Both those expecting significance from Kubrick and those merely looking for a good scare may be equally disappointed. You might say that ‘The Shining,’ opening today at area theaters, has no peers: Few directors achieve the treacherous luxury of spending five years (and $12 million-$15 million) on such a peerlessly wrongheaded finished product,” Arnold wrote.Īnd here’s this one from Kevin Thomas for the Los Angeles Times: “There are moments so visually stunning only a Kubrick could pull them off, yet the film is too grandiose to be the jolter that horror pictures are expected to be. “I can’t recall a more elaborately ineffective scare movie. “Kubrick is after a cool, sunlit vision of hell, born in the bosom of the nuclear family, but his imagery - with its compulsive symmetry and brightness - is too banal to sustain interest, while the incredibly slack narrative line forestalls suspense,” wrote Dave Kehr in Chicago Reader.įor The Washington Post, Gary Arnold took issue with the film’s famously expensive and lengthy shoot - par for the course for a Kubrick film, but he notoriously wore Shelley Duvall down to a nub to elicit her frittered performance. Shelley Duvall transforms the warm sympathetic wife of the book into a simpering, semi-retarded hysteric.” This pan from Variety, meanwhile, is just plain rude: “The crazier Nicholson gets, the more idiotic he looks. If ‘The Shining’ isn’t trivial, it certainly encourages one to think that it is.” Nor should the final twists of the plot look so illogical. Nicholson’s performance, even if deliberately over the top, still shouldn’t encourage as much laughter as fear. ![]() “The genre within which the film is cast exerts too great a price. “I can’t help thinking that the Stephen King original, with its spook-ridden, other-worldly junketings, gets in the way of Kubrick’s grim vision, finally cheapening and distorting it,” wrote Derek Malcolm for The Guardian. 'Song of the South': 13 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial MovieĢ023 Emmys Predictions: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie Stanley Kubrick's Estate Approves '2001' Nod in 'Barbie' Teaser: 'Sincerest Form of Flattery' 'The Shining' Book Sets Record Straight on Kubrick's Multiple Takes, Shelley Duvall, and Cheese Sandwiches When we see a flash of bloody cadavers or observe a torrent of blood pouring from an elevator, we’re not frightened, because Kubrick’s absorption in film technology distances us,” wrote The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael. “Though we may admire the effects, we’re never drawn in by them, mesmerized. ![]() Here’s a sample of what first reviews for “The Shining” had to say in 1980. ![]() Author King has famously derided the Kubrick adaptation as “misogynistic” and “cold,” but he did give his stamp of approval for “Doctor Sleep” last year. opened the movie, which went on to earn two Razzie Awards at the first ceremony in 1981. ![]() Sure, the movie has spawned countless imitations and parodies, the sequel “Doctor Sleep,” and even an entire documentary centered on its many obsessives and their far-fetched close reads with “Room 237.” But its legacy wasn’t certain when Warner Bros. Notably, the first Shining Force game was subsequently remade for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 under the name Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon.May 23 marks the 40th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s “ The Shining,” and while today it may be hard to dispute its masterpiece status, the Stephen King adaptation did not satisfy critics in 1980. Since then, the Shining Series has returned to consoles a number of times. The series then continued on to the Sega Saturn where it released Shining Force III in three volumes - though Camelot Software only issued the first volume in North America and Europe. Shining Force made its debut as part of the larger Shining Series on the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis in March 1992 followed by Shining Force II in 1993. There have been (mostly Japan-only) Shining spin-offs since that time, but the core Shining Force brand has been unused. The last new entry under the Shining Force name dates back to 2009 when Nintendo released Shining Force Feather for Nintendo DS and Shining Force Cross in arcades. Sega's turn-based RPG series has been dormant for a number of years now. Speaking about resurrecting the Shining Force legacy, a spokesperson from Vespa said, “We have prepared a game that will be enjoyed by many people, including existing users who have fond memories of the Shining series, as well as those who are new to Shining Force, and we hope that they will look forward to its release.” Still, despite pessimistic reviews, The Shining opened big for Warners, grossing 626,000 in just 10 theaters in its first four days, according to the AFI Catalog.
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