Non-believers take a second look...

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 1998)

What can I say to all the fans of the novel The Shining and not fans of Kubrick's The Shining? You're not fans of the novel at all. I know you hate to hear it, but it's true. The novel is my all time favorite by King and no one (no, not even King himself - as he proved) could've adapted it better than Stanley Kubrick. I ask the fans of the book who don't like the movie to do one thing: Remember how you felt when you read the book. That's all. Now watch Kubrick's version. Weird isn't it? Kubrick brings out the EXACT same emotion that King does with the novel. You feel frightened. You feel cold. You feel alone. You are in that hotel in the movie, just as you in that hotel in the novel. Kubrick is a genius. He brought to life a novel that would've normally been impossible. Look what happens when you make a word for word account of a novel - The Shining (mini-series) was deplorable! Sure, filmmakers who adapt want to tell a story with respect to the original, but moreover they want you to feel the same as you did when you read it. They want you to be scared if you were scared when you read it. Kubrick delivered a cold, isolated environment, just as King did. The novel was flawless. The film was flawless. The adaptation was flawless. Enough said - case closed.