Best viewed as an adaptation, not a translation

Rating: 7/10 (13 February 2016)

Just watched "The Shining" again for the first time in years and I still don't know what to think. The first time I viewed it, 20+ years ago now, I utterly hated it because I literally had just got done reading the book earlier that same day. A few years later, after reading about it in John McCarty's excellent book "The Modern Horror Film," I gave it another shot and found I enjoyed it much more. McCarty says the film is best viewed as an adaptation, not a translation, of King's novel. This is true.
There is no denying that the film is magnificently crafted. The cinematography is graceful and beautiful, and the production design is to die for. Every time I see the film I'm still astonished that the entire hotel was built on a soundstage.
Where the film suffers is the casting. Jack Nicholson seems like he's on the edge of madness right from the beginning. He's great in the later part of the film once the madness has fully taken hold of his character, but in the first part of the film I can't help but wonder, "Why would anyone in their right mind think it would be a good idea to leave this guy in charge of a hotel in the middle of nowhere for six months?" And Shelley Duval just spends the whole movie seeming like she's on the verge of fainting. Granted, that may not be her fault so much as the script's, which turns her character into a rag doll that is seemingly afraid of everything.
Just my $.02.