Stephen King's The Shining [DVD] [1997]

This 1997 version of 'The Shining' was surprisingly fantastic to watch. The feature length of this movie was very long of a Horror franchise then the 1980's version of The Shining. The actors & actresses in this movie were excellent. Stars Rebecca De Mornay, Steven Weber & Courtland Mead who played Danny were fantastic.The images in this movie were extremely different to the other version. The ghosts in the Bar were really humorous and they were really creepy as well. The huge fight between the father who turned violent and out of control went on a warpath to get revenge on his family because of his drinking problem. The sign 'Redrum' on the walls of Danny's bedroom were completely different because it was written in paint on the door in the 1980s version of 'The Shining' starring Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall & Danny Lloyd along with Scatman Crothers who played the chef in the 'Overlook Hotel'. Thanks Very Much Amazon. I apologize that I ordered this item accidently.

I first saw the Kubrick version about 15 years ago and must have seen it at least 10 times by now. I remember being shocked by this film and almost too scared to continue watching! For me, it remains one of the most frightening horror movies of all time, and I don't scare easy.I have read the book, once, about 7 years ago and I loved it. I couldn't believe how different the original film was from the book. I'm a massive Stephen King fan and love all his books. The book fascinated me as it was full of good ideas, including the wasp's nest and the topiary animals. This was completely unexpected and I found the ideas refreshing.So, when I heard about this tv remake I was very curious and excited to watch it. (I appreciate the lower budget and tv censorship, but I can look past those things.) I sat down to watch this remake with a very open mind and no expectations with comparison to the original. I must say I was very impressed with new version. I really liked all the actors and I loved the fact this this version was so faithful to the book; very satisfying.What let it down, for me I think, was the essential element which I found to be largely missing - the horror. Don't get me wrong, I thought it rather creepy in places but I must admit it could have been delivered better. I thought they way they did the hedge animals was very good - except for when the animals began to move on their own, for all to see. I think this was a mistake. I liked the camera angles and the use of shadows, but when they used the CGI to make the animals actually move, I just thought 'oh no, there wasn't any need for that' and the effect was lost.Another scene which I thought was a tad over-done was the woman in the bathtub. When Danny first sees her - the make up effects were stunning. However, the close-up on her face wasn't necessary and I think it went on for a little too long. I think that should have been cut straight to the next shot, which was a zoomed out one of her beginning to move and with that horrible insane grin on her face and those staring eyes, which freaked me out somewhat!I think the hotel itself could have been a bit darker, scarier. It was too clean and well-lit. There were some good moments though, in the way that it comes to life on its own.I think that to give 4 stars is to be fair. It was a very good effort and conveyed the events of the book superbly. Obviously, it lacked the pure sensationalism of the original movie but it has to be said that Kubrick was a master director, and, whilst he strayed from the book and the chararcters were rather dumbed down, he did make a great horrow film. That aside, I was very pleased with this version and enjoyed the slower pace.I watched this film in three seperate instalments; I thought Part 1 was easily the best. Part 2 was good, but I thought Part 3 was the most lacking.I would certainly recommend it however, especially to King fans, although I warn that it should be taken on its own merits and not held in the same lofty reverance as the original film. Both are good in their own way.

Love watching stephen king tv adaptations, as though films are good, the tv ones have King more involved so are always closer to the book.

Buyers please note: there are 2 discs in this set which cover the film in 3 sections. Many reviewers do not realise that disc 1 is a 2 sided disc but it definitely is NOT clear as only one side states “part 1” but the reverse has zero printing on it to illustrate you then flip the disc to watch part 2.The 2nd disc in the box is confusingly marked as “part 3” with a full colour print on it. Also, the ‘scene selection’ option in the menus are inexplicably called “episodes”. It’s like a drunk student cobbled this boxset together!I doubt anyone buying this tv film isn’t already aware that because it was cheaply filmed for TV in 1997, the picture quality isn’t quite what people are used to nowadays. But if you’re used to the original series of Buffy or X-Files, that’s the sort of clarity you’ll get which is perfectly fine for people more interested in the story than being amazed at pixel ratios.I won’t bother reviewing the film as you probably already know what you’re buying here. Maybe grab a beer & some friends so you can laugh at the awful special effects and terrible acting, especially from the kid entrusted with the role that is supposed to hold the whole film together. He does not.

First of all, I saw Stanley Kubrick The Shinning way back when I was a kid and yes it did scare the crap out of me, fortunately I got in to reading books, so I picked up a copy of Stephen Kings The Shinning.At first I did not get it at first how could the Stanley Kubrick version of the book be so different in all ways, I was very disappointed because the books was the best I have ever read and plus the movie was nothing compared to the book, but with luck Stephen King made the tv version of his original masterpiece, and believe me it has almost everything from the book in The Shinning tv mini series I guarantee it does not disappoint!

So there is 2 versions of this film,1st) Stanley Kubrick (director) with Jack Nicholson)2nd) produced by Stephen kingThe 1st movie didn’t entirely meet the book’s expectations, as Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange) had his own ideas. So Stephen king wanted to re-do the picture in a 2 part mini series, just over 4hrs long that followed the book, and produced it to make sure it stayed how he wanted it..Scary, fantastic and edge of your seat. .