A film of nonpareil substance. Simply put the greatest horror film ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2001)

This is the greatest horror film ever made. There's not a doubt in my mind. I have seen many films in this genre, but none, none come near the brilliance of this one. I have heard several criticisms over the years and I always find this interesting, because typically the hangups people have about this film are personal hangups, and are shortcomings that stem from the viewer's projection of those hangups on to the film. That unfortunately is one of the few obstacles that stands in the way of film possessing total universality. Of course the obvious hangup is people that read the Stephen King novel first and didn't appreciate the fact that the film was a departure from the source. Well I hate to differ with you, but the film is ten times better than any book Stephen King could ever write. The simple and undeniable fact is that Stanley Kubrick is one of the best directors ever if not the best and the same can certainly not be said for King as a writer. The changes that Kubrick made to the film gave it a depth in its medium that King's novel seldom exhibited. Some other examples of hangups would be people who won't watch or disapprove of films like Raging Bull, because they have a strong aversion to violence, or people who think films like The Searchers and Vertigo are overrated because they don't take those genres seriously. So in order to see this film for what it really is and not be blinded by your prejudices, simply sit down, leave your hangups at the door, and watch your superficiality and pretentiousness melt away in the resplendent light of this radiant film. The photography by Kubrick's terrific visual collaborator John Alcott is unbelievable. Kubrick in his youth broke in as a photographer, and the incredible photography of his films are testimonies to that background. The performance by Jack Nicholson is amazing, maybe the best of his career, certainly the most animated and entertaining. I know that some will say that it is over the top, but it fits the film perfectly. The biggest difference between the film and the novel is that in the novel it is purely the hotel that is evil, and in the film Jack is someone looking for an escape, not just to work on his novel, but to escape the failure that his life has become, to be something he could never be in reality, to renounce his responsibility, to renounce his shortcomings and awaken into the person he wants to be. The hotel provides him with that opportunity, and in the nightmare scene which is a spectacular metaphor Jack's subconscious after a lifetime of social and moral repression is finally awakening. This accents the relationship between modern man (his relationship/kinship to the hotel which is obviously intended as a metaphor for escape or retreat) and his carnal need to become something greater than what he is perfectly. The bottomline is the performances are great, the script is great, the direction is flawless, and the photography as always is unique and interesting. The splits and doublings have never been as fully accomplished or realized in any other film ever made, and I should mention that though I labeled this a horror film at the beginning of my critique it is so much more. This film transcends not only the genre, but cinema in general. Also, not to be ignored is the wonderful symmetry of music and imagery to create intense fear in the audience. Last but not least the ending is so much more expressive and unique than the typical horror ending that the book had to offer, in seeing it you come to understand that as is so often the case in life there is more than one side to the coin of every entity. This is an immaculate film made by an immaculate filmmaker and any shortcomings that are perceived exist in the minds of the viewer and not on screen. The viewers that will be blase, critical, or indifferent in regards to this film are intellectually indolent peasants (lacking vision and imagination) who don't deserve to delight in a film of such nonpareil substance. The Shining's ambiguity does not limit it, but immortalizes it.