Has anyone seen the Kubrick version of The Shining? Someone mentioned it to me, and I loved the book so I thought I'd watch it.
I suppose my main question is: Does it completely stuff up what is in the book and the scaryness of it? I really loved the book but don't want to disappointed by the movie.

The Shining remains the only book that has really scared me so far, so I'm hoping the movie will be even better.

I've read the book and seen the film, although it's been quite a while since clapping eyes on both.

I believe there are quite some alterations from the book; in general it's quite hard to create a single film with the same depth and atmosphere as the book, to which 'The Shining' is no exception.

Especially for Stephen King, the horror part is usually not only a matter of mysterious things happening but also of the terrifying confrontations with the darker sides of the soul.

The movie 'The Shining' was quite scary as far as I can remember, but skips some of the themes contributing to the doubt and the mystery about what is actually happening.

To make a good movie, imo you have to make a choice between themes to keep it from getting cluttered, and I think an obvious choice has been made in this case (at least between different interpretations of what's really going on).

Although King reportedly wasn't very happy with the casting of Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrence I think he quite fits the role.

Conclusion: it's a film worth to watch in itself, but keep in mind that it doesn't have the depth and extent of the book. I think this is a typical example of a film that stirs different reactions in different people, and that whether or not the scaryness of the film captures that of the book depends on what you found the scariest parts of the book.

The Kubrick version is terrifying, but as vene said, it isn't really true to the book. I love it, simply because I love Jack Nicholson, and he is brilliant in it.
However, if you want to see something that is almost EXACTLY true to the book, try to get the 1997 mini-series. It was created by Stephen King himself, and stars Steven Weber as Jack Torrance. It is VERY scary, and IMO really captures the terror and mysteriousness of the book. King totally oversaw the direction of this one, and even shot the exterior (and some of the interior) scenes at the very hotel in Colorado that inspired him to write the book. I thought the acting was superb, and the little boy who plays Danny is so believeable. Highly recommended! (set aside a big block of time - there are 4 parts, 65 minutes each!)

King is one of those guys that it seems especially difficult to make a satisfying 2-hour movie out of his books (especially the gadzillions of his avid readers would likely say so). TV miniseries work better, historically. Less gets left out, of course, for the sake of time restraints and continuity - try to imagine watching that TV event "It" all in one night / two hours? Watchable, I'm sure, but fragmented and chopped to bits, in terms of the story presentation. So, as a translation of the novel itself, "The Shining" left lots of Stephen King fans unimpressed. It was necessary to tell the story (top-to-bottom, some thought) in too short a space of time. I totally agree, vene, that a lot of "clutter" (clutter so necessary to get the fully-impacting story) just had to be discarded. Ergo, champions of the book seemed somewhat collectively disappointed in the film, I think.

That said, Stanley Kubrick is a master filmmaker. The movie he made is, as cinema, bloody brilliant in spots. What it lacks, occasionally, in smooth storytelling it makes up for [vividly] in outstanding images and visual thunder. But that stands only as MY opinion. Most people I've talked it over with either loved the movie bunches or hated the movie with equal bunches. I was the rare "middle-grounder". I think the film was visually fascinating and I liked it a lot (while never quite loving it). I did, though, like the film better than the novel (but I'm not exactly a fan of King to the point that most are). For me, it was almost apples and oranges trying to compare the two versions of the story. Both fruits from the same orchard, I reckon ... but from very distinctly different trees.

Also, I should add that I saw the movie before I read the book, years ago. I'm sure that makes a HUGE difference in perceptions, all-around. I started reading with Nicholson's Torrance already in my head. And Shelley Duvall as Wendy, etc. As I went, I could easily see why die-hard fans of the book [first] would have likely never envisioned those two in the parts they ended up with on screen. For me, though, they both (and the other few) seemed ideally cast in the project they were in. Except that little boy. Something about him gave me an itch. But, heck, all he really got to do was run around all bug-eyed saying "redrum" every chance he got . Not entirely interesting to watch, after the first twenty minutes of it.

So, anyway, lioness - I'd recommend you watch the movie and enjoy it for what it is. Think of the book as merely a guideline for a slightly related scary adventre. And, let me finally say, there were several parts of that movie that were scary indeed. It's a different kind of 'terror' than you might go into it expecting. But it's absolutely there ... and worth seeing.

Thanks everyone for your input. I will have a look at both versions I think, the first chance I get. If there's one thing I don't like, it's when the movie completely abandons the book, but it doesn't sound as if it will abandon the book too much.

Excellent book and movie.

Every time we visit Estes Park, we drive by the The Stanley Hotel. Apparently, when Stephen King stayed in the hotel, it inspired him to write the Shining. He renamed the hotel The Overlook.

I concur with Cinnamon, she is right about the miniseries being truer to King's novel. Part of the problem with the original 1980 film is that technology didn't allow for all things in the book to appear in the movie version, namely the topiary bushes. In the novel they changed shape and there was no way to believably convey that in the film version. I have always wanted to see the Steven King miniseries starring Steven Weber, and I still cannot find it anywhere. I've read great things about this version and I am certain it will not disappoint. Nothing against the Kubrick version, as I still find many scenes to be quite unnerving, and I really enjoyed Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann too. I still get the heeby-jeebies when think of Danny riding his bike in the hallway....

I think that the animal bushes were what scared me the most...but the maze still sounds scary.

There is another version of The Shining that was on TV in 3 nights. I liked it a lot because it was closer to the book. For instance, the hedge animals that moved really did in this version. In Kubrick's version he substituted a hedge maze. There's a lot more detail in this one.

--Carol

Gotta agree with everyone here - the movie is a pretty good movie, but it isn't really "The Shining".

The book is especially disturbing to anyone who has lived with alcoholism or mental illness - the way the person you love is transformed into a monster, and you can't quite believe it's happening. And the way the loved one is still there, faint and doomed, under the monster. I would say that anyone who grew up in an alcoholic home should be wary of this book - it might open some old doors.

The movie doesn't really explore any of that deep territory, it's just a well made horror flick.

This is one of my fav books. I loved the Jack Nicholson movie, but it isn't the book. The mini-series was a perfect recreation, but not as chilling as Jack's Jack. Ya know? Still, I'd recommend the mini-series over the film for those who are died hard lovers of the book.

Salem's Lot remains my favorite all time story to read. This is coming from someone who kneels at the throne of JK Rowling without shame.

Wendy

I totally agree with Gamemaster, apart from the minor detail of my favourite novel being The Shining, not Salem's Lot. I read The Shining one weekend when I was home alone, some 5 kilometres from my nearest neighbour.. I have never been so scared in my life !

I just checked half.com and you can get a copy of the mini-series in either DVD or VHS for practically nothing. Just FYI, when looking for it, the mini-series is entitled "Stephen King's The Shining." Don't watch it alone...

The Jack Nicholson version of "The Shining" is one of my all-time favorite movies. Two things that still stand out vividly in my memory:

1. The ominous music in the opening scenes definitely gives the impression that something bad is about to happen.

2. The movie scene where Jack Torrance chops through a locked bathroom door to get at his terrified wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall). Jack Nicholson improvised the line "Heerreee's Johnny!" in this scene. The look in Nicholson's eyes is chilling.