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Post by Nalkarj on Nov 25, 2020 16:55:00 GMT
The idea of Hallorann as villain? Yeah, I don’t like that either, but it does go to show that even at that early stage Kubrick wanted to do something different with him than just make him Wendy and Danny’s savior, as King did. I see Halloran problematically as a total catalyst for Dannys story arc, he doesn't have his own agency in some ways and acts as a plot device to help Danny. I like him as a surrogate grandpa figure who shines(pun intended?) a light on Dannys powers while also helping to protect Danny but adversely I also wish that dynamic was developed more, How did Halloran grow up with his ability for example?. But he’s intended as a plot device, isn’t he? I mean, it’s not his story. The book delves more into background and gives a happy ending with Hallorann, which is nice because I like the Hallorann character, but it’s certainly much scarier and more disturbing that the kindly character we expect to save the day gets an ax through his chest for the trouble.
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Post by nicktatler76 on Nov 25, 2020 17:22:38 GMT
I've got a question re: the scene in Room 237. When Jack realises who/what he's been kissing, it cuts to a shot of the old woman getting up in the bath (who looks different to the one who starts laughing). Does anyone have any theories on any meaning behind this? Is it Halloran seeing what Danny saw when he went in? Oh, are they different? I always took both of them to be the rotting corpse of the woman who died in the bathtub (drug-overdose suicide in the book). It is one of those callbacks to the book that Kubrick never explains in the film. (Another is the dog/bear-man.) As for what it means… I don’t know. I do find it weird that Jack goes back to Wendy and says he found nothing in the room. That whole sequence, like much of the movie, seems like it’s suggesting something beneath the surface, but I don’t know what. I think too much exposition would have ruined it- the fact that these surreal/frightening images are occuring without a backstory makes the experience even scarier. It probably is the same woman (there's no reason why there would be two) but I think that she looks a bit different when she was rising. My interpretation is that this was what Danny saw when he went in that room, as he wouldn't have had the 'life experience' at his age to see her as a hottie 🤔
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Post by hi224 on Nov 25, 2020 18:10:54 GMT
I see Halloran problematically as a total catalyst for Dannys story arc, he doesn't have his own agency in some ways and acts as a plot device to help Danny. I like him as a surrogate grandpa figure who shines(pun intended?) a light on Dannys powers while also helping to protect Danny but adversely I also wish that dynamic was developed more, How did Halloran grow up with his ability for example?. But he’s intended as a plot device, isn’t he? I mean, it’s not his story. The book delves more into background and gives a happy ending with Hallorann, which is nice because I like the Hallorann character, but it’s certainly much scarier and more disturbing that the kindly character we expect to save the day gets an ax through his chest for the trouble. Certainly, I just like when writers go extra distance to make characters more well rounded.
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Post by Nalkarj on Nov 25, 2020 19:42:09 GMT
I think too much exposition would have ruined it- the fact that these surreal/frightening images are occuring without a backstory makes the experience even scarier.
It probably is the same woman (there's no reason why there would be two) but I think that she looks a bit different when she was rising. My interpretation is that this was what Danny saw when he went in that room, as he wouldn't have had the 'life experience' at his age to see her as a hottie 🤔 Oh, agreed. Way too many horror books/stories/movies overexplain, and that almost always ruins horror (IMO). But, then, I’m a Robert Aickman fan.
Not sure, but maybe she looks a little different because her hair’s floating in the bathtub? Apparently something injured him in the bathroom—we’re never sure what. Could Jack have injured him again after all?
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Post by nicktatler76 on Nov 25, 2020 21:41:28 GMT
I think too much exposition would have ruined it- the fact that these surreal/frightening images are occuring without a backstory makes the experience even scarier.
It probably is the same woman (there's no reason why there would be two) but I think that she looks a bit different when she was rising. My interpretation is that this was what Danny saw when he went in that room, as he wouldn't have had the 'life experience' at his age to see her as a hottie 🤔 Oh, agreed. Way too many horror books/stories/movies overexplain, and that almost always ruins horror (IMO). But, then, I’m a Robert Aickman fan.
Not sure, but maybe she looks a little different because her hair’s floating in the bathtub? Apparently something injured him in the bathroom—we’re never sure what. Could Jack have injured him again after all? Well there is a theory Jack abused Danny, and not just a drunken slap either.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Feb 11, 2021 17:01:01 GMT
Toeing the line maybe? It never occurred to me, but I did always notice that tie. I really don't know if this is the case, but I kind of thought that it was out of style for that time. I never thought of the knit tie as being of that time, and even if it was wrong, I thought it was a little informal. So it always seemed like a deliberate choice. My assumption was that it was meant to tell us that Jack Torrance didn't have much money and wore this old thing he found in the closet. But there could have been a little more to the color and texture choice. As far as Room 237 theories go this isn't as outlandish as the fake moon landing confessional theory. I'd say it's at least somewhat plausible. Oh god, I hope it’s not anywhere near as outlandish as the fake-moon-landing-confession theory! By the way, I found out that I was reinventing the wheel and that other people have picked up on the tie-maze similarity. Someone created a handy juxtaposition here: It is a weird and jarring tie, isn’t it? I’m looking up knit ties (oh, what this movie does to you!), and they don’t look like that one. I think it’s just a small thing meant to show that Jack already belongs to the hotel, as in my theory above. amp.reddit.com/r/stephenking/comments/lguaz0/amazing_foreshadowing_in_the_shining_the_pattern/
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Post by Nalkarj on Mar 25, 2022 16:00:57 GMT
Figured I might as well bump this thread and drop this bit of news in one post: Ben Stiller in Talks to Play Jack Torrance on StageFunny thing is, I can actually see this casting working. It’s West End; don’t know when it would come to Broadway (if everything works out). I’m assuming the play—by Simon Stephens, though the real auteur here seems to be director Ivo van Hove, who has already overseen stage adaptations of The Network and The Fountainhead—is already written if they’re expecting to go into rehearsals by this fall. Too bad that the Shining opera probably won’t be coming to New York anytime soon. I’m still hunting for a recording, but the libretto is good.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Mar 26, 2022 0:22:04 GMT
Figured I might as well bump this thread and drop this bit of news in one post: Ben Stiller in Talks to Play Jack Torrance on StageFunny thing is, I can actually see this casting working. It’s West End; don’t know when it would come to Broadway (if everything works out). I’m assuming the play—by Simon Stephens, though the real auteur here seems to be director Ivo van Hove, who has already overseen stage adaptations of The Network and The Fountainhead—is already written if they’re expecting to go into rehearsals by this fall. Too bad that the Shining opera probably won’t be coming to New York anytime soon. I’m still hunting for a recording, but the libretto is good. I don't know, it'd be hard to watch his Jack losing it and not think of White Goodman. "No one makes me bleed my own blood, Wendy!" Although I saw Laurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes on Broadway and she was awesome.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Mar 26, 2022 3:43:39 GMT
Figured I might as well bump this thread and drop this bit of news in one post: Ben Stiller in Talks to Play Jack Torrance on StageFunny thing is, I can actually see this casting working. It’s West End; don’t know when it would come to Broadway (if everything works out). I’m assuming the play—by Simon Stephens, though the real auteur here seems to be director Ivo van Hove, who has already overseen stage adaptations of The Network and The Fountainhead—is already written if they’re expecting to go into rehearsals by this fall. Too bad that the Shining opera probably won’t be coming to New York anytime soon. I’m still hunting for a recording, but the libretto is good. I don't know, it'd be hard to watch his Jack losing it and not think of White Goodman. "No one makes me bleed my own blood, Wendy!" Although I saw Laurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes on Broadway and she was awesome. So that was one of the few shows that Bruce Willis actually showed up for, I guess. She was Tony nominated and he was laughed off of Broadway. It's a shame. With a willing leading man I could see how that could work really well as a play.
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Post by masterofallgoons on Mar 26, 2022 4:16:54 GMT
Figured I might as well bump this thread and drop this bit of news in one post: Ben Stiller in Talks to Play Jack Torrance on StageFunny thing is, I can actually see this casting working. It’s West End; don’t know when it would come to Broadway (if everything works out). I’m assuming the play—by Simon Stephens, though the real auteur here seems to be director Ivo van Hove, who has already overseen stage adaptations of The Network and The Fountainhead—is already written if they’re expecting to go into rehearsals by this fall. Too bad that the Shining opera probably won’t be coming to New York anytime soon. I’m still hunting for a recording, but the libretto is good. I've heard some of the music and heard an interview with Mark Campbell, but I'd be interested in seeing the whole thing. If either the opera or the West End show come to New York I'll probably be buying tickets.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Mar 26, 2022 17:08:04 GMT
I don't know, it'd be hard to watch his Jack losing it and not think of White Goodman. "No one makes me bleed my own blood, Wendy!" Although I saw Laurie Metcalf as Annie Wilkes on Broadway and she was awesome. So that was one of the few shows that Bruce Willis actually showed up for, I guess. She was Tony nominated and he was laughed off of Broadway. It's a shame. With a willing leading man I could see how that could work really well as a play. It was a pretty impressive play EXCEPT for him.
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