In an interview with ew, producers jan harlan and diane johnson explain the steps that were taken in making the film, and the decisions made by director stanley kubrick to create the final ending. At the end of kings the shining, the overlook hotel exploded after jack torrance left the boiler room unmonitored. The death is also nothing like jacks fate in the novelization of the shining, written by stephen king. Stanley kubricks the shining was released in 1980, and since has been hailed as one of the greatest horror movies ever made. Stanley kubricks the shining had a much darker alternate. Oct 17, 2016 the first book of yours i ever read was it, right after i finished a week of grueling law school exams. Here are all the major differences between the book and film versions of the shining you need to know before seeing doctor sleep. Doctor sleep recreates part of the shining books ending, not the. I also own the movie it is quite different from the book but i love them both, i know what you mean about why you didnt think jack nicholson was the right casting for the jack torrance character.
Based on the novel of the same name by stephen king, the shining follows jack torrance jack nicholson, an aspiring writer and recovering. But in the book the ending of the novel the shining ended with the explosion of the overlook hotel as seen in the movie of doctor sleep. The shining had a much darker alternate ending, and it. One of the many mysteries of stanley kubricks the shining is why jack appears in the photo at the end, and it actually has a semisimple explanation. The shining, by stephen king, is slowly but surely changing that perception. Theres the sense that a great talent has been wasted. A solid commercial success for the film which opens here next week would confirm one of kubrick.
The shining, one of the stephen kings bestselling novels and the film that has had a huge impact in pop culture, finally has the ending explained. Jan 21, 2020 the doctor sleep ending bridges the gap between stephen kings book the shining and stanley kubricks movie, which king famously hated. He ended up in the bar and was served drinks by a bartender named grady. Differences between the shining book vs movie page 1. Okay this is going to be long, maybe a little rambling, and full of spoilers. And we can see why its a book by stephen king, a film by stanley kubrick, and the. Stephen king has also written doctor sleep which is the shining book two. Few authors have been adapted as many times as king has, and it chapter two is far from the first king movie to deviate from his original ending. The interpretation of the ending is going to depend a lot on your interpretation of the film. The true story behind the legendary lost ending of the shining. The scene where jack goes into room 217 after danny returns with the bruises is one of my all time favourite book scenes and still gives me a chill.
Stephen king hated kubricks adaptation of the shining, singling out the ending in. The final, terrible shot of jack on the ground, his frozen face forever stuck in its maniacal, upwardlooking openmouth gaze, instantly freezes itself into the brain of anyone who. In dannys case, the future is perhaps even more murky. In the novel, jack manages to fight the hotels possession long enough for him to tell danny to run for his life. Director mike flanagan and producer trevor macy on recreating the overlook hotel, casting the shining doppelgangers and necessary diversions from stephen kings book in doctor sleep. Stephen kings the shining is a classic piece of literature and stanley kubricks cinematic version shares the same cult status. Buy a cheap copy of the shining book by stephen king. For me, the film is primarily about the cycle of violence and how people ca.
Whats the difference between the shining the book and the shining the movie. I am not going to go on and on about how frustrating it must be for someone of kings prolificity and stature to have people think that his best novel was written 22 years and 30some books ago. The ending was changed almost entirely because kubrick found it a cliche to just blow everything up, she explained. Stephen kings original version of the shining ended differently than the film version that was directed by stanley kubrick. Heres every difference between the shining book and. In the movie the motivation of the ghosts is to possess jack torrance to get him to kill danny. In the shining, socioeconomic class is presented as an underlying motive for jacks descent into madness. Which means the ending of the doctor sleep novel was also. It is regarded in some quarters as kings best book. The most debated element of the shinings ending is the revelation in the final shot that jack is present in a photo of the overlooks fourth of july party in 1921. Although he associates the hotel with luxury, he is somewhat defined by his role as its caretaker, a menial position.
Stephen kings original ending to the shining featured the overlook hotel burning down thanks to a furnace. For the first time, the shinings producer and cowriter explain in detail why the horror tales ending changed from stephen kings novel and how it evolved again and again during the filming. The shining was the first stephen king novel i ever read, and its still one of my favourites. Flanagans doctor sleep draws heavily on elements in the book version of the shining that kubrick didnt use, restaging some unused scenes from the original novel with the characters from king. Top 10 differences between the shining book and movie youtube. Heres why stanley kubrick ditched the shinings original. Check out his first column below, exploring the shining. Nov 06, 2019 here are all the major differences between the book and film versions of the shining you need to know before seeing doctor sleep. As the film develops, it becomes more mysterious, ambiguous, threatening, and hallucinatory. The doctor sleep ending bridges the gap between stephen kings book the shining and stanley kubricks movie, which king famously hated. Mar 31, 2017 if you look at any list claiming to rank the best horror movies of all time, theres a good chance that youll see director stanley kubricks 1980 classic the shining either at or near the top of.
The tension felt when jack jack nicholson chases danny danny lloyd through the hotel grounds is incredible. The movie, the shining, is a cinematic masterpiece directed by stanley kubrick. Eclipsed perhaps only by its 1980 film adaptation, the novel is one of the most popular and enduring horror stories of all time. Stanley kubricks the shining has one hell of an ending. For the first time, the shinings producer and cowriter explain in detail why the horror tales ending changed from stephen kings novel and. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen kings novel. At the end of the shining, why is jack in the photo of the.
As the offseason caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, hell have plenty. At first, it feels like a traditional horror setup a guy gets hired to spend the winter in an enormous hotel, secluded from civilization, where obviously something will go very wrong. Top 10 differences between the shining book and movie. The shining is a tragedy, and wed be remiss to classify the ending otherwise. Jack torrances new job at the overlook hotel is the perfect chance. Jan 29, 2019 the most debated element of the shining s ending is the revelation in the final shot that jack is present in a photo of the overlooks fourth of july party in 1921. In the final shots of stanley kubricks the shining, the audience sees the corpse of jack torrance jack nicholson frozen to death in the hedge maze where he tried to kill his wife wendy. The shining is the story of jack torrance, who is employed as the caretaker of the gargantuan overlook hotel in colorado one winter. The shining is a horror novel by american author stephen king. The true story behind the legendary lost ending of the. The film version made big changes to the character of jack overall, and subsequently, many elements of the story were completely modified to better represent the character the picture was working with. But if youve read the book and watched the film, its. The book reached the first position on the new york times best seller list for print and ebook fiction combined, hardcover fiction, and ebook fiction. At the end of the shining, why is jack in the photo of.
According to the cowriter of the shining film, diane johnson. Firmly situated in the working class, jack begins the film unemployed, and we meet him at a job interview. Ending spoiler for the shining 1980, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. Jun 05, 2015 stephen kings the shining is a classic piece of literature and stanley kubricks cinematic version shares the same cult status. Mar 30, 2017 for the first time, the shining s producer and cowriter explain in detail why the horror tales ending changed from stephen kings novel and how it evolved again and again during the filming.
He thought there might be something else that would be metaphorically and visually more interesting the talkiness of the book was also discussed. It was a singular reading experience, where the book was there for me when i needed an escape and i became immersed in it in a way i hadnt since i was a child. Note this was also used for the remake 2007 shining movie, where instead of a bee hive its a different insect nest which fills up that night when it was suppose to be empty. Jun 26, 2018 stephen kings book the shining and stanley kubricks corresponding adaptation are both staples of the horror genre, but theyre also very different beasts. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen. As amazing as the ending to doctor sleeps movie sounds, the ending for stephen kings book was way different. The ending was changed almost entirely because kubrick found it a cliche to just blow everything up. The shining crew reveal why stanley kubrick didnt blow. Differences between the shining book vs movie page 2. Stephen kings book the shining and stanley kubricks corresponding adaptation are both staples of the horror genre, but theyre also very different beasts. The shining is a gothic horror novel by stephen king, first published in 1977. Jun 05, 2019 the book, the shining, is a literary masterpiece written by stephen king. With ghosts, visions and psychological horror, the shining by stephen king is a very good horror story, i would say one of his best, right up there with the likes of salems lot which is another sk novel that i recommend if you enjoy horror.
After telling wendy and danny to get out, jack tries to. Jack torrances new job at the overlook hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. Masseys rotting corpse in the shining is unsettling whether youre reading the book, watching kubricks film, or checking out kings miniseries where. The shining novel, however, has a very different ending, and one that even made way for a sequel. The shining, one of the stephen kings bestselling novels and the film that has had a huge impact in pop culture, finally has the ending explained in an interview with ew, producers jan harlan and diane johnson explain the steps that were taken in making the film, and the decisions made by director stanley kubrick to create the final ending. My book tell it to the bees was made into a film but. Kings book is a direct sequel to his 1977 novel the shining, and most definitely not a direct sequel to the 1980 film directed by stanley kubrick. Without the maze, the ending of the book is very different from the movie. At the end of the novel, jack had ignored the boiler for too long, and the hotel explodes.
The shining is stanley kubricks bid for a super hit, his attempt to even a number of scores. Stanley kubricks the shining had a much darker alternate ending. One thing that kubrick wasnt worried about was the ending or any of the film making strictly literal sense, even though his lack of story and production continuity sometimes confused crew members and eventually spawned a myriad of shining conspiracy theories. That night i dreamed of my threeyearold son running through the. Stephen king is happy to crap on stanley kubricks film version of his novel the shining whenever possible. At the end of the film, jack and the overlook freeze. Published in 1977, it is kings third published novel and first hardback bestseller. Though she may not always seem it at first glance because she spends much. May 20, 2015 whats the difference comes at you this week with one of the most popular viewer suggestions. Nov 08, 2019 but in the book the ending of the novel the shining ended with the explosion of the overlook hotel as seen in the movie of doctor sleep. Lets talk about the ending of mike flanagans doctor sleep movie, and how it diverges from stephen kings novel and stanley kubricks version of the shining. I am 12 and i have read cujo, misery, and now reading the shining. My book tell it to the bees was made into a film but they changed the ending for a straight audience. The shinings 1980 hedge maze chase is one of the most iconic endings in horror history.
This summary of the shining includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. Doctor sleep is a 20 horror novel by american writer stephen king and the sequel to his 1977 novel the shining. His wife wendy, son danny, and even dick hallorann were able to survive the. How does the ending of the shining differ from stephen king. Whats the difference comes at you this week with one of the most popular viewer suggestions. In the novel, the shining ends with the death of jack, as well as the hotel that goes up in flames due to an aging boiler. Movie, hell be taking a critical look at movie adaptations of horror novels. Were considering expanding this synopsis into a fulllength study guide to deepen your comprehension of the book and why its important. What is the explanation of the ending of the shining. But kubricks original version of the film included another scene inserted between these two iconic.
708 982 865 1148 103 325 357 609 1351 454 626 1120 1286 1086 190 1090 879 29 831 578 178 1130 1341 1537 1039 1484 804 497 132 1054 98 498 105 1461