it as a nod to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 classic (you can see a clip from the scene in the Evil Dead Rise trailer). When I interviewed Lee Cronin during the movie’s virtual press day earlier this month, I asked about the role that The Shining plays in his mind and in his work, and he explained that it’s one of his favorites of all time. Said the filmmaker,

It’s fitting that a work of intense psychological horror like The Shining would seep into Lee Cronin’s subconscious and influence his own writing – and evidently, it’s how references to the iconic film wound up being one of the Evil Dead Rise easter eggs. Continuing, he noted that he didn’t actually recognize the nods he was making in the movie until he would go back and read scenes he had written:

It’s homage that has gotten the approval of one of the genius minds that birthed The Shining. The image of blood flowing from an elevator doesn’t come from the original novel (it was one of the many additions and changes that were included in the process of adapting Stephen King’s book), and while King has criticized Stanley Kubrick’s work a lot over the years, he has no problem with “an elevator vomiting blood,” and was clearly quite happy to see it happen in Evil Dead Rise. The author recently posted on his Twitter account about the 2023 film, writing,

What makes this story even more fun is noting Stephen King's deep ties to the history of the Evil Dead franchise. King had the chance to see Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead prior to its domestic theatrical release and was such a huge fan of it that he wrote an article about the cinematic experience for Twilight Zone Magazine – a huge boost for the ultra-indie movie. And as though that weren't amazing enough, he also ended up having an instrumental role in the making of Evil Dead II through his relationship with producer Dino De Laurentiis.

Evil Dead Rise, starring Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Gabrielle Echols, Morgan Davies, and Nell Fisher, arrives in theaters everywhere this Friday, April 21. Be on the lookout for more stories from my interviews with Lee Cronin and the film’s stars, and keep up to date with all of the scary films hitting theaters with our Upcoming Horror Movies guide.

For more Stephen King-related reading, you can read about all of the adaptations in the works with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV feature, and check out both our rankings of The Best Stephen King Movies and The Best Stephen King TV Projects.

A list of the most memorable performances of all time is incomplete without mention of Jack Nicholson's turn as Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. There is no more iconic cinematic descent into madness than what he delivers in one of the best horror movies of all time, and it's hard to imagine what the movie would be without his particular magic as an actor. Unsurprisingly, this was an outlook that Kubrick shared in the development of the film (hence the casting), but the legendary filmmaker did have one other name that he considered as a backup choice: Kris Kristofferson.

This interesting bit of trivia about The Shining comes from some recent myth debunking performed by Snopes. The website analyzed a well-spread story that Robin Williams was among the actors who were considered by Stanley Kubrick as alternates to play Jack Torrance, and filmmaker Lee Unkrich provided the truth for them.

Unkrich, a Shining superfan who has co-written an upcoming book about the film for TASCHEN, explained in an email to Snopes that Robin Williams was not on a short list to play Jack Torrance because A) he wasn't a big enough star, and B) he was too young for the part. When Kubrick was first developing the film in 1977 (the same year that a 40-year-old Jack Nicholson was cast), the debut of Mork & Mindy was still about a year away, and a 27-year-old Williams was far from the household name he eventually became.

Getting a star to play Jack Torrance was essential for Stanley Kubrick, as one of the key reasons why he took The Shining on as a project was because he needed to make a film that would be a commercial hit. Lee Unkrich explains,

In the research for his aforementioned book, Lee Unkrich learned from information at Warner Bros. that Kris Kristofferson was Stanley Kubrick's only backup choice, and it was his name alone. 

Today, Kris Kristofferson isn't considered a movie star on the level of Jack Nicholson, but in the 1970s he had put together quite an impressive acting resume, including three Sam Peckinpah films, Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and 1976's A Star Is Born with Barbra Streisand. And, of course, that was about a decade after establishing himself as a beloved singer/songwriter.

It's an interesting bit of trivia in part because it provides insight into the mind of Stanley Kubrick, but it also makes one think about how the casting choice could have impacted Stephen King's relationship with the film. The author has criticized the movie in many ways over the years, but one standout has been his judgement about Jack Nicholson's performance. He's described Nicholson's Jack Torrance as not having an arc, but instead a "flat line." 

While it's possible that Stanley Kubrick would have directed Kris Kristofferson to put on a similar performance to what we see from Nicholson in The Shining, it's also possible that Kristofferson could have played with the softer side of the character differently – perhaps as a better representation of who Jack Torrance is on the page. Unfortunately, we won't know the answer until multiverse travel is invented and we can peek into another reality where that casting came to pass.

For more about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, you can read my Adapting Stephen King column about the film, and head over to our ranking of the best Stephen King movies of all time. 

There are few authors who hate the movie adaptation of their book more than Stephen King hates Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. In fact, King has had to even "clarify" his issues with the movie. Plus, our resident King fan, Eric Eisenberg, did a great job of revisiting the controversy over the Kubrick film. So, yeah. Stephen King is definitely not a fan, and the book is always better than the movie, right?     

Wrong! I mean, that's usually the case, but not always. I've even written a whole article about movies that are arguably better than the book, with The Shining rightfully being on that list. Because Kubrick's adaptation IS better than the novel. And, that's not even to say that the book is bad, because I do like it. Would I put it up there with all eight of The Dark Tower books, or something like The Stand? No.

But, as one of King's earliest works, I definitely think it stands toe-to-toe with books like Carrie and Salem's Lot. That said, this article isn't about either of those, it's about The Shining, and about how Kubrick's masterpiece is superior to the novel.  

Oh, and spoilers for the book and movie up ahead.  

Jack Nicholson Adds More Character To Jack Torrance Than How He Was Written In The Book 

Stephen King has gone on record to say that one of the reasons that he doesn't like Stanley Kubrick's version of his story is because Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance doesn't really have an arc. According to a phone interview with The New York Times, he had this to say:    

And, can I just say that this makes his character in the movie all the more interesting? To be fair, many of Kubrick's characters are crazy from the jump. Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange, pretty much the entire cast of Dr. Strangelove, Prvt. Leonard Lawrence in Full Metal Jacket. They’re all pretty crazy, or at least, close to the edge. But, what makes all of these characters interesting is just when they'll step over the edge. 

There is much more of a gradual progression in the book, even though Torrance is an alcoholic, and sometimes has bad thoughts. But, in the movie, Nicholson plays Torrance teetering on the verge from almost the very beginning. So, when he finally does explode, he REALLY explodes. 

This is especially interesting because you're never entirely sure if there really are ghosts in the movie, or if it's just part of his mania, whereas it's crystal clear that the Overlook Hotel in the book is haunted, making the movie more of a psychological horror story than the novel. 

The Hedge Maze Is Better Than The Book's Topiary  

One of the greatest moments in the entire movie is when Jack is chasing his son, Danny, throughout the hedge maze. And, truth be told, I saw the movie long before I read the book, so that scene was especially ingrained in my mind, as the maddening scope of the chase felt chaotic. 

That said, when I eventually did read the book, I was surprised to find that there was no huge hedge maze, but rather, a topiary of animals that come to life. When my older sister initially told me this, I thought it sounded unique and interesting, but upon reading it for myself, I much preferred Kubrick's version with the hedge maze, since it again subtracts the supernatural elements of the book, grounding the story more, but still making it feel harrowing, nonetheless. 

Dick Hallorann's Death In The Movie Is A Major Moment That Isn't In The Book 

Since you're reading this article, I assume that you've seen the movie, but I don't know if you've actually read the book. So, if you haven't, then maybe you want to skip this section, but Dick Hallorann does NOT die in the novel. In fact, he comes to the rescue toward the end of the story to save Danny and Wendy from Jack. Now, this is fine for the book, but I think this kind of robs a great deal of the impact that the movie provides, as Jack doesn't kill anybody in the novel.  

But, murdering Hallorann creates even more tension and distress, and it goes back to the idea that I mentioned earlier about how we're just waiting for him to explode. Jack killing Dick is a terrifying moment in the film, and one that helps put The Shining on our list of the best horror movies of all time. 

Without Hallorann’s death, we might even feel a little sympathetic for Jack, because his vices and issues are getting the best of him, but after he kills him in the movie (he was just trying to help) there really is NO sympathy for Jack, which makes him all the more terrifying.   

There Are Way More Interpretations To The Movie Since It Is A Stanley Kubrick Film  

One aspect I really don’t like about the book is that you know for a fact that there are ghosts at play. It’s pretty clear cut, and there’s no room for interpretation. The Overlook Hotel is haunted, and Jack is being affected by their ghostly presences. But, it’s never quite certain in Kubrick’s version that there actually are ghosts in the hotel. 

Yes, the whole concept of the "Shining" in general wouldn’t make much sense if there weren’t any ghosts involved, and yes, Wendy seeing that strange dog costume dude giving a BJ wouldn’t make any sense, either. But, you could make a case that the hotel itself is making them all go nuts. 

That said, the film is much better because there are even more interpretations that can be made. In fact, a whole documentary about The Shining was released, and it’s called Room 237. In the film, we get a whole new outlook of the movie from all the many, maddening interpretations. Plus, The Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep (which everyone should watch since it’s awesome) is a continuation of the Stanley Kubrick picture, which has its own sort of interpretations, so, there’s that as well.        

The Ambiguous Ending In The Movie Is Way Better Than The Book's Rather Bland Conclusion 

Lastly, the ending of The Shining movie is SO MUCH BETTER than the book’s. In the end of the novel, Jack dies from the boiler exploding, and, a year later, Dick Hallorann tries to make Danny feel better. OK. I mean, that’s fine, and conclusive, which a lot of people like, but I’ve always been one who much prefers ambiguous conclusions, like the ending of The Sopranos. And, Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining has an ambiguous ending that is still being discussed, even to this day.   

In the film, Jack freezes to death, but then we see a picture of people at the hotel in a party, and Jack is somehow in the picture, even though the photo is dated July 4, 1921. But, like, how is that even possible? I get chills just thinking about it, and that scene alone is scarier than any other moment in the book, if you ask me. The ending to the movie is just perfect, and one that will stick with me forever. It’s just that good. 

But, what do you think? Are you one of those people who defends The Shining novel over the movie? For more news on all things Stephen King, make sure to swing around here often.  

In October 1974, Stephen King and his wife Tabitha took a trip to Colorado. It was the same month that Salem’s Lot, the former’s second novel and follow-up to Carrie, hit stores, and he was in search of inspiration for his third book. The couple arrived in the mountain town of Estes Park and made plans to stay at The Stanley Hotel – but were surprised to discover that everyone was leaving as they were checking in. The establishment was preparing to shut down for the winter, and the Kings were the only guests remaining.

Having checked into Room 217, Stephen King stayed up after his wife went to bed. He roamed the empty halls, and found himself at the downstairs bar alone ordering drinks from a bartender named Grady. In his mind, wall-mounted spigots inspired images of alive, snake-like fire hoses. The bathroom in his suite had an eerie clawfoot tub. In that first night he conjured what became the barebones for The Shining.

A couple years later, Stanley Kubrick had his own journey to the material – though a far less romantic one. The filmmaker was coming off his first box office failure, 1975’s Barry Lyndon. With aspirations to make his ultimate dream project, Napoleon, he needed to make a movie that could be a financial success. This attitude that put him on the path to adapting Stephen King’s third novel.

What resulted from that collaboration is… complicated. And it all comes down to perspective. Taken completely on its own terms, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a revolutionary and iconic horror film that changed the cinematic genre and has been reverberating in pop culture ever since its release. But is it a great adaptation of the novel? That’s the primary question for this week’s Adapting Stephen King column.

What The Shining Is About

The spooky atmosphere of the empty Stanley Hotel put meat on the bones for the book that became The Shining, but it was because of a preexisting idea lingering in Stephen King’s mind that it properly came together. In his 1981 non-fiction book Danse Macabre, the author describes having once read an article that suggested that haunted houses aren’t so much “haunted” as they are psychic batteries that “[absorb] the emotions that had been spent there” and then spill them out as “a kind of paranormal movie show.”

Through the Stephen King filter, The Overlook Hotel became the ultimate evil psychic battery, and the members of the Torrance family its unsuspecting fuel/victims.

As noted in the memoir On Writing, The Shining was also unknowingly written as a kind of autobiography, with the author not recognizing his own substance abuse issues while writing a story about a struggling writer succumbing to his demons. It’s particularly Jack Torrance’s alcoholism and rage issues that make him a perfect target for the sinister Rocky Mountain lodging, though when we first meet the character he’s actively trying to be a better man.

Jack brings his wife Wendy and son Danny to the Overlook because of desperation. In addition to losing his teaching job due to an altercation with a student, his relationship with his family is fraught due to an incident that saw Danny injured when Jack was inebriated and yanked his arm too roughly. Agreeing to be the caretaker for the hotel during the winter season is meant to be his opportunity for redemption – as well as the chance to write a book that could additionally aid in turning things around.

Jack’s flaws and insecurities (as well as a subtle touch of the shine himself) make him a puppet for the Overlook Hotel, as a history of criminal behavior and shady dealings on the property have left it teeming with a menacing energy that only grows hungrier. What the Overlook doesn’t expect is young Danny.

Though he is only five years old, the child has discovered that he has a special psychic gift. He has premonitions and telepathic abilities, and can see what lies under the crust of the world. These powers are dubbed “The Shining” by Dick Hallorann, the head chef at the Overlook who also possesses similar talents – though Danny is told that he can dismiss his visions with a powerful enough will. What Dick doesn’t expect is the hotel’s hunger for Danny’s incredible shine kicking the psychic battery into overdrive, leaving the Torrance family susceptible to a cavalcade of deadly nightmares.

How Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining Differs From Stephen King’s Book

In adapting The Shining, Stanley Kubrick decided to make a movie that he was interested in making… and Stephen King hasn’t exactly been shy about expressing his disapproval of the result. While the 1980 film may be widely regarded as a triumph of psychological horror, anyone who has read the source material can instantly recognize how it is a serious deviation from the hit book on which it’s based.

First and foremost in this discussion is the characterization of Jack Torrance. The Shining was written as a decent into madness story, with the Overlook serving as eager catalyst, but that descent is far less pronounced in the film than it is in the book. Stephen King has remarked that the hotel caretaker doesn’t so much have an arc as a “flat line,” which is a consequence of Jack Nicholson giving off sinister vibes from jump street in the movie (he doesn’t exactly come across as a warm and friendly guy during his initial job interview).

As emphasized above, Stephen King originally wrote Jack Torrance as a troubled man trying to improve while simultaneously battling his demons – and that’s a task that the Overlook Hotel forbids him from accomplishing. There is one scene in the film where Jack demonstrates love for his son, sitting with Danny on the bed and promising never to hurt him, but Nicholson’s performance is less about showing a change in the character so much as demonstrating his vulnerability.

That single issue is representational of another major change between The Shining as a book and as a film, which is a matter of tone. While the story may be set during a winter in the Rocky Mountains, it, like many of Stephen King’s greatest works, operates with a special kind of warmth that makes the material inviting before it makes a turn for the terrifying. It’s like a slowly overheating boiler – making things comfortable at first, but leading to an explosive, fiery end (in this case that’s not so much a metaphor so much as it is a literal description of the novel’s conclusion).

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is the antithesis of that. It’s a movie that progressively gets colder and colder until Jack Torrance is struck dead from hypothermia at the end and growing icicles off his nose (while the hotel itself remains more or less perfectly intact).

There are numerous more incidental changes as well. The hedge maze, for starters, is a detail that was invented for the film, as Stephen King’s book features horrifying topiary animals that quietly come to life. Additionally, while the movie version of Jack Torrance is established as a writer, it doesn’t get into his work as much as the source material – which finds the character unearthing the dark history of the Overlook (and thus providing context for its abundance of ghosts). King’s novel also notably keeps the caretaker’s crimes limited to simply attempted murder, as he doesn’t actually kill Dick Hallorann; he simply gives him a good whack in the head with a roque mallet (oh, and Jack has a roque mallet in the book instead of an axe).

Is It Worthy Of The King?

In any discussion of how a movie adapts a book, one word that is frequently thrown around is “faithful.” It’s inherently known by any bibliophile/cinephile that material is going to be changed as it makes its way from one medium to another, so expectations aren’t so much based on hopes that a filmmaker will create a facsimile of a novel so much as they are based on hopes that the spirit of the text will be captured by the new interpretation.

In these terms, The Shining is a complicated movie to talk about, as while it is an utterly brilliant film that will forever reign as one of the greatest accomplishments in cinema, it also happens to be a subpar adaptation of Stephen King’s novel.

I highlight King’s expressed criticisms of the novel above because the points he makes are entirely valid when drawing a line between his work and Stanley Kubrick’s. As far as recognizing author’s intent goes, the director and the writer were definitely not on the same page in the making of The Shining – and as a result watching the movie and reading the book are independent experiences. Those who have only ever done the former will gain a completely different understanding of Jack Torrance, all while still being horrified by what he becomes.

As I said at the beginning, however, it’s all a matter of perspective. Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is not a faithful adaptation of Stephen King’s book, but it is cinema at its most complex, gripping, and stunning levels – not to mention one of the most influential films of all time (it might actually be possible to reconstruct the entire thing using only references, homages, and spoofs in various movies and television shows – from The Simpsons to Hannibal). The cinematography is genius and revolutionary; every inch of the production design is iconic; the editing is hypnotizing; the score is transcendent; and the performances are terrifying. (One criticism of King’s that I disagree with is his assessment of Shelley Duvall’s Wendy Torrance as “just there to scream and be stupid,” as while the turn is certainly hyper-emotional, it also generates a kind of sympathetic fear where her terror becomes our own.)

In the decades since the release of The Shining, the pop culture legacy has shifted a few times in interesting ways – first with Stephen King writing his own miniseries version in the late 1990s, and then with the publication and adaptation of Doctor Sleep in the last decade. But those are projects to be further discussed in future installments of this column…

How To Watch Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

Over the years Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining has bounced around from streaming service to streaming service, but right now it’s available on HBO Max. Even if you’re not a subscriber, though, it’s not a challenge to find a way to watch the film. In advance of the release of Doctor Sleep in 2019, Warner Bros. released a beautiful 4K edition of the movie and that is available in addition to the widely printed Blu-ray. It’s also available for digital rental and/or purchase on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, and iTunes.

In the next installment of Adapting Stephen King we’ll have something a bit different for you, as George Romero’s Creepshow will be under the microscope, and I’ll be examining its treatment of the author’s pair of shorts that served as source material: “Weeds” and “The Crate.” Beyond that, stay tuned for all varieties of news, updates, and trivia about old and new King adaptations here on CinemaBlend!

Horror films don’t much more iconic than Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and while that’s true in general for the movie, it’s particularly true about the ending. After the slow burn of escalating terror that is the Torrance family spending the winter in the Overlook Hotel, the finale is an explosion of horror and chaos, and sticks in the mind of anyone who watches it. It’s eternally remarkable to behold, no matter how many times you watch it.

In recognition of its significance, I’ve done a deep dive into The Shining ending, and have written this piece to explore what happens, what it all means, and how it compares to the Stephen King book that inspired it. To begin, let’s recap exactly what goes down in the final scenes of the classic horror movie…

What Happens At The End Of The Shining

It’s not always cut-and-dry exactly where the beginning of a movie’s ending is, but in the case of The Shining we’ll pick up with what is the only physical representation of the supernatural in the film: Jack Torrance being freed from the locked pantry by the long-dead Delbert Grady, who informs the temporary caretaker that he must take care of Wendy and Danny “in the harshest possible way.” What’s more, there is a ticking clock, as Dick Halloran is on his way to intervene in The Overlook Hotel’s plans.

Meanwhile, while Wendy sleeps, Danny walks into her room in a hypnotic trance. He takes the chef’s knife from the nightstand and his mother’s lipstick from her vanity, and, all while muttering the word, writes “REDRUM” on the bathroom door. When the muttering turns into screaming, Wendy wakes up and tries to calm him down – but the temperature in the room sharply rises as she sees in the mirror that Danny’s message is “Murder” spelled backwards.

Not a moment later Jack arrives at the room and begins to smash at the door with a fire axe. With no other option for escape, Wendy takes Danny to the bathroom, and she is successful in getting him out the window, which has a nice pile of snow outside it, letting him make his way gracefully to the ground. Unfortunately the gap in the window is too small for Wendy to get through, so she instead has to stay in the locked bathroom, armed with the chef’s knife.

When Jack gets into the bedroom he taunts Wendy while using his axe to smash through the bathroom door. He tries to reach in, but his terrified wife slashes at him and cuts his hand. He reels from the pain, but then finds himself distracted by the sound of Dick Halloran approaching in a snowcat. As he leaves to take care of the Overlook Hotel’s cook, Danny runs back into the hotel and hides in the kitchen. And once she is sure that Jack is gone, Wendy leaves the bathroom.

Dick enters the hotel through the front door, and starts wandering around the halls looking for the Torrance family. Announcing his presence turns out to be a fatal mistake, as Jack surprises him and lodges his axe in Dick’s chest. A horrified Danny senses this horrific murder and escapes the kitchen to run back outside, getting Jack’s attention in the process.

Wendy searches for her son in the hotel, but instead of finding him she is treated to nothing but horrors presented by the history of the haunted hotel. Instead of being inside, the young boy is out in the hedge maze being pursued by his father. Realizing that he is leaving footprints in the snow, Danny carefully maneuvers backwards over his own tracks, and is able to throw Jack off his trail.

Getting out of the hedge maze, Danny reunites with Wendy, and together they get into Dick’s snowcat and escape. Jack, however, gets turned around and lost, and eventually gives up, slumping to the ground. By the next morning he freezes to death.

Back in the hotel, a long tracking shot leads out of the infamous The Gold Room to a gallery of photographs on the wall – the camera eventually focusing on a shot from the July 4th Ball in 1921. As we get closer and closer, we see that the man in front of the massive crowd is none other than Jack Torrance.

So what exactly happened to Jack Torrance? What does that photograph mean? That’s what we’ll dig into next!

What Happens To Jack Torrance At The End Of The Shining

Getting down to brass tacks, the Torrance family is in trouble the very second that they walk through the doors of The Overlook Hotel. While to some people the Rocky Mountain lodge comes across as simply a place with a dark history and a dark aura, Danny’s powerful gifts function like a battery for it, and give its evil the power to corrupt those who are vulnerable. Unfortunately for Jack Torrance, he makes for a perfect victim to the supernatural forces.

To say the least, Jack Torrance goes into his employment as caretaker of the Overlook in a fragile state. In addition to having recently lost his job as a teacher, he is also off the wagon following an incident that saw him dislocate Danny’s shoulder while he was drunk. Add in the resentment he demonstrates towards his family as he tries to be a traditional breadwinner, and what you have is Jack already wearing strings that the hotel merely needs to pick up and manipulate.

As seen through the various visions that the characters have throughout The Shining, The Overlook has taken many victims and installed them as permanent residents of the hotel – the prime example being Delbert Grady, who, like Jack, was also once hired to look after the establishment during a long winter. He too couldn’t resist the ghostly whisperings in his ear, and he killed his entire family and himself, becoming a new source for those ghostly whisperings as a result.

Had Jack been successful in killing Wendy and Danny, they too would have seen their souls forever trapped, but instead it’s just he who is rendered psychotic, dead and an everlasting presence in The Overlook Hotel through past, present, and future – fulfilling the “prophecy” of Grady’s ghost earlier in the movie when Jack is told, “You are the caretaker. You’ve always been the caretaker. I should know, sir; I’ve always been here.”

How The Shining Ending Differs From Stephen King’s Book

There is an entire CinemaBlend feature to be written cataloging all of the differences between Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and the Stephen King book that it’s based on (stay tuned on that front…), but this piece is about the ending, and that alone provides more than enough material to explore.

To start there is the fate of Dick Halloran. Stanley Kubrick made the decision to give the Overlook Hotel’s head cook a violent and horrible end, whereas Stephen King’s original text allows him to survive. Jack Torrance gives him a serious whack with a roque mallet (the insane caretaker doesn’t have an axe in the book), but he recovers from the injury quickly enough so that he can fulfill his goal to help Wendy and Danny escape a terrible fate.

Then there is the whole hedge maze chase sequence, which was a wholly original idea created for the film adaptation of The Shining. The Overlook Hotel does have interesting topiary in Stephen King’s novel, but what the author originally came up with was animals that quietly come to life to attack. It’s a controversial choice in the eyes of those who prefer King’s version, but it’s also worth recognizing that bringing that effect to life realistically in 1980 would have been incredibly challenging.

So if he doesn’t freeze to death in a maze, what happens to Jack Torrance in the book? Pretty much the exact opposite. One detail from Stephen King’s source material that Stanley Kubrick didn’t include in the movie version is that part of Jack’s responsibility as caretaker is to maintain the boiler and ensure that it doesn’t overheat. Danny is able to survive his father’s supernatural/possession-driven rage because he distracts him just long enough for the boiler to start moving into the red zone – and the evil forces prioritize saving the hotel over killing the boy. Jack’s sanity returns when he gets to the boiler room, resisting the commands of the hotel, and he dies as the Overlook burns to the ground.

Obviously the book is very different, but thanks to Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep a kind of peace has been created between the two versions of The Shining.

How Jack Torrance’s Story Continues In Doctor Sleep

When Stephen King wrote Doctor Sleep, he included a number of elements that specifically made the book a direct follow up to his version of The Shining and not Stanley Kubrick’s, and that put writer/director Mike Flanagan in an unenviable position even while working on what many filmmakers would consider a dream project. What Flanagan was able to accomplish, however, was truly astonishing – both successfully continuing the legacy of the legendary 1980 film and making a respectful, faithful adaptation of King’s sequel novel.

With the Overlook Hotel still standing at the end of the Stanley Kubrick movie, Doctor Sleep has the opportunity to revisit iconic locations in its storytelling, and also the fate of Jack Torrance (who is played by Henry Thomas instead of Jack Nicholson). With many of the lodging’s ghosts locked up in Dan Torrance’s mind by the time he returns to the Rocky Mountains, Jack plays multiple roles as the “power” comes back on in the derelict establishment – which is something that is actually better shown in the movie’s director’s cut. Jack takes on the parts played by both Lloyd The Bartender and Delbert Grady when dealing with his son, and seems to have all of his individuality and humanity stripped away (notably having no emotional reaction when Dan brings up Wendy).

It’s really at the very end that things come full circle, however, as Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep takes Stephen King’s original ending for The Shining and transposes it, featuring a possessed Dan Torrance distracted from a fight and rushing to the boiler room to try and stop it from exploding. Like the book version of his father, Dan is able to resist the influence of the hotel long enough for flames to start spreading, and as he dies he is reunited with his mother – and Jack’s spirit is presumably freed from the Overlook as it burns.

Hopefully this examination of The Shining’s ending has only served to enhance your appreciation of it – and if you now find yourself in the mood to watch the movie, you can do so by streaming it on HBO Max, purchasing it digitally, or by buying it on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD.

It's no secret that actress Shelley Duvall had a stressful and rough time during the making of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It's been thoroughly documented that the director actively antagonized her on set, and in combination with his perfectionist demands for dozens of takes of every shot and the 56-week shooting schedule, the experience weighed on her heavily and proved detrimental to her health. Ultimately it was work that the actor was proud of, with Duvall saying that she both resented and respected Kubrick's process in the making of the film – but it should probably come as no surprise that she became emotional when recently having the opportunity to revisit one of the horror classic's most iconic scenes.

The Hollywood Reporter has published a fantastic profile of Shelley Duvall, who made the decision years ago to leave the film industry behind, and one of the most striking moments chronicled in the piece is her reaction to rewatching the famous stairway scene in The Shining for the first time in multiple years. It's one of the most disturbing and frightening moments in the movie, with Duvall's Wendy Torrance discovering just how crazy her husband Jack (Jack Nicholson) has become, and the retired actress began crying while viewing it on the interviewer's phone. Asked why she was tearing up, Duvall said

The scene in question is one of the most important moments in The Shining. Wendy discovers that the "book" that her husband has been working on during their stay at the Overlook Hotel is nothing more than hundreds of pages with the sentence "All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy" repeated over and over, and Jack isn't terribly excited to come upon her making the discovery. Frightened for her life and the life of her son Danny (Danny Lloyd), she slowly backs away from Jack, threatening him with a swinging baseball bat – and while her psychotic spouse doesn't raise his voice, he makes his violent intentions explicitly clear.

The Shining scene features Shelley Duvall at a full 10 on the emotional scale, as Wendy is beyond petrified to be witnessing her husband's psychotic descent. It's exhausting to even just imagine being in Wendy's position in the moment – which then helps you understand why Duvall had such an intense reaction to rewatching it. The idea of operating on that level for nearly a full month sounds like it must have been incredibly hard, particularly while playing opposite Jack Nicholson's madness and attempting to do everything Stanley Kubrick demanded.

All told, the stairway scene in The Shining took a shocking 127 takes to film – which incredibly wasn't the most of any single sequence in the movie, but obviously more than plenty. In retrospect it's challenging to question Stanley Kubrick's methodology, as it's utterly perfect in every way, but the same time the harsh psychological impact of the work wasn't inconsiderable, and that shouldn't be ignored.

The whole profile of Shelley Duvall is worth a read, examining a career full of awesome performances and her present life outside the limelight, and those looking to revisit The Shining – which is always a good call – can do so by streaming it on HBO Max.

The Shining is the source of some of the most iconic lines and scenes in history, from “Here’s Johnny!” to creepy hallways with even creepier twins. The timeless success of The Shining is not at all surprising when it is coming from Stephen King, who has over 80 horror film and tv credits under his belt from his novel and short story adaptations. What might be surprising is that Stephen King openly takes major issue with the famous film The Shining, even going as far as saying he flat out doesn't like it.

If we could be even more shell shocked by the king of horror, Stephen King tells The New York Times during a phone interview that his aversion to The Shining is because of a creative direction taken by Stanley Kubrick, arguably one of the greatest filmmakers in history. In King’s own words:

Count on Stephen King to disassemble and dump on one of the most iconic films directed and written by the legendary Stanley Kubrick. Although his comments do help it make sense. After he breaks it down, we get where King is coming from; the slow build of insanity from being snowed into a huge, haunted hotel is just not there in the film. And honestly the movie might have benefitted from its inclusion

The one thing that we are missing in the film that is prevalent in Stephen King’s novel The Shining is Jack Torrance as a family man. Yes, we love him as crazy. He’s terrifying and he’s real, but we never really see who he is without the influence of the Overlook Hotel. Without that base line, it’s impossible to see just how horrific the hotel is and, in turn, experience the trauma Wendy and Danny went through seeing the transformation of their loved one.

So thank you, Stephen King. Thank you for ruining one of the most influential movies to the horror genre for us. He giveth and he taketh away.

On the plus side (and it’s a huge plus), we may never run out of King inspired horror flicks or shows. For one thing, he is still writing A+ horror. For another, filmmakers and producers are still making new adaptations of both his new and older works. Check back with CinemaBlend to keep up to date with the numerous ongoing and future Stephen King related projects.

Previously on “2020 Is Wild,” several mysterious monoliths were found in different spots across the globe. With no rhyme or reason, these figures have arrived without warning, and in some cases disappeared just as quickly. While most people might be freaked out and potentially afraid of this phenomenon, there's one person would have definitely been into it: 2001: A Space Odyssey director, and filmmaking legend, Stanley Kubrick. At least, that’s what visual effects artist Joy Cuff, someone who worked with Kubrick on that very film, thinks anyway.

Speaking in an interview with Insider, Joy Cuff was asked how the director of The Shining would have reacted to the recent findings that have been making headlines as of late. It’s a no-brainer of a question when you think about it, as 2001: A Space Odyssey is known for its own monoliths, which had their own, galaxy-shattering significance back in the day. And it’s there that Joy Cuff’s response gets interesting, as she discussed just how Stanley Kubrick would have reacted thusly:

Were these monoliths to appear in the time frame that Joy Cuff specified above, they would have been present for the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which would have prompted one hell of a speculation drive. With Stanley Kubrick already known to have a particularly cheeky sense of humor and mystery to his films, most probably would have seen it as a viral marketing precursor. Much as 2008 audiences were scouring the internet and Times Square for The Dark Knight trailer clues, you’d have had hardcore sci-fi nuts trying to figure out what the meaning was. And Stanley would have probably smiled, shaken his head and proceeded to lose his cool in a room where only his closest confidants could see.

Of course, this would have only made Stanley Kubrick’s supposed reputation for hiding messages in his movies all the stronger when he would eventually make 1980’s The Shining. Long believed to be a secret apology for faking the moon landing for NASA, Stanley Kubrick’s classic Stephen King adaptation still stands as a sign to some that Kubrick was hinting at something deep and dark in his own work. But in the case of 2001’s hypothetical scenario, as Joy Cuff suggests above, even Kubrick himself would be blown away by the gag.

Who knows where these monoliths are coming from? We certainly don’t, although it’d be interesting if this was all a prank inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the people behind it are just really good at hiding their tracks. It sure beats the hell out of random clowns in the woods any day of the week, and if that’s the case, maybe The Academy can buy a couple for their growing museum collection! If any updates occur, be sure that CinemaBlend will be here to report them as they break. And if you want to check out those cinematic monoliths for yourself, may we suggest that you check out 2001: A Space Odyssey, as it is currently streaming on HBO Max. It’s the least we could do for you, Dave.

When it comes to horror movies, just about every movie fan has their favorites, whether it be classics like Psycho or Night of the Living Dead or more recent hits like Get Out and Hereditary. Those who’ve grown up with horror movies also more than likely have a few that truly scared them in their younger years. This is indeed the case for Omari Hardwick, whose latest film, Spell, offers up a few thrills of its own. And the former Power actor has a particular soft spot for an iconic horror picture.

While speaking to Omari Hardwick about Spell, I asked the actor what films gave him chills when he as a child. He told me that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was the one that really kept it him up at night, in addition to a few others:

It’s hard to disagree with Hardwick’s sentiments on The Shining. Most of us probably have Jack Nicholson’s thoroughly terrifying and mesmerizing performance as the tormented Jack Torrance burned into our eyeballs. Hardwick also brings up a good point that some content that’s not necessarily horror-based can be scary for younger audiences as well. As a kid, you may have accidentally walked in on a steamy scene from a movie and were a bit scared and confused upon seeing it.

Still, pure horror just has a way of stimulating our brains in such a unique way, and Hardwick couldn’t understate the significance of The Shining to his love of movies:

Based on the way The Shining is praised today, it’s honestly hard to believe it received mixed reviews when it first hit theaters back in 1980. The public consensus of the film wouldn’t begin to change until several years later and, by the early 2000s, it was receiving serious recognition. This praise, unfortunately, didn’t come from The Shining’s author, Stephen King, who famously disliked Kubrick’s interpretation of his work. However, he was relatively pleased with Mike Flanagan’s 2019 sequel, Doctor Sleep. While that film didn’t perform well at the box office, it has managed to find plenty of success since it hit streaming.

Omari Hardwick has great taste in horror films and, with his role in Mark Tonderai’s Spell, he now joins a long line of stars who have headlined supernatural thrillers. And for someone who grew up watching those films, that has to be a great feeling.

Spell is now available on premium video-on-demand and digital platforms.

During the course of their marriage, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman filmed three movies together: Days of Thunder, Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut. The latter is still frequently brought up more than 20 years later due both to it being a weird and fascinating movie and due to it having strong sexual content. Now, Nicole Kidman is speaking out about her feelings regarding filming nude scenes for the movie and why she actually felt “protected” and not exploited going nude.

If you’ve never seen Stanley Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut follows a married couple that explores their own sexual boundaries after infiltrating a secret society and later finds themselves in the middle of a larger mystery. This includes a now-famous orgy scene with a secret voiceover cameo from Cate Blanchett. Now, as part of a recent profile with the NY Times, Nicole Kidman finally spoke out about how she and Stanley Kubrick came to an agreement as they decided on the tone and the necessity of nudity as part of her own scenes in the film.

The actress also said she’s been in movies where she thought the final product would be one thing and it ended up being another, and that this way of doing things ensured she was totally comfortable and not surprised by anything that came along. She said that having a contract allows her to “feel safe” and be able to do sex scenes, which she indicates needs to be a part of a character sometimes. She just never wants to “be exploited.”

Stanley Kubrick died just a few days after showing Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise his final cut, but while the movie was being made, previous reports indicate he and his crew were watching softcore porn in order to figure out where the line should be with the movie's sex scenes. Eyes Wide Shut actually famously filmed more explicit scenes that didn’t make the final cut. These days it would probably be the type of film that required an intimacy coordinator. So, there would be every reason to believe Nicole Kidman might have been uncomfortable; given she wasn’t, it’s great she’s finally set the record straight.

She also talked a little bit about she and Tom Cruise “being happy” during the time, as well. Her marriage with Tom Cruise would fall apart just a couple of short years later, but even now Nicole Kidman says it wasn’t due to Eyes Wide Shut.

Eyes Wide Shut is a complicated movie with a complicated trajectory. It has a place in history as Stanley Kubrick’s last and its notable for being a wild and intense psychological thriller with weird masks and sexual rituals. Yet, at the time of its release, despite featuring two shiny, then-married a-listers, it had a lukewarm reception. In the time since, it has acquired a more positive reception, however, with both critics and fans.

The good news is Nicole Kidman seemed to have a good time filming, both with her husband at the time, Tom Cruise, and even Stanley Kubrick, with whom she would watch animal videos for fun and collaborate on scenes for employment. It's a good example of a case where a movie may not have worked out exactly as an actor or actress expected, but Nicole Kidman still seems happy with the work.

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It’s hard to compare Christopher Nolan to any other filmmaker. He has such control over his storytelling methods, and tells such a signature type of narrative, that he’s isolated in the industry. But his work on movies like Interstellar, Insomnia, The Prestige and Inception have earned Nolan comparisons to the late Stanley Kubrick. Can you see it?

Recently, Matthew Modine guested on our ReelBlend podcast, and we started down a conversation comparing Christopher Nolan to Stanley Kubrick. Modine was one of the precious few actors able to work with both men (on Full Metal Jacket, and then on The Dark Knight Rises), and when asked if the directors had any traits in common, Modine said:

Without question, Christopher Nolan succeeded in finding his own way. Despite doing three Batman films, Nolan has carved out a niche in the industry as telling personal, individual stories on a massive scale. He writes (or co-writes) his own screenplays, and develops a project from idea phase to theatrical opening. And it’s this approach to his material that lines Nolan up to Stanley Kubrick, at least in the eyes of Matthew Modine.

The Full Metal Jacket star continued:

The comparison comes about because these two filmmakers have carved out their paths in an industry that constantly forces strong voices into dull templates. Barry Jenkins doing a Lion King continuation, or Olivia Wilde taking on a Spider-Woman film. Might they work? Of course. But we follow those filmmakers because of their approach to material, and support the cottage industries that THEY have become.

Matthew Modine was speaking with us on behalf of the 4K release of Stanley Kubrick’s anti-war drama Full Metal Jacket, which is available for purchase right now.

If one were to assemble a list of the most controversial films of all time, it would be inexcusably incomplete without mention of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. Based on author Anthony Burgess’ notorious book of the same name, the movie is known not only for its frank and disturbing approach to sex and violence, but also for actually being pulled from cinemas in the U.K. following its release due to accusations that it was inspiring crime in real life.

And at the same time it’s a piece of work that is considered by many to be one of the great examples of 20th century cinema.

Its history is complicated to say the least, with its legacy also including a number of fascinating behind-the-scenes stories – and it’s those stories that we are here to highlight today. Digging through various documentaries, featurettes, specials and commentary tracks about the movie, we have put together this feature highlighting facts about A Clockwork Orange that you may have never heard about before. There’s a lot to go through, so let’s dig in!

Stanley Kubrick Originally Rejected A Clockwork Orange Because He Didn’t Get The Nadsat Language

One of the unique qualities of A Clockwork Orange is that it’s a story that operates with its own special language – specifically a mix of Russian and Yiddish that Anthony Burgess named Nadsat in the writing of the book. The film adaptation famously fully embraces the dialect, with audiences really only able to fully understand the characters via context… but that’s why it might be surprising for some to learn that it was because of Nadsat that Stanley Kubrick initially rejected the opportunity to make the movie. He evidently had a hard time wrapping his mind around it when he was first considering the material, and wasn’t convinced it could be translated. Thankfully for all of us, he eventually had a change of heart.

Anthony Burgess’ Explanation For The Origin Of The Title Provides Zero Clarity In Regards To Meaning

If you watched A Clockwork Orange for the first time and walked away wondering what the hell the title means, know that you’re not alone. The phrase is never actually mentioned in the film, and it’s not like it’s based on a familiar saying. So what is a clockwork orange? According to star Malcolm McDowell, he once asked Anthony Burgess that very question, and Burgess explained that he was once in a pub and overheard a stranger exclaim, “He’s as queer as a clockwork orange.” If you’re now wondering, “Well, what the hell does that mean,” again, you’re not alone.

Mick Jagger And The Rolling Stones Were Considered For Alex And His Droogs At One Point

Watching A Clockwork Orange, it’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Malcolm McDowell playing the role of Alex DeLarge, and apparently Stanley Kubrick felt the same way, as it was the actor’s face that he had in mind the entire time reading Anthony Burgess’ book. However, there was a time when we almost got a totally different version of the story. In the mid-1960s, prior to Kubrick’s involvement with the project, there were legitimate moves to make an adaptation of the novel starring the members of the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger would have played Alex, and his bandmates would have played his friends, a.k.a. the Droogs.

Alex’s Iconic Costume Came From The Contents Of Malcolm McDowell’s Car

The costume design in A Clockwork Orange, specifically for Alex and his Droogs, is iconic and instantly recognizable to any cinephile – but what makes the legacy of the look all the more impressive is the fact that it came together is a super haphazard way. Alex’s outfit consists of cricket whites that Malcolm McDowell kept in his car, and the includes the codpiece, which is typically worn under the trousers. Stanley Kubrick had McDowell throw the costume together and loved it.

A Clockwork Orange Only Featured The Sequence With The Homeless Man Because Of A Scheduling Conflict

A Clockwork Orange famously wastes no time at all delving into its darkest content, with the first act of the movie being a rather harrowing experience, and the madness all kicks off with Alex and his Droogs assaulting a drunk homeless man played by Paul Farrell. 

It’s a remarkable scene – which is why it is surprising to learn that it was actually Plan B. The original first act of violence featured in the movie was supposed to be a sequence where the gang accosted a man going home from the library with a bunch of priceless books in his possession. The actor who played the victim ended up not being available to shoot the sequence in the third act of the film where he got retribution on a post-Ludovico Treatment Alex, so the production was forced to pivot and come up with something new.

Malcolm McDowell Came Up For The Idea For Performing "Singin' In The Rain" During The Home Invasion

There are few moments in cinema history more disturbing than the first home invasion sequence in A Clockwork Orange – a sequence made particularly memorable because of Alex’s joyful singing of “Singin’ In The Rain” while committing assault and rape. What you may not know, though, is that the song choice was entirely Malcolm McDowell’s idea. 

The inspiration was born five or six long days into on-set preparation for the scene when Stanley Kubrick asked McDowell, “Can you dance?” The actor leapt to his feet and began an impromptu performance of the classic Gene Kelly tune, punctuating lines with punches and kicks. Kubrick loved the approach so much that he and McDowell immediately left set so that Kubrick could go home and acquire the rights to the song.

Malcolm McDowell’s Experience With The Eye Clamps Was Nightmarish

While actors typically get professionally trained stunt performers and stand-ins to handle the more dangerous parts of a performance on set, that wasn’t an option for Malcolm McDowell in the making of the Ludovico Treatment sequences in A Clockwork Orange. 

During production, the star legitimately got his eyes anesthetized before clamps were inserted to keep his eyelids open, and he was unable to move due to being in a straight-jacket. The doctor featured in the scene applying solution to his eyes is a real doctor, and was working with the understanding that drops had to be applied every 15 seconds or there was a risk that McDowell could have gone blind.

Possibly Even Worse Than The Eye Clamps Was The After Effect They Had

Thankfully, Malcolm McDowell’s experience wearing the eye clamps wasn’t tremendously long, but it was most definitely nightmarish – and things only got worse when he made his way home from set that day. While in the car, the anesthetic that was used on his eyes wore off, and after driving over a pothole McDowell got a sensation that he says felt like a razor slicing through his entire body. The pain was so excruciating that he had to call on a doctor to get a shot of morphine that night.

As You Would Expect, The Drowning Scene Wasn’t Exactly A Picnic Either

Throughout his legendary career, Stanley Kubrick frequently constructed shots that made audiences wonder, “How they hell did he do that?” and the drowning sequence in A Clockwork Orange is a perfect example. Late in the movie, Alex’s head is held down in a water-filled trough for literally a full minute in an unbroken shot, and it’s a legitimately scary thing to witness. And, surprise, surprise, it wasn’t exactly a pleasure cruise to film either. 

Malcolm McDowell was able to breathe under water thanks to a hidden oxygen tank, but what you don’t necessarily pick up on is the fact that the scene was shot in the middle of winter in England, and it was freezing cold outside. Furthermore, the brownish color of the water was provided by dissolved Bovril (a meat extract), which apparently smelled revolting. The cherry on top? Kubrick asked McDowell to do more than 20 takes.

Stanley Kubrick Tried To Get Out Of Paying Malcolm McDowell For A Week Of Work With A Funny Excuse

Stanley Kubrick and Malcolm McDowell got along famously during the making of A Clockwork Orange, and this camaraderie continued after principal photography was completed. During post-production, the actor was brought in to record the voiceover dialogue for the film, and the sessions had him and the director working alone on the material – with their labor frequently interrupted with regular games of ping pong. 

About six months later, McDowell was told by his agent one day that he had not been paid for those two weeks, and he brought it up with Kubrick while meeting with the filmmaker that afternoon. Kubrick’s response was to take a slide rule out of his pocket, adjust it, and then say “I’ll pay you for one week.” When McDowell protested, the director explained, “The other week was ping pong.”

Gene Kelly Apparently Really Hated A Clockwork Orange’s Use Of "Singin' In The Rain"

As mentioned, A Clockwork Orange is considered by many to be a work of true cinematic genius – but one individual who evidently couldn’t be counted as a fan was Gene Kelly, star of the 1952 classic Singin’ In The Rain. According to Malcolm McDowell, he was at a party with Kelly a few years after the release of the film, and while somebody made an effort to try and introduce the two men, the meeting never happened because Kelly snubbed McDowell by turning around and walking off. It was later revealed that Kelly was apparently never paid for the rights to the song.

Hopefully this feature has provided you with some interesting background knowledge about A Clockwork Orange and given you some insight to the fascinating film. If you wish to revisit the movie, it’s currently available for rental and/or purchase at all major digital retailers, and is also on both Blu-ray and DVD.

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a textbook example of a storied film. Beyond being one of the most incredible and beloved horror movies ever made, it’s also a project that inspired a great deal of conflict and strife in its making, paired with spectacular innovation and discovery. To say the least, the behind-the-scenes story of its making is pretty batty.

On the heels of the release of Doctor Sleep last year, and with the 1980 film celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2020, we decided that now would be an ideal time to dive into the history of the production. Digging through commentaries, featurettes, documentaries and more, here are 14 stories about The Shining that you may have never heard before.

Stanley Kubrick Initially Took On The Shining Because He Needed A Box Office Win

Stanley Kubrick will forever be recognized as one of the greatest artists to ever grace the medium of film, but that doesn’t mean he was immune to the pressures of the business, and in the late 1970s he needed a win. His 1975 period film Barry Lyndon was not as successful at the box office as desired, and Kubrick required studio support to try and make his dream project: Napoleon starring Jack Nicholson. It was Kubrick’s search for something commercially viable that led him to Stephen King’s The Shining.

The Overlook Hotel Design Came From Thousands Of Reference Photos

Beyond its winding halls and wild carpet patterns, a massive part of what makes The Overlook Hotel’s look so iconic is the unsettling patchwork-like aesthetic, and that was something that came as a result of Stanley Kubrick and his team working from thousands of reference shots taken by scouts sent out to photograph American hotels. Inspiration came from all over the place, but some of the best material came from The Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park, including the look of the cavernous lobby and the blood-red colored elevators. (Bonus Trivia: the exterior shots of the hotel were done at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon).

Danny’s Big Wheel Ride Through The Halls Required Technological Innovation, And Shooting It Revealed A Huge Surprise For The Director

Introduced in 1975, the stabilizer mount known as the Steadicam was a revelation in Hollywood and a technology beloved by Stanley Kubrick, who loved to keep his camera in motion in his films. Kubrick went as far as to hire the inventor of the thing, Garrett Brown, to be a part of the making of The Shining, and while the rig brought many iconic scenes to life, arguably the most famous is Danny’s Big Wheel ride – which required flipping the Steadicam system upside down and zooming it 2-3 inches off the floor while the operator rode in a specially designed wheelchair. 

The look created was incredible, and the director was totally shocked and delighted to discover the alternating sound of the wheels going from carpet to hard wood while reviewing the dailies.

Stanley Kubrick Thought The Hedge Maze Was Too Simple Until He Himself Got Stuck In It

A notable change from the book, The Shining’s hedge maze is really a perfect Kubrickian touch given the labyrinthian inner-workings of the director’s mind and love of puzzles. Its inclusion also led to a funny behind-the-scenes anecdote because Kubrick felt that the physical maze created for the production (which was about 2/3 the size of what’s suggested in the movie) would be too easy to solve. This led the crew to challenge him to try and solve it himself one Saturday morning on set, and folks were delighted when the filmmaker had to give up.

There Is Only One Special Effects Shot In The Shining, But It’s An Amazing One

Nowadays, getting a god’s-eye shot from hundreds of feet in the air is as simple as a production investing in a drone or satellite photography, but that was not something available in the late 1970s in the making of The Shining. Acknowledging this while watching the film, it’s difficult to figure out how the movie achieves its aerial introductory shot of the maze – but the answer is amazing. 

The crew simply made a movable reproduction of the middle section of the maze and brought it next to a tall apartment complex. Hanging off the edge of the roof, the crew got the shot required, and then that material was spliced/super imposed with a shot of the model of the maze photographed in scale.

Stanley Kubrick Employed Some Special Tricks To Make The Movie Seem Super Cold

With The Shining not actually shooting in the Colorado mountains during the winter but instead an English studio in the summer, the production had to find special ways to translate the idea of coldness in the environment, and Stanley Kubrick came up with some wonderfully clever methods. One was the thought to create a kind of stagnant fog using oil smoke during scenes outside, though that was its own challenge because it required not filming on windy days. The negative side effect was that the smoke combined with the lights created a kind of sick yellow on set, but Kubrick was able to suck out all of the red and yellow while emphasizing the blue during the color timing process, and the result is what we see in the movie!

The Final Hedge Maze Sequence Was Absolutely Hellish To Film

If the idea of working in an area with oil smoke clouding the air sounds hellish, you are not only absolutely right, but also halfway to recognizing how terrible it was to film The Shining’s final sequence: the hedge maze chase. Not only was the whole set polluted with smoke, the snow was made from a mix of Styrofoam and dairy salt, only further poisoning the atmosphere. Plus Danny Lloyd’s trips through the maze were done by just having the camera follow him while he ran, meaning that the crew got repeatedly lost between takes.

The Shining Possibly Did More Takes Of A Single Close Up Than Any Other Movie Ever

Stanley Kubrick was a notorious perfectionist who got double-digit takes of basically every angle, and while it allowed him to bring all of the footage he could ever need to the edit bay, it was an exhausting process for the actors. No scene in The Shining better exemplifies this than the one featuring Hallorann and Danny sitting in the kitchen discussing their special gifts. The shot of the two of them together took something in the realm of 88 takes, and the close-up of Scatman Crothers took 148 – which Garrett Brown says on the Blu-ray commentary may be the most done for a close up ever in film history.

One Shot In The Shining Was Captured In Just Two Takes

While Stanley Kubrick’s perfectionism led him to obsess over every shot, there is one moment in The Shining that only took two takes to capture, which is the beat after Wendy has woken Jack up from his nightmare and the two of them sit on the floor together. Per Garrett Brown, there is no clear reason as to why Kubrick felt he only needed a couple of takes of the material compared to everything else in the movie.

The Idea For Tony’s Voice And Danny Flexing His Finger Came From Danny Lloyd

As is the case with most major movies featuring a child in a prominent role, The Shining performed an extensive search looking for the right young actor to play Danny Torrance in the film. Of the hundreds of candidates, however, Danny Lloyd particularly stood out from the pack because of choices he made for his interactions with Tony. It was actually the kid who came up with the idea of the imaginary friend speaking with a different voice and flexing his index finger – an idea that Stanley Kubrick loved and included in the movie.

During Production, Most Of The Sleep Jack Nicholson Got Was In The Car To And From Set

Jack Nicholson sports an iconic descent-into-madness look in The Shining, but not all of the credit for that can go to the hair, makeup, and costume departments. The guy was also just totally wrecked. During production, Nicholson stayed in a place relatively far from set and when combined with the long shooting days that meant that most of the sleep that he was getting was during the car rides taking him to and from set. That’s a hard way to live for months on end, but in retrospect it seems it had a positive effect on his performance.

Stanley Kubrick And Shelley Duvall Had A Rough, Complicated Relationship On Set

For reasons spelled out above regarding his methodology, Stanley Kubrick had a tumultuous relationship with all his actors on the set of The Shining, but Shelley Duvall’s experience was far worse than most. Hoping to get more frenzied character work from the actress, Kubrick actively antagonized her, and the stress from the friction ultimately had an adverse effect on her health. In a post-release interview with Kubrick’s then 17-year-old daughter Vivian, who made a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the horror movie, Duvall said:

Production Running Long Caused Delays For Some Other Major Movies

With so many takes being done of every shot and the script changing literally every single day, The Shining wound up way off schedule and occupied soundstages at EMI Elstree Studios for nearly a year. This obviously ultimately worked to the film’s benefit, as Stanley Kubrick was able to get all of the footage he required, but taking so much time also unfortunately had the consequence of messing up plans for some other major productions. In reverence to Kubrick’s work, three movies got stuck waiting for stages to open up – those movies being Warren Beatty’s historical epic Reds, Steven Spielberg’s Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and Irvin Kershner’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

Stanley Kubrick’s Secretary Spent Months Typing “All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy” Pages

Thanks to the “copy + paste” function in modern word processors, the most concerning thing about finding reams of paper reading “All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy” now is the harm to the environment and the waste of ink – but what made the scene in The Shining so particularly impactful was the recognition of how much time Jack Torrance must have spent typing that same sentence over and over on a typewriter. 

It’s a magical moment in the movie – and the unsung hero behind it is Stanley Kubrick’s secretary. The director’s assistant had to spend months and months typing the same 10 words thousands of times, each page getting a fresh format, and enough copies had to be made so that Shelley Duvall could destroy an endless number of them while flipping through ream take after take.

The Shining is available streaming on Showtime, and you can purchase and rent it digitally, and find it on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD.

The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is a classic horror film that some consider the scariest horror film of all time. Stephen King on the other hand downright hates it. That aside, there’s no doubt the movie's ending left many questions unanswered. And now it sounds like there was a scrapped prequel script written that would have answered a long-standing fan question.

Glen Mazzara, who also worked on the ill-fated The Dark Tower TV series, recently down with Bloody Disgusting recently to talk about his involvement with the unmade The Overlook Hotel prequel. They go in great detail about what his script would have been about, namely the building of the Overlook and how it came to be haunted. Here’s what he said:

This is an interesting take that likely would have answered a ton of questions fans had about The Shining. The real question is, would fans actually be satisfied with the answers and care to watch how things came to be before The Shining? I think that would be a tough obstacle to overcome.

When Stephen King wrote The Shining, it included a prologue called Before the Play that featured several stories leading up to the hotel. This prologue was cut by the publishers, but it had been given to Glen Mazarra and other screenwriters to use for ideas on what a prequel could look like.

When Warner Bros. had to decide on what movie to make between a prequel and a sequel, they eventually chose the sequel in Doctor Sleep and passed on Glen Mazarra’s script. That said, it still sounds like a prequel in some form isn’t out of the question. Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan had an idea for a sequel to The Shining called Hallorann that would have focused entirely on Dick Hallorann, the cook who told Danny Torrance about the shining. Sadly, even though Doctor Sleep received rave reviews, its poor box office numbers make it likely harder to get this prequel movie off the ground, but that’s not to say it’s entirely out of the question.

One prequel that seems to have a better chance of taking off is Overlook. It was announced back in April that J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions would be developing an Overlook TVseries for HBO Max. J.J. Abrams has had success working with other Stephen King properties, like Hulu’s Castle Rock TV series. So, this TV series could be promising.

As for Glen Mazzara’s script, he doesn’t seem to think anything will ever come of it and said it’s likely “locked up in a vault somewhere.” Still, it sounds like he had a solid take on a horror story that only becomes more compelling with age.

Stanley Kubrick has had a tremendous influence on modern filmmaking. His movies are studied and analyzed more than most directors. To try to tap into that genius, many directors have tried to emulate his directorial style on set. And, according to The Matrix cinematographer Bill Pope, that influence made life pretty miserable for The Matrix sequels.

The Matrix 4 reportedly has begun filming in Berlin again, bringing back director Lana Wachowski, actors Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss. But cinematographer Bill Pope won't be returning for the next installment in the franchise. Pope made a guest appearance on Roger Deakins' podcast Team Deakins, and during the interview, Bill Pope expressed how it was mind-numbing shooting The Matrix sequels. Here’s what he had to say:

Yikes. That sounds painful. It’s no secret that Stanley Kubrick’s directorial tactics were uniquely difficult. He famously made actress Shelley Duvall’s life a living hell on the set of The Shining. It sounds like the Wachowskis decided to use similar methods on set of The Matrix sequels.

Along with having occasionally painful director tactics, Stanley Kubrick was a meticulous filmmaker that focused heavily on detail. His meticulous nature went all the way to the projectionists, of whom he sent detailed descriptions on how to do their job when showing his movie Barry Lyndon. Despite his methods being off the wall, it’s hard to deny that he made some of the most iconic and famous movies of the last century, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus, and A Clockwork Orange. But hearing this type of feedback might be a lesson learned for The Matrix filmmakers.

Even though making the The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions sounded painful, the movie's starring cast has once again returned for The Matrix 4. And from the way Keanu Reeves speaks about the script, perhaps it was inspiring enough to go through the process all over again.

As of right now, The Matrix 4 is set to release on May 21, 2021.

Stanley Kubrick may not be America’s most iconic director—that would probably be Steven Spielberg. Nor is he America’s favorite—that would probably be Tarantino or maybe even Martin Scorsese. But when it comes to America’s most revered and respected director, it’s probably Stanley Kubrick. You know his movies—Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The freaking Shining. Anything with Kubrick’s name attached to it is pretty much prestige in cinematic form.

The question though, is out of his 13 feature-length movies, which were his very best. Any Kubrick aficionado knows that he was a perfectionist verging on being a madman, so it’s interesting to crawl inside his head every so often to pick apart his films. You may not put his films in the same order that we have, but really, you can’t go wrong with any Kubrick movie. They’re all masterpieces. With that being said, let’s take a trip into madness, shall we?

10. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Dying just six days after he showed his final cut to Warner Bros., Stanley Kubrick's last picture was Eyes Wide Shut (unless you count Spielberg’s love letter to Kubrick, A.I.). One of his best films, Eyes Wide Shut is the kind of film that few directors besides Kubrick could make palatable and even interesting. The story concerns one Dr. Bill Harford, played by Tom Cruise, who learns that his wife, Alice, played by Tom Cruise’s then-wife, Nicole Kidman, once considered having an affair. This sets Dr. Harford off and makes him go out to find a strange cultish group that engages in wearing masks and having orgies. It also takes place during Christmas, making it the sexiest Christmas movie ever.

Upon its release, Eyes Wide Shut was seen as a fitting swan song to the director's career, but not one of his best. But since then, it's been reappraised and it’s now considered top tier Kubrick. The film works well, but Kubrick tackled topics of obsession and isolation better in other pictures found higher on this list. Still, it's the work of a genius firing on all cylinders.

9. Spartacus (1960)

A lot of people tend to forget that Spartacus is a Stanley Kubrick picture. Maybe because it doesn’t really feel like a Stanley Kubrick picture, which makes sense since he didn’t have complete control over the film. If anything, it feels more like a Dalton Trumbo picture, since the writer’s fingerprints are all over it. But as a sword and sandals movie, it’s a great watch. Kirk Douglas plays the titular character who leads a slave revolt. One of its most famous scenes, “I am Spartacus” is legendary. And besides 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus is Kubrick’s most epic film in scope.

A key reason why it is a favorite though is because it’s a sign of what Kubrick might have gone on to do if he had made is oft-discussed, but never filmed Napoleon movie. Most interestingly is that Spartacus shows what Kubrick could do with another person’s vision, and it turned out to be one of his best. That ending with all the crucifixions still gives us chills.

8. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Anybody who loves Full Metal Jacket—and that obviously includes us—has to admit its one crucial flaw. Only the first half of the movie is a masterpiece. The other half is kind of just meh. But that first half, let me tell you. When anybody thinks of Full Metal Jacket, they instantly think of Vincent D’Onofrio as “Private Pile” and R. Lee Ermey as the profane Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. And both of those characters die in the first half.

That said, some of the most interesting and Kubrickian moments come after that first half, especially in that ending when the squad is singing the theme to Mickey Mouse. What makes Full Metal Jacket distinctly a Kubrick film though is that it doesn’t really have a stance on war itself, but more so on the people who participate in war. A lot of war films deal with dehumanization, but few, if any, focus on the true effects on the people themselves who are sent off to do the killing, and whether they were already rotten before they even hit the battlefield. A great film, even though only 50% of it is sheer genius.

7. The Killing (1956)

At the time compared to the original Scarface and Little Caesar, The Killing is about a successful heist at a race track and the repercussions that follow. It’s often seen as Kubrick’s first serious work, but it’s more than just that. The Killing is a masterclass in filmmaking and a film noir for the ages. It’s also a key inspiration for Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. You can see it in the plot and the characters. Much of the story is very similar.

But what makes The Killing so special is how it feels so nihilistic at times. From its robbery to its very last line (“What’s the difference?”), The Killing was a sign of what was to come from Kubrick, but it’s an also overall good picture that never feels boring or slow. I’d say it’s better and smarter than both Scarface and Little Caesar combined.

6. The Shining (1980)

The Shining is probably most people’s favorite Kubrick movie. Well, unless they're Stephen King. Besides its author, everybody loves The Shining. And why wouldn’t they? What Kubrick did for science-fiction with 2001, he also did for horror with The Shining, i.e. classed up the genre. The Shining is about an author who is slowly going crazy and tries to murder his family. But is he being haunted by ghosts, or is he genuinely going insane?

Whereas the book makes it clear that it’s the former, the movie does a great job of making you think it’s the latter. And that’s all Kubrick. In fact, this might be the director’s most maddening work. A whole documentary was made on all the bizarre conspiracy theories that surround it. And when a director might be even crazier than the character in his movie, you know you've entered the Kubrick zone.

5. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Dr. Strangelove is about a possible nuclear apocalypse, and it’s a comedy. If that’s not Kubrickian, I don’t know what it is. The story, which is set during the Cold War, is about a general who orders an unprompted strike against the Soviet Union, and everybody from other generals to the President -- played by Peter Sellers who takes on three different roles -- have to talk it down to prevent Armageddon.

And it’s actually funny. It’s satire, of course, but Kubrick takes all the grim seriousness of such a possible scenario and makes it utterly ridiculous, with George C. Scott even going so far as tripping over his own feet and generals worrying about our “precious bodily fluids.” And then, you have that famous shot of Slim Pickens riding the bomb. Kubrick rarely tried to be funny, but when he did, it worked. Everything he did worked.

4. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

A Clockwork Orange is definitely Kubrick’s most controversial film, as it was banned in some countries and rated X upon release in the U.S. The story concerns some young men, known as droogs, who like to engage in the old ultraviolence and rape. It’s an unflinching look at youth unchecked (Even though the actors in the movie are adults whereas the characters in the book are closer to teenagers), and it is probably the most Kubrickian film the director ever released.

What I mean by that is that it has all the Kubrick trademarks. Within the first few minutes, it has Kubrick’s “eyes looking up”, which he often utilized to represent madness, it has his nihilism, his hopelessness, and his cynicism. Even the author, Anthony Burgess, disliked the ending of the film, which was different from his book in that the main character, Alex, really learns nothing at the end of the movie and will likely go back to his old ways again. It’s a truly disturbing film and probably the director’s second most iconic, right after 2001.

3. Barry Lyndon (1975)

Barry Lyndon is most likely Kubrick’s most disliked movie by the general public since it's slow, and I mean SLOW. But it’s also beautiful. The cinematography often gets the most attention in this film since some of it is modeled after paintings, with a few scenes even using only candle lit lighting. But beyond its esthetics, it’s also a brilliantly told narrative of a jerk who has no remorse for climbing the social ladder. It’s probably Kubrick’s most interesting character study, and one that doesn’t get nearly enough credit.

The film could have actually been Kubrick’s Napoleon project, but that fell through. What we got instead is a film that improves immensely on repeated viewings. If you didn't like Barry Lyndon the first time, seriously, watch it again. You have to be in the right mindset, and once you are, it's a masterpiece.

2. Paths of Glory (1957)

Paths of Glory is probably Stanley Kubrick’s most under-appreciated movie. It’s a hidden gem that in many ways surpasses most of his other work in its simplicity, but also its power. Set during World War 1, Kirk Douglas must defend French soldiers in court because they wouldn't go into battle since they knew they would end up dying. But by not going into battle, they are deemed cowards and are set to be executed. The best part is Kirk Douglas. He's definitely hamming it up, but he's also offering probably the greatest performance of his career.

And while Full Metal Jacket is kind of clunky in its messaging, Paths of Glory is very clear. War is bad. War is wrong. And nobody should have to endure what it does to the human spirit. Kubrick doesn’t really have many flourishes in this film, or any of his trademarks, but it’s a brilliant story told brilliantly, and it's one that touches me the most every time I watch it.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Could it really be any other picture? Considered one of the greatest films ever made, 2001 is Kubrick’s magnum opus and the film that everybody considers his masterwork. Personally, I think there are plenty of other Kubrick movies I would rather watch than 2001 since I find it incredibly boring, but the general consensus is that Kubrick’s space epic, which he worked on with sci-fi legend, Arthur C. Clarke, is his best work ever, and I understand why.

The music, the atmosphere, the story, the baby in a bubble, the obelisk, that intro with the monkey throwing the bone into space and it transitioning into a satellite, 2001 seems to transcend even Kubrick himself and is widely considered one of the greatest technical feats in the history of cinema. Hal is great. The visuals are great. The story is great. Everything is great. While it might not be as re-watchable as his other films for some of us, 2001 is still the best movie Kubrick ever made, and it will forever be on that higher level. It's lived on past the year in its title and will live on for many years still. That's just how groundbreaking it was.

There are many reasons why Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a notable work in cinema history, and that includes the fact that it’s weirdly at the center of a number of conspiracy theories. Following a lot of deep analysis of the movie over multiple decades, and questions being asked about Kubrick’s motives, people have drawn a lot of weird conclusions from the film, including the idea that it acts as a confession that the legendary director staged the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Different people take different things away from The Shining, and in this regard one perspective I recently found myself curious about was director Mike Flanagan’s. After all, in the last year the filmmaker did a deep dive into the world of Stanley Kubrick’s movie in the making of Doctor Sleep, and so he arguably has a more substantial view of it than anyone.

Well, I recently asked Flanagan about it when we sat down for an interview at the legendary Stanley hotel in Estes Park, Colorado – the place where Stephen King was first inspired to write The Shining – and he explained that while he is intrigued by all of the ideas floating around, he wasn’t exactly convinced of anything through his experiences. Said the filmmaker of the Shining conspiracy theories,

As noted by Mike Flanagan, Stanley Kubrick’s estate granted him access to the original plans for the Overlook Hotel from The Shining in the making of Doctor Sleep, as the film contains multiple sequences that bring audiences back to the iconic haunted lodging, and sets were delicately reconstructed. This allowed the director a unique opportunity to be in identical environments as Kubrick, but that phase of the production apparently didn’t lead to any kind of major revelations.

The aforementioned Apollo 11 theory about The Shining – which is based on the idea that Stanley Kubrick worked with NASA to fake mankind’s first steps on the Moon – is just one of many that have popped up over time. As chronicled in the documentary Room 237, there is also suggestion that the movie is really about topics such as the Holocaust and Native American genocide. These are ideas based on particular choices that the director makes in the film, particularly those that deviate from Stephen King’s original novel.

Just because Flanagan didn’t suddenly have any kind of greater understanding of Stanley Kubrick’s motivations in the construction of The Shining in the making of Doctor Sleep, however, doesn’t mean that he’s totally dismissing the various reads that have been floated going back to 1980. Taking a very humble stance, the writer/director admitted that Kubrick was constantly thinking on a much higher level than himself in his approach to the craft, so he doesn’t reject the notion that there are particular depths that don’t fully register:

You can watch Mike Flanagan discuss his thoughts behind the variety of Shining conspiracy theories by clicking play on the video below!

While he may not be exactly Stanley Kubrick (nobody is), Mike Flanagan is still constantly proving himself to be a phenomenal filmmaker, and Doctor Sleep is the latest evidence. Starring Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Kyliegh Curran, the film picks up decades after the events of The Shining as recovering alcoholic Dan Torrance both discovers a young girl who can shine even brighter than him, and a dangerous group that hunts people with psychic/telekinetic abilities.

The film is arriving in theaters this Friday, and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interviews with Mike Flanagan and the movie’s stars!

Reviews are trickling in for this weekend's Doctor Sleep, which serves as a sequel-of-sorts to Stanley Kubrick's masterful The Shining, but there was one review in particular that horror fans were anxious to hear. That would be Stephen King's, the author behind both source materials. While King has generally been favorable about many adaptations of his work (even some of the weaker ones), the world-renowned writer has long held a grudge against the late Kubrick's film. So much so that King has built a reputation over the years for not liking Kubrick's movies, when actually, it's mainly The Shining that didn't suit his fancy. But why is it that King doesn't like what is widely considered to be one of the best films ever based on his work?

Everyone is entitled to their own taste, of course, but it has often puzzled Stephen King fans that the author hasn't sung his praises for the adaptation, even though both critics and audiences have turned around on the film and claimed it's a classic of the horror genre. While King has softened somewhat on the film, he still hasn't warmed up to it, even with the impending release of Doctor Sleep, a film he has surprisingly praised, unlike its predecessor. But why exactly does King have ill feelings towards The Shining? While it ultimately comes down to personal opinion, King has offered breadcrumbs that inform his negative feelings about this beloved film.

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining Goes Against What Stephen King Tried To Accomplish With The Book

In the grand scheme of things, the main reason why Stephen King doesn't like Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his third novel is because King believes it goes against what he set out to do with his book. And with The Shining in particular, the author took it personally. For those who don't know, The Shining is one of King's most personal stories. The novel explores a struggling writer/ex-teacher whose history of alcoholism has resulted in him being jobless and on the verge of divorce with his long-suffering wife. He also has a fractured relationship with his only son, Danny, who is telepathic and sees supernatural visions. A drunken assault resulted in Danny being injured. Our main character, Jack Torrance, hopes to fly straight.

While Jack Torrance is a troubled character, he is also someone who values his family and wants to do the right thing, even if his addiction prevents him from loving his family properly. It's when he accepts a job in the snowy mountains in an abandoned Overlook Hotel that things take a turn for the worse for our characters. The hotel unleashes the demented side of Jack's character, driving him off the edge of insanity and seeking to kill the people he loves the most in a blind rage. The hotel has a hold on Jack, and it causes him to unleash terror onto his family. This mirrors King's relationship with alcoholism, and his own fears of hurting his family while deeply intoxicated. It's an addiction that King thankfully overcame.

But what happens to Jack Torrance by the end of both versions of The Shining is one of the biggest ways they differ significantly from one another. In King's book, our lead character returns to his loving self and warns his family to run away before he murders them both. In the movie, the character simply freezes to death. In other words, Jack Nicholson's Jack isn't redeemed.

Stephen King Doesn't Care For The Film's Version Of The Characters

In Stephen King's view, Stanley Kubrick's attempt to explore the building insanity in Jack Torrance's character directly violates the core foundation of his novel. The writer sees Jack as a decent man caught in a bind with his vices and the terrors that unleash in the hotel. In the movie, however, most particularly with the casting of Jack Nicholson, we never doubt for a moment that Jack is a madman. It's simply a matter of when he will wreck havoc. When we see Nicholson in the job interview during the first scene in the movie, we're looking at an unhinged man, by King's admission. We don't see the rise of a stable man turned destructive by his newfound surroundings. Rather, we see someone who is just waiting for the moment they finally pop.

In addition to Jack Nicholson being too maniac too early on, Stephen King has also been negative towards Shelley Duvall's take on Wendy. While he might not be entirely dismissive of her performance, which is undoubtedly impressive and committed, he doesn't care for how the movie makes her seem weak compared to the book. He considers Wendy to be a more dynamic and personable character in the book.

In the movie, however, he thinks she is simply a mother constantly fearful of her raging husband. Gone, in his view, is the independence and depth he wanted from her character. More specifically, King said in an interview that Shelley Duvall's Wendy is, "one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film. She's basically just there to scream and be stupid. And that's not the woman I wrote about." More than simply a bad character, he believes she's poor representation.

Stephen King Doesn't Like The Detached Humanity In The Movie, Even Though It's One Of The Movie's Most Praised Aspects

In Stephen King's view, the movie lacks the warmth and humanity that he brought to his book. The movie version was, by comparison, more cynical and bleak, which rubbed King the wrong way. It didn't have the compassion he wanted for the characters, practically in how personal it was, and that was definitely evident by the end. Even though it's one aspect that's praised, it's something that has left a rather sour taste in King's mouth over time.

Stanley Kubrick's detachment from the material presented a very stark, haunting experience, one that was built on its atmosphere and quiet terror. But that wasn't what Stephen King necessarily wanted. It resulted in a morbid experience that rang hollow and false for the author, making him mad.

While Stephen King has often seen the good in the movie and TV series adaptations of his work, even the ones that take dramatic liberties with their changes to the material, Stanley Kubrick's deliberate defiance towards King's novel and what the book was meant to represent remains a sore subject for the author. He has been quoted several times throughout the years about his negative feelings toward the film. While he's been more harsh on the film at some points in his life compared to others, it's clear that this position on the film remains the same.

Stephen King's distaste for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was so notorious that he championed the 1997 miniseries adaptation, even making a cameo in it to show his blessing. While that adaptation has notably way less fans than the movie, it's one that he has celebrated far more readily than Kubrick's movie. And to his credit, The Shining film wasn't warmly received upon release. Critics were mixed on it and it wasn't a box office smash. It took time for the movie's moody intensity to cast its spell, though it's safe to say that Stephen King remains un-bewitched by its call.

Let us know what you think of The Shining movie in the comments below, and be on the lookout for Doctor Sleep, which hits theaters this Friday, November 8.

In taking on the job of adapting Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, writer/director Mike Flanagan committed to an impressively daunting task. After all, not only is the movie a sequel to what is widely regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, but the project came to him fully loaded with a crazy amount of baggage courtesy of King’s well-publicized hate of the beloved classic.

Because of this, you might wonder why any filmmaker would want to expose themselves to that kind of pressure – but Mike Flanagan had a particular advantage going into the production: he had taken on the challenge of adapting the work of Stephen King before. The writer/director had tremendous success making a movie version of the author’s 1992 novel Gerald’s Game back in 2007, and as I learned during a recent interview, that gave him an important confidence boost while tackling Doctor Sleep.

Last month I traveled to Estes Park, Colorado for a special press event at The Stanley – the hotel where Stephen King originally found inspiration to write The Shining – and during a one-on-one sit down with Mike Flanagan one topic we discussed was the influence of his experience making Gerald’s Game. He started by explaining that a significant part of the formula is that it created a kind of trust between the filmmaker and the author, which proved to be an important foundation in the pursuit of making Doctor Sleep:

Continuing, he added that much like his sequel to The Shining, turning Gerald’s Game into a movie was not exactly an easy task. However, having had gone through the making of that film helped him deal with the natural anxiety that comes from being a Stephen King fan trying to translate his work into a different medium.

Not personally being a film director, I can’t say this with absolute authority, but I do get the general impression that time spent doing basically anything is made a lot more pleasurable and relaxed when anxiety-induced nausea isn’t part of the equation.

Knowing that he had the capacity to make a well-received Stephen King adaptation was a big back pocket experience for Mike Flanagan, but there was also the other side of the coin to acknowledge: that he was far from the only director to ever try and take on such a project. Including Doctor Sleep, there have now been 46 feature films based on King’s stories – not to mention 12 miniseries, seven television movies, and seven television shows.

Having seen all of those adaptations made, Stephen King has developed a “hands off” philosophy once a project really gets moving, but as Mike Flanagan explained, that wasn’t necessarily something that helped him from a psychological perspective:

Understanding Stephen King’s approach, Mike Flanagan still felt the need to get approvals for the alterations he wanted to execute in the making of Doctor Sleep… but that’s where the aforementioned baggage was a considerable issue. According to Flanagan, King initially bridled at the idea of the adaptation featuring a direct link to Stanley Kubrick’s film – which sense when you consider that parts of the source material novel were written to further highlight the deviations between King’s The Shining and Kubrick’s.

That didn’t exactly create the most welcoming atmosphere when it came to proposing some of the significant changes that Flanagan wanted to make in his script. Said Flanagan,

To go into any further detail about that point would obviously involve serious spoilers, so you’ll just have to wait until Doctor Sleep is released later this week and we post my spoiler-filled conversation with Mike Flanagan about the film.

As heavy as the entire experience was, the writer/director was left comfortable knowing that the work he was doing would ultimately stand on its own in addition to being a part of a larger legacy. The side benefit is that it acts as a fascinating pop culture mediator in a Hollywood conflict that has been swirling for 39 years, but the book is always going to be the book, while the film is the film:

You can watch my interview with Mike Flanagan and our discussion of his experience adapting the works of Stephen King by clicking play on the video below:

Written, directed, and edited by Mike Flanagan, Doctor Sleep is a continuation of the story first begun by Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and catches up with Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) as an adult. He has spent years trying to suppress both the memories of his horrific childhood and his special telepathic/psychic abilities – regularly turning to the bottle to do so – and it turns him into an alcoholic mess. When he finally begins getting his life together, he starts makes contact with another person who shines, a young girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran), but simultaneously discovers that she is in danger because of a group of monsters that feed on their powers.

Also starring Rebecca Ferguson, Cliff Curtis, Bruce Greenwood, and Zahn McClarnon, Doctor Sleep arrives in theaters everywhere this Friday – and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a lot more coverage from my interviews with the director and cast!

Stephen King first published Doctor Sleep back in 2013, and for the past six years it has had the appearance of a booby trap for filmmakers. After all, the tome is a not just a sequel to The Shining – a.k.a. a follow-up to one of the most influential and beloved horror stories of the 20th century – but was partially written in response to King’s notorious dislike of director Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film adaptation of its predecessor. Reading the novel, you get the sense that certain choices were made by the author specifically to spite the Kubrick feature, and the changes that were made bringing the 1977 book to the big screen.

Thus, the idea of making a Doctor Sleep movie has long had a certain “damned if you do, damned if you don't” quality about it. Anyone put in charge of the project would be a slave to two contrary masters: the amount of love that exists for Kubrick’s film among audiences would demand any big screen sequel adaptation have fidelity to the (genius) prior cinematic vision, but still while there would also be the constant pressure to flip a notorious legacy and create something that would earn King’s approval. On paper, it seems like both an impossible and thankless endeavor for any normal filmmaker.

But Warner Bros. ultimately didn’t hire a normal filmmaker to take the helm of Doctor Sleep. They hired Mike Flanagan. This is a writer/director who not only came to the production with experience adapting Stephen King on his resume, having made the phenomenal Gerald’s Game for Netflix, but also with tremendous history telling stories that grapple with key themes like trauma and recovery. In retrospect, he was truly the ideal person to take on this property, as evidenced by the fact that what he has created with it is both a magnificent movie in its own right, and a worthy follow-up to one of the greatest films of all time.

Perfectly melding the works of Kubrick and King, Doctor Sleep is a totally different kind of story than The Shining, but operates as a wonderful expansion of that world seen through the eyes an adult Dan Torrance. It’s a beautifully faithful adaptation that also makes successful changes that effectively improve the source material (even those not specifically forced by the Kubrick alterations), and buoyed by the performances of its three central stars, it’s an epic journey full of horror, magic, and intense drama from beginning to end.

Fully comfortable operating as a character study following the life and times of Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor), the story picks up almost immediately after the events of The Shining, finding young Danny (Roger Dale Floyd) living with his mother, Wendy (Alex Essoe), in Florida, and still recovering from the nightmarish events that unfolded at the isolated Overlook Hotel the previous winter. Thanks to visits from the deceased Dick Hallorann (Carl Lumbly), who quickly bonded with Danny because of their shared telepathic/psychic abilities, he is able to quiet some of the demons that followed him down from the Rocky Mountains, but he essentially lives in fear of his gift.

This naturally translates to serious issues as an adult – and nothing is helped by his genetic tendency toward alcoholism and rage that he inherited from his father, Jack. This unfortunate formula results in Dan becoming a drunk and a drifter, not only haunted by the events of his childhood, but the horrible and careless things he does as a result of his substance abuse.

After hitting rock bottom, Dan finds himself in a small New Hampshire town, and he starts to rebuild his life, particularly thanks to the help of the friendly Billy Freeman (Cliff Curtis), and the support of his Alcoholics Anonymous group led by Dr. John Dalton (Bruce Greenwood). It’s also where he winds up psychically connecting with Abra (Kyliegh Curran), a young girl from a few towns over who actually shines even brighter than him.

Things seem to be on an even keel for once – but everything begins to shatter when Abra accidentally gets the attention of the True Knot. Led by Rose The Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) and having existed for centuries, this is a group that feeds on those who shine, extracting it from people through fear and pain, and inhaling it as steam. With Abra in very real danger, Dan is forced to confront his trauma, and both access and embrace the power he has spent his entire life suppressing.

Given the notoriety of the King/Kubrick conflict, it’s actually kind of magical to see what Mike Flanagan has done here, having crafted an excellent piece of cinema while operating as a kind of pop culture mediator. Nobody could watch Doctor Sleep and question his clear and deep appreciation for two true masters, as its deep in the movie’s DNA. The loving recreation of The Shining’s Overlook Hotel production design is awe-inspiring, and the depths of all the characters and most important themes in the story are taken straight from heart of the novel.

What in turn makes Doctor Sleep such a bold endeavor, however, is that it’s also purely a Mike Flanagan film. This is a director with the confidence needed to know that it is not his job to ape the next-level cinematography employed by Stanley Kubrick, or lift every line of dialogue from Stephen King’s book. The reality is that this is a story that fits directly in his wheelhouse, having frequently demonstrated a gift for crafting a perfect balance between the fantastical and realistic, psychology-driven drama, and he expresses it here.

So instead of perfect symmetry and an abundance of Steadicam-driven tracking shots, we have Flanagan’s dark-but-rich color pallet, and a Newton Brothers score that doesn’t abuse the famed synth-played Shining theme. And while some changes from the book are out of necessity (like the fact that Dick Hallorann isn’t alive at the start of the story), there are also other shocking alternative choices made that do a brilliant job raising the stakes as the film barrels towards its exhilarating third act.

Flanagan fans will note that the movie provides him the opportunity to work with a number of past collaborators on the performance front – including the aforementioned Bruce Greenwood, Violet McGraw, Robert Longstreet, Carel Struycken, and others who can’t be mentioned because of spoiler reasons – but it’s from the three key newcomers to the writer/director’s filmmaking family that supply the most phenomenal performances.

Ewan McGregor has every ounce of the passionate pathos required to bring a character as damaged and inherently good as Dan Torrance to the big screen, able to both sell the heavy baggage that he carries with him everywhere, and demonstrate the powerful inner-strength that he needs to overcome his past. It’s a turn that is in perfect harmony with Kyliegh Curran’s, who proves to be a tremendously exciting up-and-comer who infuses her role with impressive charisma and energy. Abra is a girl who shines and shines brightly, and so does Curran in the film.

Truly the performance that everyone will be talking about walking away from Doctor Sleep, however, is Rebecca Ferguson as Rose The Hat – now all set to be remembered as one of the all-time great cinematic Stephen King villains right alongside the likes of Jack Nicholson's Jack Torrance, Kathy Bates’ Annie Wilkes, Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise The Clown, and Clancy Brown's Captain Hadley. Simultaneously she manages to be both seductively mesmerizing, and viciously sadistic, and it makes every moment she is on screen utterly captivating. By the end you loathe her, and absolutely love her, which is really everything you could ask for from the character.

Save for a bit of a hiccup in pacing towards the end of the movie’s first half, there is so much to love about Doctor Sleep. What it’s able to accomplish from a legacy standpoint is breathtaking, and it delivers intelligent storytelling, stunning photography, phenomenal performances, and also one of the most disturbing sequences in recent memory. It’s a tremendous achievement, and among the best Stephen King adaptations ever.

As is the case with pretty much every book-to-film adaptation, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror film The Shining left out things that were present in Stephen King’s original 1977 novel. So when it came time to adapt Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s sequel novel to The Shining, for the big screen, director Mike Flanagan saw a unique opportunity. Specifically, Doctor Sleep will include parts of The Shining that didn’t make it into Kubrick’s movie. In Flanagan's own words,

Although The Shining didn’t have a sequel novel in 1980 (Doctor Sleep was first published in 2013) and Stanley Kubrick is no longer around to direct the follow-up film, Mike Flanagan approached Doctor Sleep as a true continuation of that legendary director’s classic movie. He wanted it to feel of a piece of Kubrick’s The Shining in his adaptation, but also wanted to address certain things that were missing from Stephen King's source material.

As he explains in a new featurette for Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan wanted to incorporate the themes from Stephen King’s novel that were not present in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation. As a sequel, Doctor Sleep afforded him this opportunity. That being said, Flanagan does not explicitly say what he is bringing from the original into the sequel, so we’ll just have to see it to find out.

This is likely more incentive for fans of Stephen King’s novel to see Doctor Sleep, because it provides an opportunity to see themes of the story that were previously lost in translation or changed in the Kubrick film. There are always going to be differences with adaptations, and it's common to watch an adaptation of a beloved book and cringe in frustration when something we cherish from the source material was left out or adapted poorly.

It has to be especially rewarding for Stephen King as well. The author famously hates Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, in particular the arc of Jack Torrance, so he must be happy to see the themes from his novel brought back in a way that he actually approves of.

That is the tight rope Mike Flanagan had to walk with Doctor Sleep. He wanted to honor Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic classic, while also doing right by his hero, Stephen King. To do that he embraced King’s novels and their characters, stories and themes, while still committing to the significant changes made by Kubrick and his fellow filmmakers in the making of the 1980 version.

Just as the director of a television pilot establishes the tone and aesthetic of the series to which predecessors can adhere, Mike Flanagan made sure that he made Doctor Sleep in the style of Stanley Kubrick, using the cinematic language of that original movie, as well as significant elements of the production. A big part of that was bringing back The Overlook Hotel for Doctor Sleep. So you should be able to watch the two movies back to back and feel like they fit together, which is pretty cool.

And so Doctor Sleep manages to be a sequel to both versions of The Shining. Official reviews aren’t out just yet, but if early reactions are anything to go by it appears that he succeeded. Stephen King seems pretty happy as well.

Doctor Sleep arrives in theaters on November 8th, but there is a way you can see it early tomorrow, October 30. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the movies headed your way in a busy fall season.

While writer/director Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep is supposed to operate as a sequel to both Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick’s visions of The Shining, the long standing differences between the two incarnations have always been a bit of a problem. So naturally, when setting off to adapt the sequel novel that picks up with Danny Torrance into his adult years, there was going to be some tricky calculus that would have to be done to bring back fans of King’s writing and Kubrick’s filmmaking back to the theater.

The potential to make Doctor Sleep’s connections to the 1980 film version has always been there, as the author is less than a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s interpretation of Jack Torrance’s spiral into madness. But true to his intent and promise, Flanagan has found a way to balance his film between the two versions, and it all hinges on one component: the infamous Overlook Hotel.

During a set visit that CinemaBlend’s own Gabe Kovacs attended last fall, shortly before Doctor Sleep wrapped production, it was revealed just how important a return to the setting of The Shining was to how Mike Flanagan wanted to tell the story that follows in its wake. In fact, the director himself explained it pretty clearly as follows:

Even if you’re a casual fan of either version of The Shining, it’s easy to agree that going back to The Overlook Hotel decades after those original events is a prospect that’s one of the greatest 'what ifs' of cinematic history. In terms of iconic locations, it stands as a truly landmark venue in general filmmaking history, particularly the horror genre.

Like any memorable haunting, it’s a place that truly sticks with you, simply because the hotel itself is as scary as the things that happen within its damned walls. Whether Doctor Sleep acknowledged the Kubrick film at full force or a dull whisper, it would have always lingered in the minds of its audience, creeping around each corner, waiting for a way to present itself.

You can’t merely dismiss a film such as Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining, as it’s gone on to live a healthy life of its own. It’s a film that’s pretty much universally loved. However, as much as Mike Flanagan wanted to go back to The Overlook Hotel, he needed to get a very important party on board with that very notion.

Which means, Flanagan now has another cool Stephen King story to tell everyone, and tell it he did, in the following words:

It's a pretty brave stance to want to integrate the shared history of The Shining as a film and as a book into a cohesive whole, but it can said definitively that if The Overlook Hotel was to play no part in the enterprise, it was worth scrapping from the start. The look of Stanley Kubrick’s version, as well as the creation of this infamous horror landmark in Stephen King’s book, are equally important to the legacy of the Torrance family saga.

With The Overlook firmly in play, Doctor Sleep is able to play both sides of the Shining fence, which makes it a wonderful way of moving forward in the cinematic and thematic language that Stephen King’s work has inspired over the years. Knowing that King himself is on board and actually anticipates the film’s release makes it all the better, as his approval stokes the fires of anticipation even more.

Those fires will assuredly rage until Doctor Sleep continues the adventures of Danny Torrance, upon its theatrical debut on November 8.

Few Hollywood productions have as storied a legacy as Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and one of the most notable aspects of that history is the relationship between the film and the creator of the original source material. While many hail the adaptation as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, Stephen King is not a fan of the big screen take on his haunted hotel in the Colorado Rockies (and when you compare Kubrick’s version against the novel, and take into consideration his intentions with the story, you can see that he has some legitimate grievances from an authorial perspective).

This bit of trivia has stirred debate among fans for decades – which is the superior take? – but now a whole new layer is being added to the conversation. In the coming months, director Mike Flanagan will be releasing his adaptation of Doctor Sleep, Stephen King’s sequel to The Shining published in 2013, and as long as the project has been around there has been a prominent question lingering in the air: will it simply be a straight adaptation of the novel, or will it take into considerations the changes made by Stanley Kubrick and operate as a cinematic sequel? Now the question has been answered, and, odd as it may sound, the answer is… both.

Those familiar with both Stephen King’s book and Stanley Kubrick’s film will notice that the two blend together quite prominently in the debut trailer for Doctor Sleep that was released this morning – and that important merger was also a major part of the discussion held during a trailer preview event yesterday in Los Angeles with Mike Flanagan and producer Trevor Macy in attendance. Following a back-to-back screening of the first look preview, Flanagan and Macy took questions about their work developing the film, and the immense influence of both King and Kubrick.

Mike Flanagan fully acknowledged the popularity of the aforementioned lingering question, one of the first subjects brought up during the Q&A session, and explained that it was never something they could fully answer with just words. Instead, it was something they could only demonstrate with the film actually coming together – which is why it’s being addressed now that the trailer is out. Said the filmmaker,

Getting The Stamp Of Approval

Mike Flanagan has some past experience in what he calls “Stephen King’s sandbox,” having previously directed 2017’s Gerald’s Game – which was based on King’s 1992 novel of the same name. While you might think that this would lead to at least some kind of enhanced comfortability between the two men, Flanagan admitted that he still found himself experiencing two of the most nerve-wracking moments of his career getting the stamp of approval for Doctor Sleep.

It was right at the start of making the film that Flanagan understood the necessity of getting Stephen King on board with his specific approach – particularly because of the acrimony behind The Shining. According to him, one of the first moves made was setting up a meeting with the author, and telling him what they wanted to do with Doctor Sleep. And apparently if that meeting had gone any other way than perfectly, he wouldn’t have continued working on the project:

To Flanagan surprise, he added, not only did he walk away with Stephen King’s blessing on the project, but his “encouragement.”

This is definitely going the extra mile – but it doesn’t stop there. Not only did the Doctor Sleep production feel the need to get King’s approval, but also the endorsement of Stanley Kubrick’s estate. The vision for the movie required a revisiting of the iconic style of Kubrick’s The Shining, and Mike Flanagan and company felt doing so needed to be sanctioned.

Fortunately, this excursion also had wonderful results – and even a few extra benefits. As Trevor Macy discussed the relationship the film forged with the Kubrick estate, Mike Flanagan fully geeked out about getting to see the genius filmmaker’s original, annotated designs for the Overlook Hotel. Said Macy,

Looping back to where this started, Mike Flanagan said that sending his Doctor Sleep script to Stephen King was one of two most nerve-wracking moments of his career… so what’s the other one? Apparently it happened fairly recently, and it involved sending early cuts of the movie to both King and the Kubrick estate:

Marrying The Material

With Doctor Sleep still months away from release, Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy couldn’t give away everything about how Doctor Sleep marries both King and Kubrick’s visions of The Shining, but they did acknowledge that the challenge was much bigger than just making a movie both parties could appreciate. King wrote the novel specifically as a follow-up to his original book and not the movie, and that led to a couple of logistical issues.

A perfect example of this is the fate of Dick Halloran. Those who are familiar only with the movie will remember the Scatman Crothers character getting an axe in the back and dying at the hands of Jack Torrance… but that’s not how it went down in the novel. Instead, on the page he played a crucial role in helping Wendy and Danny Torrance escape the Overlook, and he remained a close family friend for years – as depicted in Doctor Sleep. So how will the movie deal with an issue like that?

Mike Flanagan wasn’t exactly throwing out big reveals left and right, but he did acknowledge the need to pay special attention to those specific conflicts – not to mention the challenge of matching it with Kubrick’s vision of the Overlook for flashback sequences:

(It’s worth mentioning that Carl Lumbly is currently credited as playing Dick Halloran in Doctor Sleep, so whether he survived the Overlook or not, the character definitely has a role to play in the new film).

A Most Exciting, Delightful, Intimidating, Nightmarish, Wonderful, Incredible Experience

The full scope of how Doctor Sleep will attempt to mend the fence between Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick won’t be revealed until this fall, but the great takeaway from the Q&A session with Mike Flanagan is the immense passion that he displayed for the work he is doing. To borrow a phrase from Trevor Macy, there is no ignoring the fact that he’s “standing on the shoulders of literary and cinematic giants,” but the experience appears to be both humbling and enriching for the filmmaker.

Expressing how Doctor Sleep brings together two of his great loves, Mike Flanagan told the crowd of reporters,

In Doctor Sleep, Ewan McGregor stars as an adult Danny Torrance, who has spent his entire adult life badly processing the extreme trauma he experienced as a child (see: The Shining). After hitting his rock bottom, he goes on the road to recovery, and tries to make a new home for himself in a small New Hampshire town. However, what’s waiting for him in New England is not only the discovery of a young girl named Abra (Kyliegh Curran), a young girl who he discovers can also Shine, but also a group known as The True Knot that preys on individuals with special abilities.

Co-starring Rebecca Ferguson, Bruce Greenwood, Zahn McClarnon, Elily Alyn Lind, Jacob Tremblay, and more, Doctor Sleep will be hitting theaters on November 8th – and you can be sure that between now and then we’ll have plenty more coverage of the film coming your way on CinemaBlend.

The movie The Shining, directed by the great Stanley Kubrick and starring the terrifying Jack Nicholson, is VERY different from the Stephen King-penned book from which it is adapted. Many of the most iconic things in the movie either don’t appear in the book or present themselves in a completely different way from the book.

It’s not unusual for movies to be very different from the books they are adapted from. There can be a myriad of reasons why. Sometimes scenes in books are impossible to film, while other times it’s due to time constraints, as books are usually much longer than movies. Sometimes it’s simply a director’s choice.

The Shining is a great example of Stanley Kubrick twisting Stephen King’s story to fit his vision of a man going crazy in an isolated mountain hotel in the dead of winter. He made the changes for a lot of reasons, but mostly, it seems, he made the changes so that the basic story was molded into his unique vision, as only Kubrick could have done.

There are some very small changes that do little to affect the overall plot, like changing the main character’s name from John to Jack, to some very major changes that completely change the events and why they happen. More famously, the supernatural room in the book is room 217, but the Stanley Hotel, where the film was shot, asked that they use a non-existent room number so that future customers would be freaked out if they were assigned to 217. The movie uses 237 instead.

Those kinds of changes don’t affect the story, but there are some major changes that definitely change the story a lot. are some of the biggest differences between Stanley Kubrick The Shining film and Stephen King’s The Shining novel.

The Very Nature Of “The Haunted” Hotel Are Very Different

In the book The Shining, it’s very clear, in true Stephen King fashion, that the Overlook Hotel is haunted. There are ghosts, things that going bump in the night and even the topiaries in the garden come alive in the book. The supernatural is very apparent and very real in this version of the story. It is these ghosts and ghouls that drive John mad.

In the movie, the nature of the Jack’s decent into madness is much more ambiguous and seems to take place all in his mind. Rather than supernatural forces making him nuts, it’s his own mental health that falls apart without the influence of ghosts or spirits. Rather than actual ghosts, the movie presents the supernatural as all in the character’s head, due to the isolation and writers block he experiences.

The Main Character’s Writing Projects Are Different

In both the book and the movie, the main character is a writer struggling with writer’s block. That is pretty much where the similarities end, in that respect.

In the book, John is a playwright who abandons his original play and begins writing a story based on the history of the spooky hotel, The Overlook, that the family is care-taking for the winter.

In Stanley Kubrick’s movie The Shining, whatever Jack’s intending to write is never really defined. It’s discovered later in the movie what he’s actually been writing and we’ll get to that later.

John’s Motivation In The Book For His Book Is Different

Again, in the movie, it’s unclear what Jack is trying to write, other than it being a novel of some sort. In the book, John’s motivation for writing a book based on The Overlook comes from a scrapbook that he finds. The impact of the scrapbook on John’s psyche is a major subplot of the book. The ghosts in the hotel and in the scrapbook are the ones driving him mad, but he can’t avoid them; they inundate him completely.

In the movie, while the iconic picture from the 1920s is a major reveal, the rest of the scrapbook is essentially left out of the plot. Since the movie is more about Jack losing his mind from the inside, a motivator like the scrapbook is less important.

Stanley Kubrick’s movie flips what kind man that the main character is. Instead of a sane man pushed into insanity as Stephen King wrote him, Jack Nicholson’s character is already likely insane and he is trying desperately to stay sane while locked in the hotel for the winter.

This difference, while it seems subtle, actually changes the whole nature of the plot from a supernatural horror story to a psychological horror story, and both ways are effective in different ways. It certainly helps that Jack Nicholson pulls off the character’s motivation incredibly well in the film.

The Famous Twins Are Not In The Book

A number of the most iconic scenes from The Shining do not appear in the book. The chances are that when you hear “The Shining,” the first thing that pops into your head the vision of the twin girls in the hallway as Danny rides around on his tricycle. It’s become a classic scene that has been satirized and parodied many, many times in the years since. But it doesn’t appear in the book. The Grady family murders are discussed in the book, of course, but the girls aren't twins and they aren't seen by Danny in a vision as they are in the movie.

The Bleeding Elevator Is Not In The Book

If it’s not the twins that first pop into your head when you think of The Shining, it’s probably the elevator scene when the blood pours out and splashes around the hallway like a tidal wave. Like the twins, it’s become an iconic moment in cinema history. It also was a scene created by the brilliance of Stanley Kubrick, not Stephen King. It’s a scene that works wonderfully on film, but probably wouldn’t have had the same visceral effect had it been written.

The Famous “All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy” Is Not In The Book

The scene when Jack’s wife Wendy discovers what Jack has been writing the whole time is a pivotal and shocking moment in the movie. Like so many other moments, it was made up for the movie.

As mentioned above, in the book, Jack is writing a story based on The Overlook, while in the movie, he never cures his writer’s block and it’s a key component in his psychosis.

The moment when Wendy sees the famous lines “All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy” repeated thousands of times is a very direct look into Jack’s psyche and one more sign that he has completely lost his mind.

The Hedge Maze Is Not In The Book

The terrifying conclusion of The Shining movie takes place in a hedge maze at The Overlook as Jack chases Danny with an axe in a psychotic rage. This maze isn’t in the book.

The maze in movie replaces the garden in the book, which is made up of varies plants and topiaries that animate and come to life, so to speak, terrifying John and pushing him closer to the edge. Without the maze, the ending of the book is very different from the movie.

“Here’s Johnny!” Isn’t In The Book

In a movie chock full of iconic moments, none are more so than the scene when Jack Nicholson breaks through the bathroom door with an axe and says “Here’s Johnny!” like Ed McMahon on the old Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.

The scene where John chases Wendy into the bathroom is in the book, but he’s not carrying an axe, but rather a croquet mallet, and he never says “Here’s Johnny!” According to lore, Jack Nicholson made the line up on the spot, and for that, movie goers should be forever grateful.

The Main Character’s Deaths Are Completely Different

Very famously in the movie of The Shining, Jack freezes to death after being unable to catch Danny in the Maze. The iconic shot of a frozen Jack Nicholson has become one of the most enduring (and memed) images in cinema history.

In the book, John doesn’t freeze to death. Instead, he is lured into the boiler room of The Overlook and blown up. So, it’s pretty much the opposite way to die from the movie, but both ways work very effectively given their mediums especially as part of the underlying motivations of the main character.

Wendy Is Completely Different In The Novel

Not only is Wendy completely different looking in the novel, her personality is different also. In the book, Wendy is described as blonde, while Wendy, played by Shelley Duvall in the movie, is most definitely not blonde. She is also described as having movie star-quality beauty, and Shelley Duvall plays the role as less of a golden girl.

More importantly, in the book The Shining, Wendy has a much stronger and more independent personality. She stands up to John in much firmer and stronger ways than the Wendy in the movie ever does. In the movie, Wendy is meeker and much more under the influence of Jack’s more violent tendencies.

There are other slight differences in The Shining, like how Danny interacts with his imaginary friend Tony and how much “Shine” Danny has or how he uses in the novel. “REDRUM” also appears in the novel very early on in Danny’s head, far early than it appears in the movie. These are subtler changes that Stanley Kubrick made were effective because of that one important difference that changed everything, and that is Jack/John’s personality and the nature of his insanity.

Stephen King has been famously critical of Stanley Kubrick’s interpretation of his novel, and it’s easy to see why. Kubrick’s changes completely alter the story that King told. But for fans of the movie, it doesn’t matter because what Kubrick created is a masterpiece of horror that reinvented what a horror movie can be.

In 1968, actor Douglas Rain put on one of the most iconic voice performances of all time. I am, of course, referring to the voice of HAL 9000 in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, as Rain's creepily calm and unwavering tone has been disturbing audiences for decades, and is nothing short of iconic. It's an amazing touch for a genius film, but as recently described by co-star Gary Lockwood, that touch very much wasn't part of the experience making the film:

This year marks the 50th anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Gary Lockwood shared this fantastic story earlier today during the movie's celebratory panel at San Diego Comic-Con. The discussion during the event, which also included actor Keir Dullea, covered a wide range of subjects revolving around the film, but easily one of the highlights was his story about HAL 9000. It turns out that the stars didn't have the pleasure of being able to react to Douglas Rain's voice on set, and instead had to perform opposite the voice of First Assistant Director Derek Cracknell, who had a very different tone -- and extremely different accent -- than the man who wound up replacing him when production ended and the editing process began.

The entire room erupted in laughter when Gary Lockwood did his impression of Derek Cracknell, mostly because the contrast is just so extreme. HAL 9000's voice is widely recognized for its quietude and serenity -- which winds up perfectly balancing against his seriously sinister acts -- but you get absolutely none of that with the cockney accent. Frankly, hearing Lockwood's impression of what Cracknell was doing on set, it's actually kind of miraculous that the movie was actually finished. With this knowledge, the performances by both Lockwood and Keir Dullea are frankly even more impressive in retrospect, as it's kind of amazing that they didn't just burst out laughing every single time they shared a scene with the movie's killer artificial intelligence.

Frankly, this is news of which the internet needs to take full advantage. This fantastic bit of trivia about one of the greatest science-fiction films of all time doesn't deserve to just slip by. I am very much hoping that someone out there -- preferably someone with a thick and authentic cockney accent -- is going to finish reading this article and then go and make their own re-dubbed version of 2001: A Space Odyssey with something similar to the original voice of HAL 9000 restored.

Time will tell if that actually ever happens, but it has been confirmed that the future is quite impressive for 2001: A Space Odyssey. In addition to celebrating its big anniversary at San Diego Comic-Con, the film will also soon be getting a significant upgrade in the home video department, as a 4K transfer has been created, and will be going on sale on October 30th. Stay tuned for that, as well as much more of our San Diego Comic-Con coverage!

It's a brand new day! The AwardsBlend podcast has undergone a change, and what once focused mainly on the Oscar race has expanded its scope. Welcome to ReelBlend! As Kevin McCarthy puts it on social media, "New show name. New logo. Same nerds."

Those nerds are McCarthy, Jake Hamilton, and Sean O'Connell. And in this week's podcast, the trio starts off with a run through the top news stories of the day. Sean is finally able to start talking about his visit to the Avengers: Infinity War set, so Jake and Kevin pepper him with questions. But because most set visits are protected by press embargoes, there are still a few things he CAN'T talk about. So, what was he able to share? Listen above.

From there, Kevin, Sean and Jake discuss that new trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, which features the return of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. The trailer also gives fans their first full look at Jude Law's take on Albus Dumbledore, and more of the wizarding world special effects.

For the final segment of the ReelBlend podcast, Sean, Kevin and Jake bring back the fan-favorite #Blend segment, where they choose a filmmaker ahead of time, then debate the BEST film from that director. This week, the discussion swirled around the films of Stanley Kubrick. And as is always the case, we opened the conversation up to our listeners, who used the hashtag #KubrickBlend to share their picks for best Kubrick. The answers surprised us. They might surprise you!

Listen to this week's ReelBlend podcast, with Kevin McCarthy, Jake Hamilton and Sean O'Connell.

ReelBlend is a LIVE podcast that we do on CinemaBlend's Facebook page. As soon as we are done on Facebook, you can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us!

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV. We will be back at it next week, LIVE on CinemaBlend's Facebook page. See you then!

On the set of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, actor R. Lee Ermey famously kept himself apart from most of the cast during filming, given that his drill instructor character, Sgt. Hartman, wouldn't actually have a chummy relationship with the recruits he was training. One thing you may not know, however, is that Ermey spent a good portion of that alone time writing dirty poetry -- and what's more, one poem in particular almost found its way into the film. Sitting down with stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Matthew Modine recently, they told me,

Vincent D'Onofrio: We didn't really hang out with Lee. I didn't hang out with Lee. But Lee would kind of do his own thing; I don't know what that was.

Matthew Modine: Write poetry! He wrote the most obscene poetry.

Vincent D'Onofrio: We tried to get it into the movie.

Matthew Modine: We did try to get it in the movie! When he says, 'Who do you think you are? You think you're a writer? You're not a writer; you're a killer! So there was going to be a scene where I go to his office at nighttime and he was going to read me his poetry.

I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Vincent D'Onofrio, Matthew Modine, and Stanley Kubrick's assistant/casting director Leon Vitale this past weekend during a special 30th anniversary press day for Full Metal Jacket -- and it was then that I learned about this special bit of R. Lee Ermey trivia. While discussing the experience making the film, I turned the conversation to their working relationship with Ermey, and it was then that they told me about the actor's exercises in the written word.

But they didn't stop there. Matthew Modine then proceeded to actually tell me what the entire poem was about, and I won't be ruining the punchline for you here. You'll just have to read it below:

Matthew Modine: There was this poem about this woman who would go and open a cage and go in and make love to this person, and...

Vincent D'Onofrio: It's nothing you can say now.

Matthew Modine: It's not a thing that can be repeated. But the reveal, the punchline to this beautifully written poem -- it rhymed and everything -- was that the woman was making love with a gorilla. It was really good.

Vincent D'Onofrio: I didn't think you were going to go there!

I've now had a couple of days to reflect on hearing this story, and as funny as it is, it's also not particularly hard to understand why Stanley Kubrick didn't ultimately include it in Full Metal Jacket. The scene with the "You're not a writer; you're a killer" dialogue that Matthew Modine referred to is from the sequence where the recruits were graduating from boot camp -- which means that the recital of the poetry would have been featured almost immediately before Modine's Pvt. Joker finds D'Onofrio's Pvt. Pyle in the latrine ready to kill both Hartman and himself. It not only would have been a serious tonal shift for the classic movie, but also would have had the effect of completely changing the way audiences look at R. Lee Ermey's character.

You can watch Matthew Modine and Vincent D'Onofrio discuss R. Lee Ermey's Full Metal Jacket poetry clicking play on the video embed below!

Full Metal Jacket's 30th anniversary is exactly one week from today, as the film was released back on July 10, 1987. And this story goes to show you that as much as you think you know about a movie, there is always more to learn!

Father of the year? That depends on which side of the hotel hallway on which you are standing. But Martin Hughes is having some fun with his twin daughters, dressing them up in matching outfits and having them stand in a London hotel as if they were the horrifying twin girls from his favorite movie, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. And people on social media don't love it. First, the girls in action:

Adorable. Innocent. And all in good fun, right? Martin Hughes tells People that The Shining is his favorite movie, and ever since his 4-year-old twin daughters, Poppy and Isabella, were born, he has been thinking up ways for the girls to help him pay tribute to the horror classic. He says that the girls, by nature, aren't natural pranksters, explaining:

You know what else is confusing? When people on social media lash out because a guy is pulling an innocent prank with his daughters. As Martin Hughes says to People, the response from some people online to the prank has been "pretty out there." Like this person, who suggested he'd "stomp" the girls for surprising him?

I think the Hughes twins are cute. But just because they are wearing matching outfits doesn't necessarily make them look like The Shining girls, even if they are standing in a hotel hallway. I mean, Martin Hughes could have gone the extra mile and found dresses that look more like the light blue nightmares that the girls in Stanley Kubrick's movie are wearing. Rewatch this infamous scene and relive one of the film industry's most disturbing visuals.

Dammit, Danny, just play with them already! The Shining, released in 1980, adapted Stephen King's third novel, which focused on a family who moves to a snow-bound hotel in the Colorado Rockies, only to have the father slowly go insane under the influence of supernatural forces. King has, for years, dismissed Stanley Kubrick's interpretation of the novel, though many have come to embrace the movie for what insanity it presents in its own dark corners. It has inspired prankster Martin Hughes. Which one do you prefer?

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Whether it's a movie or a book, The Shining is pretty great in any form. Stephen King's classic horror novel was famously adapted into a movie directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1980, making it one of the few titles out there to scare your pants off on both the screen and page. But like any adaptation, some things had to be changed from the source material for the movie to work. Perhaps the most prominent of these changes was the ending, which is completely different in the movie than it is in the book. The reasons for which have finally explained in detail by the film's co-writer, and they're mainly due to avoiding cliches.

For those who haven't read The Shining book, here's how the ending basically goes down: The young, psychic Danny (played by Danny Lloyd in the film) has a climactic face off against his possessed father Jack (Jack Nicholson). However, Jack is able to fight off the dark influences of the Overlook Hotel, allowing Danny a chance to escape with his mother Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and hotel cook Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers). Having neglected to maintain the hotel's boiler (one of his only jobs), the hotel explodes into flames, taking Jack with it. In the novel, which has pages and pages of prose to set this up, the ending works pretty well, but Stanley Kubrick felt otherwise. According to the co-writer of The Shining film, Diane Johnson:

Diane Johnson spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the creative decisions that went into making the movie. One of those decisions involved changing the ending, which Stanley Kubrick thought wouldn't work on film. As Johnson remembers, she and Kubrick ended up going through a few different versions before it finally evolved into that classic WTF ending audience experienced.

It's not often I get to talk about two different endings of the same title, so why don't we go into the ending as it is in the film? As opposed to the novel, Jack kills Dick Hallorann soon after he arrives at the hotel late in the film (Jack is the only one to die in the novel), and Jack chases Danny through a hedge maze. Jack ends up freezing to death while Danny and Wendy escape. The film ends by revealing a 1921 photograph of Jack at a party in the hotel. That's a pretty severe difference, but it works gangbusters in the film.

Fun fact: some of the most iconic elements of The Shining are exclusive to the movie. The twin girls in the hallway and the torrent of blood from the elevator aren't in the book, in addition to improvised dialogue like the iconic and oft quoted at parties, "Here's Johnny!" Why were those elements in the movie then? Because, as Stanley Kubrick would tell confused crew members, "I never explain anything, I don't understand it myself. It's a ghost film!" Good on you, Mr. Kubrick!

Since the release of J.J. Abrams' massively successful Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there has been a Star Wars renaissance and resurgence of fandom. With Disney now controlling the franchise, we can expect a new film to dominate theaters every December. In addition to the chapters of the sequel trilogy, we'll also be getting standalone films which will help further expand the galaxy far, far away and bring us back to characters that had been long gone in the main narrative. The first of these is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which will fly into theaters this coming December.

The folks who are marketing Rogue One are doing a pretty phenomenal job at keeping the future audience excited and hungry for more, while also not revealing too much in regards to the movie's plot. But one artist has taken the marketing in a more classic direction. Namely, they made an image for the movie which closely resembles a Stanley Kubrick helmed movie poster. Check it out below via Poster Possey (extra points if you get the reference):

Pretty awesome, right? Although certainly more simplistic than the official poster, this ode to Kubrick actually makes me even more excited for Rogue One to finally hit theaters in December.

For those who don't know, the above posters are a not so subtle tribute to the poster for Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. That poster featured a more realistic helmet used during the Vietnam War. The text on the helmets is also very similar, with the 1987 movie poster reading "Born To Kill", rather than "Born To Rebel". And while these two movies couldn't be more different, they both focus on a seemingly endless war that will (presumably) take the lives of its main characters.

For reference, check out the Full Metal Jacket poster below, and enjoy the great reference even more.

As you can see, artist Orlando Arocena's Star Wars version of the Full Metal Jacket poster is pretty damn faithful to the original. Except it's Star Wars so it's automatically way more cool.

Part of what makes the Star Wars version of this poster so awesome is iconography. Rather than using equipment and helmets which might be newly introduced in Rogue One, Orlando Arocena uses some of the more famous rebel helmets. And for the good guys, you can't get much more iconic than the X-Wing helmet, as well as the one used during their adventures on Endor in Return of the Jedi. I feel like many Star Wars fans have probably seen Full Metal Jacket, so this seems like the perfect storm of nerdness for film buffs.

The fan made Rogue One poster is quite different from the official one. Rather than a simple design, the first poster for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is rather elaborate and visually stunning. We are shown pretty much everything we want to see: The Death Star, tons of troops, and a new beach setting. And while I think the real poser is far more satisfying and exciting for fans of the franchise, there's still something I love about the simplistic design inspired by Full Metal Jacket.

Take a look at the real poster below.

Which poster strikes your fancy the most? Do you like all of the action shown in the official image, or should the marketers done something a bit more abstract for the first spinoff movie of the franchise? Sound off in the comments below.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will fly into theaters on December 16th.

You wouldn't know it by looking at the man's filmography, but Stanley Kubrick always did have a thing for fairy tales. This obsession seemed to have particularly shown itself in the back half of his life, when Kubrick was trying to persuade Steven Spielberg to direct A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. And, as we've now learned, Kubrick had another project of a very similar ilk in the works: he was developing a remake of Pinocchio.

The world learned of this fact through an interview between The Guardian and Emilio D'Alessandro – the man who served as Stanley Kubrick's personal assistant for over three decades. Stressing that this variant of Pinocchio was completely independent of his A.I.: Artificial Intelligence variant of the story, D'Alessandro filled the world in on what could have been with the following information:

Let's take a moment and appreciate that sentiment, shall we? The man who scared and shocked the world with such films as Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining wanted to make kids feel whimsy. This not only sounds exactly like something Stanley Kubrick would have wanted to do, it sounds like something he could have really been good at. After all, Pinocchio has always had a sort of theatrical, nearly operatic feel to its story, and Kubrick has always infused his films with a tinge of such elements. So while it may sound weird at first, a Stanley Kubrick directed Pinocchio could have been pretty amazing when you really think about it. 

Unfortunately, the world would never get to see Pinocchio or even the World War II film Kubrick was planning to make about the protracted siege of Monte Cassino, as these projects were being planned shortly before his untimely death of a heart attack in 1999. In fact, Stanley Kubrick just barely finished working on his last film on this Earth, the erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut, as he passed six days after he'd shown his cut to executives on the project, as well as Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. He was 71, and yet it still felt like we lost him way too early in life.

Directors like Stanley Kubrick are hard to find in the film industry, and really, they always have been. With his theatrical style, and his larger than life portrayal of the world we inhabited, his Pinocchio could have been a perfect labor of love for his grandchildren, as well as another cinematic gift bestowed upon the world at large. At least we can comfort ourselves with the fact that while we'll never get Kubrick's Pinocchio, we'll always have an already stellar line of work to remember him by. 

There are two nearly undeniable truths about Stanley Kubrick's version of Stephen King’s The Shining. Truth number one is that The Shining is an absolutely terrifying horror movie. One of the classics of the genre. The second truth is that Stephen King hates that movie with the fiery passion of 1,000 burning suns. King has made no secret that while many fans love that movie, he really thinks Kubrick missed everything great about his story. And this one thing, in particular.

Stephen King’s magnum opus The Dark Tower appears to be on a slow train toward actually becoming a reality, and thanks to this renewed interested in King’s work, Deadline has published an older interview with the author that never saw the light of day when it was originally conducted. In the interview they discuss the numerous books that King has seen turned into films and in doing so he opens up about exactly what his problem was with Kubrick's vision.

King does recognize that, as a visual spectacle, the movie has some amazing aspects to it, but he calls it a "big beautiful Cadillac with no engine." In this case, the engine is that lack of character arc. In the film, Jack Torrance is not a sympathetic character. As King says, he’s already crazy and he only goes crazier. In King’s novel, one actually feels bad watching Jack go crazy because they know he’s ultimately a good man. The reader fears what will happen to Jack, as well as his family. In Kubrick’s The Shining, Jack Torrance is essentially Jason Voorhees, and the only question is whether his family will get out alive.

While Stephen King is one of the film’s detractors, many fans put The Shining among Stanley Kubrick’s great works. It is a visually stunning and legitimately scary work of fiction. Taken by itself, without comparing it to it’s source, there’s little you can say is actually wrong with the movie that Kubrick made. Although, if there’s any single person who would have the most trouble ignoring the source material, it’s Stephen King, and we suppose we can give him a pass on that.

What do you think? Is The Shining a great horror movie or a terrible adaptation? Or is it both at the same time? Let us know your thoughts below.

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining is widely regarded as one of the scariest movies ever made (even if the renowned horror writer isn’t a fan). Moody and tense and harrowing, it’s meticulously crafted to send shivers up your spine and negatively impact the amount of sleep you get after watching. While not particularly terrifying, The Chickening, a new spoof video of the Kubrick classic making the rounds, is sure to give you crazy dreams, only more of the mind-bending psychedelic, what-the-living-hell-did-I-just-watch variety. It’s…bizarre is the best way to describe it, and something that you absolutely must witness for yourself.

If you need a few moments to catch your breath, rub your eyes, and just gather your sanity back after watching this video, I completely understand. You’ll likely be seeing crazy images of a bearded Danny Torrance, the creepy hallway twins decked out like old school rappers, and Jack Nicholson in a full-sized chicken costume when you close your eyes tonight. I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m in the same boat, and it’s wonderful.

The Chickening is the warped brainchild of Nick DenBoer and Davy Force, who are sick, sick men in the best possible way. They call their project "remixed" or "augmented" cinema, and what they created certainly lives up to that billing. They take Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and give it one hell of a makeover, reimagining the chilling horror story as a bombastic, way, way over the top sort-of commercial for a fictional chicken joint. To be fair, I’m not 100% certain what the hell is going on here, but I’ll be damned if I can look away. The chaos is mesmerizing.

Words can’t even come close to doing these visuals justice. If you’re familiar with The Shining, you know it tells the story of Jack Torrance, a writer who sequesters his family for the winter in sprawling mountain inn that he looks after as it is closed for the season. Snowed in as they are, the place gets to him and he slowly loses his grip on reality, and an evil spiritual presence pushes him to madness and violence against his wife and young son. All work and no play, right?

Now imagine that The Shining spent a summer following the Grateful Dead around in the back of a VW bus living on nothing but mushrooms, LSD, and too much sun. And if that had a bad trip, I suspect it would look something like The Chickening.

If you like stories that include one of the greatest filmmakers to ever step behind a camera helping out another director of the same ilk then this is right up your alley. That’s because Sir Ridley Scott has admitted that the footage used at the end of Blade Runner was actually shot by Stanley Kubrick. Has your interest been piqued? Thought so.

Sir Ridley was explaining how the studio sent notes looking for a different, and more upbeat, ending to his Blad Runner. Rather than allowing Stanley Kubrick to come and take up the director’s chair, Scott took advantage of the fact that he knew the legendarily meticulous Kubrick had shot hours upon hours of helicopter footage for The Shining. So he asked for some:

Just when you thought that Blade Runner’s remarkable ending couldn’t get any better, Sir Ridley Scott delivers a revelation that immediately makes it more intriguing. Blade Runner’s conclusion is widely regarded to be one of the most discussed and debated in the history of cinema, because, depending on the version that you watched, it was heavily suggested that Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard was actually a replicant.

These discussions are likely to begin again anew now that a Blade Runner sequel has been confirmed, with production due to start on the follow-up in 2016. Not only is Harrison Ford going to briefly return as Deckard, but Ryan Gosling will take the lead role, with Denis Villeneuve directing, Roger Deakins working as cinematographer, and Sir Ridley Scott signed up as executive producer.

And fans will be glad to hear that Denis Villeneuve has already confirmed that Blade Runner 2 will answer the decades old question of whether Deckard is a human or replicant, insisting that even though he loves "mystery," "shadows," and "doubt" he wants to reassure fans that Blade Runner 2 "will take care of that mystery."

Sir Ridley Scott made the Stanley Kubrick admission while partaking in the recent director roundtable discussions conducted by The Hollywood Reporter, which saw The Martian filmmaker sit alongside Quentin Tarantino (The Hateful Eight), David O. Russell (Joy), Danny Boyle (Steve Jobs), Alejandro G. Inarritu (The Revenant), and Tom Hooper (The Danish Girl) to talk about all things film. Obviously, it’s a must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in cinema, and the sextet deliver in spades.

We’ve all stayed in some petrifying hotels during our travels. None of this is actually by design, it’s just something you learn when you arrive at your destination. But a certain hotel in Colorado is using its creepy past to actually entice visitors, and it’s all because of its link to The Shining. Instead of just being a place where you can rest your weary head, though, the powers that be have decided to build a horror museum at the establishment – just to ramp up the fear factor even more. 

According to the LA Times, The Stanley Hotel, which is located in Estes Park, Colorado, announced plans to create the additional building to house a film production studio, film archive, and horror-themed museum. What’s The Stanley Hotel’s connection to The Shining? Well, it’s the venue where Stephen King was initially inspired to write his best-selling 1977 novel, which was then adapted by Stanley Kubrick into a film that King himself has long admitted he despises. 

This addition will be called the Stanley Film Center and include an auditorium, museum, and various traveling film exhibits, plus a sound stage, post-production, and editing facilities. Doesn’t sound too shabby at all. In fact, it’s something that I’m sure the late, great Stanley Kubrick himself would doff his cap to. 

The Stanley Film Center will be a non-profit, public-private partnership, and will work alongside Denver’s Colorado Film School on a variety of educational projects. Whether that includes getting twins to stand in hallways in identical clothes or asking children to ride around on a plastic three-wheeler hasn’t been confirmed. But, really, it’s the least they can do.

In order to make this a reality, though, The Stanley are asking for a few extra pennies. How much? Well, they just need a further $11.5 million from the Colorado tourism funds, for a total of $24 million, to fulfil the idea of turning it into a “year-round horror destination.”

It’s not just the fine folks over in Colorado who are banding together to try and turn The Stanley into a bona-fide spooky establishment. Simon Pegg of Star Trek, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Shaun Of The Dead fame, as well as Lord Of The Rings’ Elijah Wood, have lent their support by joining the museum’s founding board.

The Shining is lauded as one of the greatest horror movies ever made, and it’s arguably the finest example of how painstakingly meticulous and detailed, but also how utterly engrossing, Stanley Kubrick was as a filmmaker. It’s also littered with iconic moments, and possesses a titanic Jack Nicholson performance. Simply put, if you’ve not watched it, you really need to. Only then will you be able to show your face in Colorado, and at The Stanley Hotel. 

You’d think that a horror classic about a man dealing homicidal past life issues with his family and a charming period piece comedy about an assiduous hotel concierge and his lobby boy apprentice would have little to nothing in common. However, this amazing mashup of The Shining and The Grand Budapest Hotel flows so smoothly it makes you want to get out your tinfoil hat and ponder if it was too perfect.

A filmmaker named Steve Ramsden pieced together this spectacular cut, The Grand Overlook Hotel, which brilliantly showcases a rather disturbing compatibility between the two seemingly dissimilar dilemmas of the films’ characters. While the clip contains footage from Stanley Kubrick’s tension-teeming horror masterpiece, the power of peppy music and editing has somehow absorbed the late helmer’s work into the folksy, charming stylistics of Wes Anderson. In essence, as the clip’s labeling suggests, this has become The Shinning as it would be translated through the lens of Anderson’s kitschy filmmaking proclivities.

There have been plenty of Wes Anderson-style parody treatments that hilariously showcase how the director’s vintage-store-style of filmmaking translates to genre-inappropriate properties. However, this one in particular unravels in a neatly linear form that seems to surpass the simple notion of parody. For all intents and purposes, 1980’s The Shinning and 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel have spawned this hybrid dark comedy piece about a man who interviews for a job at a fancy hotel full of salacious secrets and experiences a mental breakdown and terrorizes the staff and his own family. It makes a surprisingly plausible case for a film in its own right.

Oddly enough, there are some unifying attributes here that may have supplied the success for this synthesis. Besides the glaringly obvious fact that both films take place in a spacious, extravagant hotel, situated in an isolated location, there are also some thematic parallels. As a controlling concierge of the Grand Budapest, Ralph Fiennes’ Gustave, the product of the hotel’s heyday, is the taskmaster of an operation attempting to keep past glory alive that inevitably leads to an ignominiously abandoned end as a desiccated, abandoned property. Likewise, Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance, in the ultimate irony, runs from his own personal alcohol-induced demons to the idyllic Overlook Hotel to find peace with his family and write his novel. Instead, it becomes quite apparent that his efforts only landed him face-to-face with an unknown horrific past that he was attempting to avoid.

In essence, both characters tenaciously carry out an elaborate exercise in futility, fighting fate. Thus, the results of this mashup clip seem to mesh well, not only because of the similarities in the setting, but due to a similar levels of defiance in the protagonists against an apparent inevitability. Well, at least, that’s just one theory, anyway.