2023 Revisit: "The Shining" (1980)

Dir. Stanley Kubrick

Watched with the commentary track featuring Steadicam inventor/operator Garrett Brown and Kubrick biographer John Baxter.

*Spoilers Ahead*

I’ve read about the behind-the-scenes of The Shining and Kubrick’s other work in “The Stanley Kubrick Archives” (which, thinking back, is probably the first book about film that I bought/read), and this commentary track added a lot to what I already knew about this film’s production. Filming ridiculous numbers of takes (which paid off), framing shots with perfectionism (which was an anecdote from Garrett Brown that I particularly enjoyed), trying to get convincing performances out of actors (particularly Duvall) and a whole lot more are all parts of what makes the movie as unbelievably untouchable as it is. There is not a single part of The Shining that needs an update or “should’ve been done differently”; it was already perfected by Kubrick.

According to the commentary, there were 148 takes done to get a closeup of Scatman Crothers in the scene where he’s chatting with Danny in the kitchen and 40 takes of Jack Nicholson throwing the ball against the wall, meaning he essentially threw over two complete games worth of pitches. That’s just scraping the surface and pretty much everyone already knows about the excessive(?) takes (I’m reluctant to question Kubrick). Another fun fact: lots of people know that the original room number in the book was “217” but was changed to “237” because the real-life hotel had an actual Room 217 (which, I guess, means they didn’t want to take on a stigma of being cursed), but the commentary also mentions that “237” is the same number that’s punched in to drop the bomb in Dr. Strangelove. Some more tidbits that I picked up on are that a vast majority of the movie was shot chronologically and there were 900 tons of salt used for the snowy exteriors.

What’s especially interesting about the order in which they shot the scenes is that they shot the whole bar scene in the Overlook’s Gold Room right after Jack sat down, where Lloyd the Bartender is present. Normally, it would’ve made sense to film the part where Wendy runs in to tell Jack about Danny seeing the lady in Room 237 before then, which has no Lloyd, so they wouldn’t have to change the lighting and anything else needed for Jack and Lloyd’s conversation. It’s things like that that all the more show how Kubrick was committed to making the actors immerse themselves in their roles in real time. John Baxter, the historian who spoke on the commentary, mentioned that Kubrick loved Joe Turkel for the role of Lloyd because, in Kubrick’s eyes, Turkel embodied a force of good. I couldn’t be on the other side of the counter more than I already am. To me, that scene is like Jack making a deal with the devil. Baxter also noted that Lloyd is, in a way, like HAL 9000 in that he’s a “voice of reason,” but I completely disagree.

Danny Lloyd’s performance remains a revelation. The role requires so much complexity for someone his age and Vivian Kurbick’s making-of documentary features a brief interview with Lloyd during the production, which is lovely and shows that he was a really smart kid. I’ll never forget the first time I saw the camera pan over to the mirror, showing the reverse spelling of “REDRUM.” Somehow, I had not been spoiled for that reveal when I first watched the movie, and I was absolutely terrified. I have always been under the impression that“REDRUM!” was a warning to Wendy that Jack was getting ready to bash her brains “right the fuck in” but now I see the REDRUM reveal scene as Danny handing over the knife to Wendy to do what he can’t — kill Jack. On this watch, in which I got a stronger sense that Danny was onto Jack’s intentions early on, I see it as him putting the power in Wendy’s hands. In the past, I had thought Wendy taking the knife out of Danny’s hand was for his safety, which was still the case in Wendy’s mind, but it was also him passing it off to her. Also, I had mainly thought that Tony speaking through Danny was just Danny being silly or trying to cope with his trauma but now I see it as a genuine way of channeling his shining force to do things like prepare Wendy.

On that topic, I’m still not sure if Danny’s scream after Dick gets the axe to the chest is him screaming in fear or his soul(?) being affected due to their shared ability to shine. The shot from under Danny’s arm looking up at Room 237 for the first time has always been a favorite of mine and it’s just as effective each watch in evoking the dark mystery that Kubrick alludes to. Another shot that has always stuck out to me is the silent whip pan to Jack when Danny walks into the hotel room where the Torrances are staying. This room is where the two biggest moments for me this time around took place, with the father-son scene and the REDRUM reveal striking me differently. In Jack’s one-on-one with Danny, it’s almost as if Jack is taking one last chance to be vulnerable and genuine with Danny because he knows that things will turn violent at the hands of the Overlook. The more times I watch the film, the more I’m conflicted about whether the mention of Jack’s previous domestic violence incident is cautioning us or throwing us off by making him seem like he has free will without the hotel’s grasp. Also, does Danny know about Jack’s evil side (in the sense of being possessed by the hotel) in that scene and is trying to act innocent so as not to give away how his ability to shine tipped him off to the hotel’s horrors? I’ll get back to you in about 28 years with an answer.

I got thinking even more: when Jack spazzes out in the hallway on his way to the Gold Room, is this him being possessed or is he genuinely frustrated and fed up by his personal, worldly stresses? The line between the “two Jacks” — a concept that’s become a constant for me in past viewings — is something that’s simultaneously becoming both blurred and widened for me. At this point, I’ve given up trying to make complete sense of it, but it’ll never leave my mind. Speaking of things I have no idea about, I always forget about the part when the ball rolls towards Danny with no explanation of who or where it came from. The commentary mentioned that it may have been in Danny’s head while he was trying to make sense of the visions he’s had since arriving at the Overlook, but I’m lost on it. It’s still effective as hell in how understated it is when it happens. Just as the more overtly shocking scenes never fail to elicit a reaction from me, the moments that don’t call attention to themselves work just as well in that respect. I’m also still curious as ever as to whether Jack’s nightmare while sitting at his desk was him being sincerely agonized by the thought of murdering his family or if he was trying to play the victim by pretending to break down in front of Wendy. And is his torment by the hotel consensual? Again, this is another unanswered question about the extent of his free will.

The wide-angle lens is essential to the look of the film, especially in the maze and the Gold Room — or, really, any of the shots panning horizontally. With Danny tripping while running in the maze at the end, the Steadicam’s smooth droning shots make the chase all the more suspenseful and give off a feeling of Jack’s malevolence being otherworldly. The camera is “Penetrating space, pushing through space,” as Brown, the Steadicam operator, said. And even more so than the framed party photo, the still shot of Jack frozen in the maze has always been especially frightening to me; it’s like a crime scene photo from the next morning.

For something so tediously made and seemingly in a world of its own — both on set and in-movie — the commentary’s pulling up of the curtain should somewhat detriment its awe, but I was still completely immersed in everything on screen.

10/25/23