A masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (23 November 2017)

My 20 year old son and I stumbled across a classic film yesterday. He hadn't seen it and I hadn't watched it on over 25 years. So (instead of watching it edited and with commercials) we pulled out our BluRay copy and sat down and watched Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING.
Truth be told, I'm not a big fan of this film (as a matter of fact, in a recent list I did of the top Stephen King movie adaptations, it ranked only at #7) and was curious as to what my son's reaction to it would be and if I would change my mind about this overly-wrong, over- the-top acted wrongly praised film. Would my mind change? Afterall I hadn't seen it in 25 years. And...after watching it again...I can use only one word to describe it...
MASTERPIECE
Boy, was I wrong about this film. It is fantastic. Kubrick has made an almost perfect film. The mood, the acting, the music, the story and - especially - the pictures that Kubrick creates on screen blend perfectly for a wonderful film-going experience.
Let's start with the direction of Kubrick. He certainly had a vision and mood he wanted to create - and create it he did. Alternating between real world colors and monochromatic visions (when the Spirits of the hotel take over), frame by frame is one visual masterpiece after another. There isn't a wasted shot in this film. Every frame, every look, every shot setup tells a story on it's own. I could watch this film with the sound off and still have a transcendent film experience. This is a master at the top of his game.
Also at the top of his game is Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, the caretaker that is slowly taken over by the hotel. His performance starts low-key and "normal" and slowly grows crazier and crazier (with occasional glimpses of "real crazy") until he finally goes "full Jack" at the end. But this isn't just a parody performance (which so many of his performances later on has become), it is a tour-de-force acting performance that rates right up there with the greats of all time.
Matching Nicholson beat for beat - and one of the most underrated performances of all time - is Shelly Duvall as Jack's wife, Winifred "Windy" Torrance. Famously, Kubrick treated Duvall horribly on set in order to push her to heights she never before (or since) reached. Nicholson's performance would not be as effective without Duvall's counterbalance. It is masterful.
The cinematography, editing and sound all add to the mood and atmosphere, ratcheting up the tension until everything explodes in violence and blood.
Realize that this film is a slow burn and takes its time at every scene - and I mean EVERY scene - don't expect a fast paced, slick edited "modern" film, it is much, much more - and better - than that.
It is not often that I totally change my mind about a film. I am happy to say that this is one such time.
If you haven't seen this in awhile, I highly advise you to check it out.
Letter Grade: A+
A rare 10 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)