So what if it's not like the novel...

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2001)

Okay...we all know that Stephen King didn't like Kubrick's adaptation of his story. I haven't read the original work myself and perhaps I'd be equally miffed if I did.
However, nobody can deny that Kubrick creates a tour de force. The use of Hector Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique to create tension and terror was absolutely brilliant, from the first moment you see Nicholson's VW Bug winding it's way through the Rocky Mountains.
More than anything, I see this movie's brilliance as a combination of factors that add up to a riveting ride. Think of all the little things that make the hair on the back of your neck rise. The jolting sound of Danny's Big Wheel as he rides over the rugs and hard wood floors in the hotel. Shelly Duvall shakily chainsmoking her brains out. Scatman Caruthers waking up in his Miami home to realize something just ain't right back in Colorado. The seemingly mundane sound of Danny's Road Runner cartoon. I won't even mention Jack Nicholson because everyone's said just about everything that can be said about his freaky performance.
Yes, the movie runs a bit long. But I never tire of watching it because I usually notice something new I've missed before. What usually puzzles me most if how the characters of Jack and Wendy ever got together in the first place.