New "The Shining" DVD (abc mini-series) (1 Viewer)

[Matty P]

just an update here...I heard the target release month for the new Shining will be sometime in January but....in even better news "It" and "Cat's Eye" are being scheduled for OCTOBER!!! (so say my sources ) "It" should have a commentary with the director and some of the actors as well, I heard John Ritter's name mentioned...maybe an admin can modify the thread title to reflect this new info regarding "It"???

 

[Kevin Davis]

Awesome news, thanks for the info Matty! I was taking a mental inventory of SK films on DVD and was wondering about Cat's Eye too. Good to hear that it (and IT) are possibly on the agenda!

 

[Doug Schiller]

I've heard King speak recently about Kubrick's Shining. I agree with everything he says but I still think Kubrick made a fantastic film.
I don't remember the exact words but if I recall, King was on the set of the film a couple of times. His biggest beef was the film was too heavy on the crazy father instead of the ghosts of the hotel.
I could be talking out of my but, but the book (and the miniseries) shows how the father fights back and sacrifices himself to save his family.
I like both versions on their own terms. The Danny in the film is perfect but the Danny in the miniseries is awful (in my opinion).
Doug

 

[Joshua Moran]

I was going to sya it couldn't be released to soon. Because the whole hold up was that it had to air twice on broadcast TV before a home version was made available. But I can't wait for IT on DVD. Also I will be picking up The Shining come Janurary it was decent enough to watch again.

 

[Lyle_JP]

I heard the target release month for the new Shining will be sometime in January but....in even better news "It" and "Cat's Eye" are being scheduled for OCTOBER!!!

Thank god! Cat's Eye was shot Panavision 2.35:1 but has never been letterboxed on home video in North America. Not even on laserdisc and certainly not on VHS.

-Lyle J.P.

 

[TerryW]

These titles have been confirmed to be released by Warner Brothers over at the OFFICIAL Stephen King web site, www.stephenking.com
The Shining might make it out by the end of 2002 but will probably come out in early 2003. It will definately have a King commentary as well as interviews with director, Mick Garris and star, Steven Weber.
Cat's Eye and It are currently scheduled for Halloween 2002. [the site mistakenly listed these as a May 2002 release]
I hope Cat's Eye is widescreen. The director's other King film, Cujo, has been only available full-screen.

 

[Lyle_JP]

Just thought I'd add some more good news about prospects for The Shining Miniseries on DVD. The reason it has taken so long is that one of the stipulations from ABC was that they had to air it twice before it could be releaseed on home video.
Well folkes, tonight begins the second airing of The Shining on ABC! That clears the way for the video release!
-Lyle J.P.
P.S. Yeah! My 250th post!

 

[Jack Johnson]

King thought Kubrick didn't "get" horror, that he was too reserved a stylist for the pulp shocks and scares The Shining needed.

King also said--a rough quote--"Stanley is a man who thinks too much and feels too little."

I don't agree on either count. Kubrick elevated King, and the result was too cerebral for most people looking for a more base sort of catharsis. King is the only guy who could thumb his nose at an elegant, spectral masterpiece like Kubrick's film. Maybe he's entitled, being the author of the source inspiration. I think the titles of the Kubrick version should be amended to read "based loosely on the book by Stephen King", as Kubrick clearly did his own thing with it.

I think the best adaptations eventually throw the book away anyway, because there's a recognition that the forms of film and fiction are so fundamentally different, that there's no "faithful" way to shoot a novel.


My votes for the best of the King adaptations:

The Shining --Kubrick
Carrie --De Palma
The Dead Zone --Cronenberg
Christine --Carpenter

 

[Jack Briggs]

From one Jack to another, I applaud your post.

I thought that Kubricks version sucked! The mini-series actually kept close to the book.

Stanley Kubrick, instead, chose to make his own film, not a celluloid mirror of the pulp novel. To the filmmaker, the ultimate horror was the human mind's capacity for self-delusion and unspeakable crimes. There were allusions to and perceptions of the "supernatural," but one can never be completely sure. (See the above post again.)

Far from "not getting" horror, Mr. Kubrick knew it very well.

As for the sets on Eyes Wide Shut: New York doesn't look like the "real" New York for a specific reason. The stylized look of the set is intentional. And effective.

 

[Jordan_E]

I truly love Kubrick's THE SHINING, but I'm glad to have the other version out on DVD if only to flesh out some of the story; I didn't think it was great, but I enjoyed seeing some of the scenes from the book (wasps) played out in the miniseries. And for some reason, I really like the IT miniseries, even if it borders on true cheese.

 

[Christopher P]

This isn't true in the book, the change of heart Jack experiences at the boiler at the end of the mini-series is not in the book. I think it is one of the best aspects of the movie too. To think that Jack would hear the words of Danny, and that he wouldn't let Horace, Grady, and the Hotel win, so to speak.

I enjoyed the mini-series, my favorite King adaptation I guess, wonderful acting (yes that kid is horrid!) and I liked the pacing (too slow for some maybe). And IT is my favorite book of all time, and while the 14 actors (7 adults, 7 kids) who played the 7 losers were brilliantly cast, I thought this movie was horrible. Sort of missed the whole point of the book I think.

Chris

 

[Scott Burke]

Yes, it is, well partly, in the book he smashes his own face with a hammer or croquet racket, and tells danny to run. So he does have a change of heart for his family.

As far as I can remeber.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I'll just say the mini-series will be the only Shining I own on DVD and leave it at that. I also could not stand the IT adaptation, though. I may rent it once IT's out (heh) to see if I've changed my mind, but I doubt if I will have.

On the other hand, I liked Storm of the Century quite a bit. Linoge was one creepy dude.

 

[TheoGB]

King is a great writer. The Shining is not a 'pulp novel'. He has a gift few other writers in his field, or indeed any writing field, posess: He creates incredibly strong characters.

People are apt to consider horror a 'lesser' form of writing. Such people should read books like the Dark Tower series, Hearts in Atlantis or Dolores Claiborne (ruined for cinema, IMO) - novels that are very much *not* of the standard horror genre.

I really really like Kubrick's version of The Shining. It is very strongly based on the book, but the key difference, IMO, is that each character becomes a two-dimensional version of their book form, showing only one side of their personality.

 

[John Berggren]

I've never understood why SK had a problem with Kubrick's film. The Shining is a masterpeice. However, having not read the book, I'm sure it differs greatly from the original. Kubrick was not one to be strictly faithful to source material.

I'll be interested to see this should it come out on DVD.

I still have never bought the Stand. It is by far my favorite SK book (the edited version), but the miniseries never sit perfectly with me.

I felt Molly Ringwald was the WRONG choice for Frannie, and that King spliced in too much from the complete and uncut while excising from the original, near perfect, edition. Someday I may bite my tongue and buy it, since I so enjoy the story. Or I'll just stick with my well beaten OOP softcover.

 

[Joshua Moran]

My problem wit Horror stories now a days is that they aren't scary. The great thing about The Shining is that it is a creepy story no matter how it's told. I like both versions in their own aspects. My fav out of the 2 would be Kubrick's version. My problem with watching the TV adaptations as they air, they always show upcoming scenes before the commerical break. This completly removes me from the film and flat out ruins whats going to happen next. The only time they stop is when the final commercial break happens they show a previous scene so they don't ruin the ending. I have written NBC and ABC to stop this with their mini-series but they don't seem to listen. Maybe with the encouragement from this forum they would stop. So please write to NBC and ABC to stop spoiling their TV movies.

 

[Esten]

Anyone know the OAR of the mini-series?
It was made when 1.78 for tv was becoming commonplace,so it could be so.

 

[JoshB]

Its currently on ABC right now as I speak. Part 2 anyways. Coincidence?

 

[Steve Schaffer]

ABC is rerunning it now. My local ABC affilliate is the only network station I can get in HD, and The Shining is running upconverted in 4/3, so I doubt if the dvd will be widescreen.

I have Storm of the Century and Rose Red on dvd, both made since The Shining, and they are also 4/3 as is The Stand.

I will still buy The Shining and It on dvd.

 

[Jordan_E]

After years of talking it up, my wife finally read THE SHINING and thought it was the scariest book she ever read, and was I ever relieved! But now she said it ruined the Kubrick movie for her, as it is nothing like the book. Oh well, I read the book so many years ago that I simply consider it a different animal from either filmed version.