The Film
An official definition of horror is "an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust" or "a thing causing such a feeling." These would be apt descriptions to use as a springboard from which to discuss filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's The Shining; for although the definition of the word "horror" may mean one thing and be self-contained, the film genre which the word has leant itself to has taken on a cumbersome amount of baggage.
In Kubrick's vision of the novel of the same name by author Stephen King, the typical horror genre spectacle contained within the pages of King's novel has been excised. Yes, some of the mystical elements have been retained -- there are some of what one might call "spirits" lurking the vast, cavernous halls of the Overlook Hotel, and the hotel itself remains on a native Indian burial ground, just as in King's original novel. Gone, however, are the animal-shaped shrubs that come to life at night and roam the grounds, and most of the mystical elements of The Shining are kept squarely secondary to the main themes of the plot.
What we have in Kubrick's film adaptation is a look at the horrors of white, patriarchal Western society and the madness that bubbles just under the surface of its seemingly genteel appearance. It was a theme that Kubrick was quite found of exploring, and he perhaps accomplished it best in A Clockwork Orange.
The Shining is the story of Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), a Vermont schoolteacher who takes a position as an off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel in Colorado, in the hopes that the peaceful environment will help him write a novel. The Torrance family, consisting of Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) settle into the immense, empty hotel. The young boy, we soon find out, has a psychic ability referred to as "the shining." Not only can he see visions and read minds, but can also apparently foresee future events.
From the moment the family arrive at the hotel, Jack - a recovering alcoholic who may or may not have purposely injured his son in the past (many things are left unexplained and open-ended by Kubrick) - begins a steady descent into madness. He'd been related the story by his employers of his predecessor who went mad and killed his wife and two daughters with an axe. But, of course, that could never happen to him -- or could it?
The brilliance of Kubrick’s telling of The Shining is that one never knows for sure if Jack Torrance is being driven mad by the external "demons" urging him on, or if it his personal demons spilling out. Is it the pressures of a marriage he never wanted? Like when he lashes out at Wendy telling her, "Wendy, I have let you fuck up my life so far, but I am not gonna let you fuck this up!" Is it a claustrophobic feeling of being trapped that is driving him to madness? Trapped in an isolated location? Trapped in the proverbial "rat race" of having to be the family "bread winner?"
Even the way Kubrick filmed the The Shining gives a sense of claustrophobia. The Torrance family is in a spacious, empty hotel – accompanied by no one else – but their personal living quarters seem to be the tiniest, barest room in the entire place. Yes, the "horror" in The Shining is surely more psychological than anything else, and perhaps that is why many people have found it so frightening over the years. To watch an outwardly loving family man deteriorate into an axe-wielding lunatic attacking his own family and to feel the uncertainty of why he would do it must be truly horrific to many.
Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance (aided, no doubt, by the exasperating number of takes he was forced to do by Kubrick) may at first feel over-the-top. When it is all over however, you realize you have witnessed a man run the gamut of every human emotion, put right there on the big screen for you to confront, replete with haunting musical score by Wendy Carlos and composers the likes of Bartok and Ligetti. By the time he gets from "My name is Jack Torrance." to "Heeeere's Johnny!" you have been truly horrified.
If there are any criticisms to levy against The Shining, they would be that the film feels too long. Logging in at nearly two-and-a-half hours, there are times when it certainly drags and a bit; more time in the editing room could have helped the pacing. Also, the storylines are left a little too open-ended. It is never answered why exactly Danny, for instance, has his ability to "shine." There is also a bit of confusion over whether Jack Torrance has actually been reincarnated and come back to The Overlook. The idea is mentioned, but never fully explored. Although these inconsistencies do cause some problems with the film, the strength of the psychological exploration, which was certainly more to Kubrick's strength, outweigh these deficits by a good margin.
The Picture
Appearing on this Blu-ray Disc in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 in a 1080p/24 high definition VC-1 encoding, this particular release of The Shining will look quite acceptable to some, I'm sure, but that does not mean it doesn't have its flaws.
In typical Warner fashion, the evidence is clear from the beginning that this transfer has been cleaned up in a manner so as to suppress the grain. It's a film from 1980 that looks so smooth and clean, it could almost have been made yesterday. Of course, this softens the finer details to the point where clothing doesn't quite give up the texture of its fabric and skin is not quite as defined as it should be. Background detail is also slightly softened, but this transfer is not the worst removal of high frequency information I have seen done to a film by far.
One of the more notable problems with this transfer are the black levels, which are very inconsistent. From the opening scene showing aerial shots of the Torrance family driving up a mountainside highway to the Overlook Hotel one can see the faded, noisy look of the shadows on the mountain range whilst in other scenes, blacks are inky and solid. There also seems to be a lot of low-level noise on solid backgrounds, like walls. One wonders how much of that has to do with the relatively low bitrate VC-1 encoding. Contrast levels are set appropriately, but flesh tones look too pink and therefore not quite as natural as one would like, but at least skin doesn't look waxy, which is a very good thing.
The Sound
When is a 5.1 surround mix overkill? I'd answer in the case of this Blu-ray Disc release, it certainly is. Offering the options of English uncompressed PCM 5.1 and English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks, this release surely falls into the category of having an unnecessary number of audio channels for the program material presented.
The Shining is a heavily dialogue driven film and the PCM mix, which I listened to for the purposes of this review, is weighted towards the front three channels with voices placed squarely in the center. Surround channels are never used for anything other than ambience and even that is mixed to a very low level giving the soundtrack a very dry overall sound. Occasionally parts of the film's musical score "escape" into the rear channels for a more open sound. Although dialogue is always intelligible, there are a few occasions where there is a very slight bit of audible distortion apparent in the recorded sound making it somewhat grating. The LFE is nearly non-existent for this mix, as well.
The Extras
Once again, Warner have provided video extras in nothing but standard definition, which seems to be the modus operandi at this particular studio for Blu-ray Disc releases. Although the supplements are not plentiful, they are rather informative, offering quite a bit of insight into the mind and work habits of Stanley Kubrick.
Extras provided on this disc are:
• Audio commentary by Steadicam Inventor/Operator Garrett Brown and Historian John Baxter -- Although this audio commentary is typically dry, it does offer superb insight into the making of The Shining and Kubrick’s filmmaking process. Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown offers particularly intriguing details on many of the film's key scenes. Of note is his telling of how Kubrick made Scatman Crothers do 148 takes to capture his close-up in the infamous kitchen scene between Crothers' Hallorann character and the character of Danny Torrance.
• Vivian Kubrick's Documentary - The Making of The Shining with Optional Commentary (4:3/standard definition) -- What this basically amounts to is a student film of behind the scenes footage that Kubrick's daughter Vivian captured -- at the urging of her father -- during the filming of The Shining when she was only 17 years old. Although the actual film is not very entertaining or informative, Vivian's new optional audio commentary is - and she offers up quite a bit of detailed background information on what went on during the production. It is a must for any Kubrick fan to watch this documentary with the optional commentary on.
• View from the Overlook: Crafting the Shining (4:3/standard definition) -- This is a thirty-minute featurette where the filmmakers discuss creating the look and atmosphere of the film -- everything from set and costume design to makeup. There is also much discussion of Stanley Kubrick's infamously meticulous methods of filming many -- sometimes over a hundred -- takes to capture a scene perfectly.
• Wendy Carlos, composer (1.78:1/standard definition) -- The composer discusses working with Kubrick to not only develop the music for The Shining, but also for A Clockwork Orange. She also shares some outtakes of music that did not manage to make it into either film.
• Theatrical Trailer (1.85:1/standard definition) -- The original theatrical trailer for The Shining.
Final Thoughts
More "Psychological Thriller" than a true "Horror" film, The Shining is probably most frightening because it offers individuals and society at large a mirror to the soul, a reflection of the ugliness that lies within. This Blu-ray Disc release is not without its deficits, but the picture will probably please those out there who like their older films to look like they were recorded yesterday on high definition cameras. It's not what I would consider a reference Blu-ray release, but it is still the best version out there of this classic.
Where to Buy:
Product Details
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
