The shining is a gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In kings novel, the overlooks boiler explodes at the. The shining mainly takes place in the fictional overlook hotel, an isolated, haunted resort hotel located in the colorado rockies. Jack torrance, a loving father when sober, is a temperamental alcoholic and. Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows. There are some very small changes that do little to affect the overall plot, like changing the main characters name from john to jack, to some very. Jack slams the tennis ball on the floor of the lobby near a mickey mouse doll laying face down in a similar spotposition as hallorann after he is killed. Lets take a close look at some of the characters in stephen kings the shining. The film is based on stephen kings 1977 novel of the same name and stars jack nicholson, shelley duvall, scatman crothers, and danny lloyd.
The final shot of the shining, its ambiguity forever helping stanley kubricks most popular film hold its enduring legacy for nearly thirty years. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen kings novel. How king and kubricks versions are different by tom reimann november 6, 2019. The most striking comparison is the 1997 miniseries adaptation of the shining vs. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen. Kubrick decided to direct a comparatively crowd appealing film, maybe as a result of the financially poor performance of barry lyndon, which by many revered critics and filmmakers is considered to be his best film. Shes the author of the criticallyacclaimed international bestseller broken monsters. At first, it feels like a traditional horror setup a guy gets hired to spend the winter in an enormous hotel, secluded from civilization, where obviously something will go very wrong. The shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by stanley kubrick and cowritten with novelist diane johnson. He ended up having a role in a tv film two years later, but that was the extent of his acting career. Ultimately, the genius of the shining is that the ending can. After telling wendy and danny to get out, jack tries to. I recently found what is arguably the most exhaustive. The shining 1977 is a novel by american author stephen king.
The hotel will soon close for the winter, but cant be left unattended. The shining, gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. As wendy and danny explore the maze, jack is inside looking at a scale model of the maze, where he can see tiny models of his wife and child walking towards the center. Stephen king s the shining, published in 1977, is a horror novel. Terrible things happen in the world, and theyre things no one can explain. What stanley kubrick got wrong about the shining salon. A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future. Many of the interpretations of the shining, especially those on the room 237 documentary have been mistakenly labeled as conspiracy theories. As the offseason caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, hell have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his.
Seriously exhaustive analysis of the shining shows kubrick. A sequel, titled doctor sleep, was published in 20 summary. May 31, 20 the documentary room 237 has been called a diy mashup of the many theories put forward over the years as interpretations of stanley kubrickss 1980 horror classic, the shining. The shining how a red book could explain everything read pinned comment duration. An alternate adaptation written by king himself, the. The death is also nothing like jacks fate in the novelization of the shining, written by stephen king. Though she may not always seem it at first glance because she spends much. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen king.
Parents need to know that the shining is the classic 1980 stanley kubrickdirected film based on the stephen king novel about a man hired to be the caretaker of a hotel deep in the mountains of colorado who develops severe dementia from a combination of cabin fever and the dark and haunted past of the hotel. In the 20 novel doctor sleep, kings official sequel to the shining, a grown danny torrance suffers from alcoholism like his father. Movie, hell be taking a critical look at movie adaptations of horror novels. Though it deviates from stephen kings novel, stanley kubricks the shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness exemplified by an unforgettable turn. The overlooks manager, ullman, is concerned about giving jack the job. The story of this film is based off the book, the shining by stephen king. The shining is the third book published by stephen king. Wendy walks up, jack stares, the typewriter changes, a chair disappears, and the research book next to him flips to another page. Blood flows throughout this film literally in several notorious scenes. Jack torrance, his wife wendy, and their young son danny move into the overlook hotel, where jack has been.
The shining is a horror novel by american author stephen king. The film is based on stephen kings 1977 novel of the same name and stars jack nicholson, shelley duvall, scatman crothers, and danny lloyd the films central character is jack torrance nicholson, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a. It also allows danny to see the past and the future. Jack torrance, his wife wendy, and their young son danny move into the overlook hotel, where jack has been hired as the. It was his third novel and his first hardback best seller. Mar 30, 2017 for the first time, the shining s producer and cowriter explain in detail why the horror tales ending changed from stephen kings novel and how it evolved again and again during the filming. The final, terrible shot of jack on the ground, his frozen face forever stuck in its maniacal, upwardlooking openmouth gaze, instantly freezes itself into the brain of anyone who.
Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. The title of the novel was inspired by the john lennon song instant karma. Until the last minute, the plot seems to be wrapping up in a conventional way. Sometimes it seems like its only the bad people who stay healthy and prosper. Since the upcoming movie is a sequel both to kings bestselling book and kubricks iconic film, it will be unpredictable for both newcomers and fans. Stephen king characters wendy torrance she is jacks wife. A sequel, titled doctor sleep, was published in 20.
After jack blows up at wendy the typewriter, chair, and book all return and wendy acts as if nothing happened implying it all happened in jacks mind. He is just relentless, there are no discerning features to him, he is pure evil. One of the most frequent questions ive received about the shining is what does the guy in the bear costume mean. The shining is two stories, both the same, but somehow very different. And there is good reason for viewers to puzzle over the film 33 years after its release. He decided to adapt stephen kings best selling novel, the shining. The setting and characters are influenced by kings personal experiences, including both his visit to the. The documentary room 237 has been called a diy mashup of the many theories put forward over the years as interpretations of stanley kubrickss 1980 horror classic, the shining. It centers on the writer jack torrence and his family, as they become the isolated, winter caretakers of the overlook hotel in the rockies. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. It is explained more in the book but since holloran has the shining as well, they are linked. Her gullible nature, her compassion for danny and her husband seems to be her only flaws.
What happened at the end of stanley kubricks the shining. The shining novel, however, has a very different ending, and one that even made way for a sequel. The shining summary the shining begins with jack torrance being interviewed for the caretakers job at the overlook hotel. Check out his first column below, exploring the shining. Stanley kubricks the shining is regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made, and one that to this day continues to be the subject of many analyses and discussions. The main character jack torrance is a violent, recovering alcoholic who has broken his son, dannys arm while drunk before. Harper is one of the scariest characters that i have ever come across. Published in 1977, it is kings third published novel and first hardback bestseller. The victim danny can be viewed as the inner child of jacks spouse, wendy torrance, which means that the abuse is a traumatic. Interpretations, also known as theories or readings are fan based interpretations of the meanings of hidden themes found in the 1980 stanley kubrick film version of the 1977 stephen king novel the shining. Click download or read online button to get the shining book now. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. For the first time, the shinings producer and cowriter explain in detail why the horror tales ending changed from stephen kings novel and how it evolved again and again during the filming.
The tension felt when jack jack nicholson chases danny danny lloyd through the hotel grounds is incredible. She worked as a journalist and as show runner on one of the south africas. The popular interpretation is that the scene is a throwback to a subplot of stephen kings book, in which a party guest in a dog costume has a homosexual relationship with one of the hotels former owners. The ending of the shining explained by matthew jackson jan. At the end of the shining, why is jack in the photo of the. This is a rich image that symbolizes jacks evil, manipulative intentions towards his family.
Stephen kings the shining, published in 1977, is a horror novel. Jack is a failed writer who has battled alcoholism. The shining seemed to introduce a promising child star in dan lloyd. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the shining by stephen king. The shining girls, about a time traveling serial killer. Doctor sleep, the new stephen king movie from writer and director mike flanagan, tries to reconcile three essentially incompatible texts. In the movie, dannys parents dont know about his supernatural ability but in the book they do. The shinings 1980 hedge maze chase is one of the most iconic endings in horror history. Haunted by a persistent writers block, the aspiring author and recovering alcoholic, jack torrance, drags his wife, wendy, and his gifted son, danny, up snowcapped colorados secluded overlook hotel after taking up a job as an offseason caretaker. To emphasize the dramatic differences between the two novels this essay will compare the camera work, the music, and the characters and in addition will explain the motifs used by stanley kubrick. One of the many mysteries of stanley kubricks the shining is why jack appears in the photo at the end, and it actually has a semisimple explanation. When the torrance family is left alone at the hotel, jack tries to settle down to his writing.
The shining, one of the stephen kings bestselling novels and the film that has had a huge impact in pop culture, finally has the ending explained in an interview with ew, producers jan harlan and diane johnson explain the steps that were taken in making the film, and the decisions made by director stanley kubrick to create the final ending in the novel, the shining ends with the death. At the end of the shining, why is jack in the photo of. So when he shows up, jack goes after him knowing this fact instead of going after his wife. Stanley kubricks the shining was released in 1980, and since has been hailed as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. It was adapted for the screen by directorproducer stanley kubrick and novelistacademic diane johnson. Jun 22, 2012 the shining is two stories, both the same, but somehow very different. Drama analysis of the shining the shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by stanley kubrick. This book has split opinion and i think that it mainly due to some of its fantastical elements. Stanley kubricks classic 1980 adaptation of the same book. Based on the novel of the same name by stephen king, the shining follows jack torrance jack nicholson, an aspiring writer and recovering. In dannys case, the future is perhaps even more murky. Apr 17, 2018 the shining how a red book could explain everything read pinned comment duration. Therefore, stephen king produced his own tv miniseries of the shining in 1997 an exact book to movie adaptation directed by mick garris. As amazing as the ending to doctor sleeps movie sounds, the ending for stephen kings book was way different.
Stephen kings 1977 novel the shining, stanley kubrick. The shining tends to be opaque, even though its corridors are welllit. Zoo city, a phantasmagorical joburg noir and winner of the 2011 arthur c clarke award. Jan 29, 2019 the ending of the shining explained by matthew jackson jan. Jul 08, 2015 in the final shots of stanley kubricks the shining, the audience sees the corpse of jack torrance jack nicholson frozen to death in the hedge maze where he tried to kill his wife wendy. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most. Hallorann, takes danny to eat ice cream and tells danny that the two of them share a special power called shining that allows them to communicate with just their minds. A dude named jack torrance gets out of the car and heads to a meeting with the manager of the hotel, stuart ullman. Jack torrances new job at the overlook hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. The shining, one of the stephen kings bestselling novels and the film that has had a huge impact in pop culture, finally has the ending explained in an interview with ew, producers jan harlan and diane johnson explain the steps that were taken in making the film, and the decisions made by director stanley kubrick to create the final ending. The film version made big changes to the character of jack overall, and subsequently, many elements of the story were completely modified to better represent the character the picture was working with. Lauren beukes writes novels, comics and screeplays. Until the last minute, the plot seems to be wrapping up in a. As the cavernous hotel shuts down for the season, the manager gives jack a grand tour, and the.
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