Whenever we hear the name Stanley Kubrick, the poster, scene or a shot from The Shining will come to our mind - most probably " Here's Johnny!". For a legendary filmmaker like Kubrick who has multiple masterpieces to his credit, would still be fine if he had never even made this film. But still, there would be some great missing which will be felt! That's because of The Shining's ability to penetrate the viewer's mind, even the subconscious, and imprint an influence in its deeper depths. How the movie hooks the viewer with its horror which is created from several dimensions is a remarkable factor that makes this film an all-perfect masterpiece that is thrilling and exciting even after watching it umpteen times.
How Kubrick created the horror, just one among the many factors that make the film a great one (still a very important one though), is so deep and mind-blowing, he builds tension in the viewer with enough substance written in the screenplay to showcase on the screen, and perfectly well-tuned and tastefully directed horror. Most importantly, the background music and sounds have immense depth with its structuring crafted to the innermost core and the finely touched upper layers. The actors give performances that are dramatically aesthetic and showcase facial expressions that are realistic to the utmost extent. As the film progresses the anticipation for something scary to expect in the upcoming scenes is created successfully and the anticipation that it created is also executed by scaring the viewer with horrors of huge intensity.
One thing that is found in this film is something of a variety. It's the portrayal of the supernatural in a very realistic manner, which is done in a subtle way that doesn't let the viewer know that it's a realistic portrayal of the supernatural he won't even care to notice it. Because that's how successfully it's done. And what's the use of it? It has an impact on the viewer which affects how he perceives the film, and that too which will be something of an advantage for the filmmaker.
I don't intend to say anything about the story of the film, whether it's supernatural horror or the breakdown of a madman's mind, is still debated among cinephiles, even 40 years after the film's release. And that's also a thing which makes the film a great one! Rather than just showing what the maker wants to show, Kubrick lets the viewer decide what the film is, by making him analyse the film from his perspective and come up with an interpretation. This is a form of interactive cinema, an indirect one though.
The Shining is one of the greatest horror masterpieces or even one of the best films of all time.
How Kubrick created the horror, just one among the many factors that make the film a great one (still a very important one though), is so deep and mind-blowing, he builds tension in the viewer with enough substance written in the screenplay to showcase on the screen, and perfectly well-tuned and tastefully directed horror. Most importantly, the background music and sounds have immense depth with its structuring crafted to the innermost core and the finely touched upper layers. The actors give performances that are dramatically aesthetic and showcase facial expressions that are realistic to the utmost extent. As the film progresses the anticipation for something scary to expect in the upcoming scenes is created successfully and the anticipation that it created is also executed by scaring the viewer with horrors of huge intensity.
One thing that is found in this film is something of a variety. It's the portrayal of the supernatural in a very realistic manner, which is done in a subtle way that doesn't let the viewer know that it's a realistic portrayal of the supernatural he won't even care to notice it. Because that's how successfully it's done. And what's the use of it? It has an impact on the viewer which affects how he perceives the film, and that too which will be something of an advantage for the filmmaker.
I don't intend to say anything about the story of the film, whether it's supernatural horror or the breakdown of a madman's mind, is still debated among cinephiles, even 40 years after the film's release. And that's also a thing which makes the film a great one! Rather than just showing what the maker wants to show, Kubrick lets the viewer decide what the film is, by making him analyse the film from his perspective and come up with an interpretation. This is a form of interactive cinema, an indirect one though.
The Shining is one of the greatest horror masterpieces or even one of the best films of all time.