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I know, I own them too. M is indeed very impressive and in sense very actual as well.
Good stuf, I have two movie boxes with several movies with them. They keep me laughing even if their humour is at least 70 years old.
I have Coconuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers and the great movie that is Duck Soup. Had the later movies on video cassette, Night at the opera, Day at the races and Big store etc though felt after Duck soup the films were more plot based and less anarchic comedy :-)
But they are still a in a seperate class of their own when it comes to visual comedy and innuendo.
True still good movies, i should try to get the later movies on dvd and revisit them. I gave all my videos away were occupying way too much space. I still question that decision :-)
I did buy the boxsets in various sales, and am pleased enough about having them.
I'd probably put that as one of Nicholson's biggest movie hits, above The Shining, The Last Detail or One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. I don't remember the ending, but recognize it as a very good film release from all I remember
Last movie watched would be Phone Booth with Colin Farrell, although didn't see every minute of it, it gets a bit dull in places and does drag on, but the concept is good and it's a pity Keifer Sutherland is never seen for almost the entire duration. An actor of caliber
<center><font size = 4>part 11</font></center>
<center><font color = darkblue size = 6>THE SHINING (1980)</font></center>
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Even if you're no fan of Kubrick or not interested in his body of work, The Shining may still appeal to your basic love for Horror. This is after all one of the more critically acclaimed spooky films of all times. To quote Seth Grahame-Smith:
The best movie ever made? Or merely the best horror movie ever made? A question for the ages.
So what is there to say that folks don't already know? Kubrick shot a lot of footage from a helicopter that Ridley Scott was allowed to use for the closing scene in Blade Runner's theatrical cut. The many pages full of Jack's repeated line were typed manually by one person who had to re-start a page at the merest error. Little Danny Lloyd didn't even know he was starring in a scary film. Kubrick challenged Steadicam use and obtained new creative ways for operating the camera. ...
Of course it all begins with the fact of this film being based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. However, Kubrick rewrote the story to properly fit his film and thereby down-pressed some of the supernatural elements, including the titular 'shining'. Professor Leo Braudy wrote for The Book Of Lists: Horror the following:
Stephen King hated Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining (1980), and I have a lot of trouble with it myself, especially when Kubrick and/or his coscreenwriter Diane Johnson seem to go to such great lenghts to show that "shining" makes no difference at all. But there are still a lot of great things in it. [...] But the great terror moment for me is when Jack gazes down at the model of the maze in the lobby of the Overlook and we gradually realize we are seeing the tiny figures of Wendy and Danny walking in it. It's the first moment that it's clear that the hotel has started to take Jack over and absorb him into its malevolent spirit.
I can see the professor's point but for me things will get vastly more terrifying as the film progresses. Jack will fight his duality for a while and as he does so, all the elements around him conspire against him. The part where you really see Jack turn dark, is when he encounters many people... who aren't supposed to be there.
Jack Nicholson is a character actor and one of the greatest that ever live(d). The Shining is one of the highlights in his career. He had no difficulties communicating the various stages in his transformation from loving husband and father to axe wielding Johnny. No other mortal man would have shined in the role so much. And Shelley Duvall, not exactly an attractive woman in this film, seems cast for her natural confused and terrified looks. Scatman Crothers does fairly little in the film but what he does, leaves a lasting impression. Joe Turkel, who had already starred in Kubrick's The Killing as well as Paths Of Glory and who would soon be seen as Dr Tyrell in Blade Runner, gives an amazing performance as the quiet and literally shining bar tender. Philip Stone, the nice dad from Clockwork, who had also been cast in Barry Lyndon, remains stoic throughout the film but might actually be one of the scariest characters of all.
King may have a valid point when he says that Kubrick didn't quite leave his story intact. But to tell the truth, I think he re-imagined the story to fit his personal vision. And you can do a lot worse than to fall victim to Kubrick's vision I think. The Shining is one of those pivotal horror flicks for me. It needs little explicit material - although certain images will remain printed on your brain once you've absorbed them - to terrify us, even now in 2013, because the subtext crawls under your skin very early on in the film. The opening credits themselves are enough to instil fear in my heart and neither the scenery nor the music help to purge it.
Back in '80, The Shining provided an intellectual counterweight to the sudden explosion of the meaty slasher films but it didn't perform so well at first. Yet very soon, The Shining would rise to immortality, reaching top position on many horror fan's lists of favourite scary movies. Even those who normally stay away from horror films, have little trouble appreciating The Shining. There was even a TV-miniseries aired in 1997, also called The Shining, ironically teleplayed by King himself. Yet you can guess which version most people have seen and will continue to see.
Stanley Kubrick has made what is arguably the best Sci-Fi film ever, the best swords and sandals film ever, the best WWI film ever, the best political satire ever, ... and I think we can add to that the best ghost house film ever. I love Ti West's output but I can definitely spot the heavy influence of The Shining on The Innkeepers. And let's face it, there are more houses / hotels / ... that play tricks on groups of people. Even the Event Horizon spaceship has a creepy shining thing going one way or another. We may thank King for thinking up the premise but we owe it to Kubrick to extract it to cinematic perfection.
Final score: 9,5/10
DD's Stanley Kubrick retrospective score card:
2001: A Space Odyssey: 11/10
The Shining: 9,5/10
Dr. Strangelove: 9,5/10
A Clockwork Orange: 9/10
Lolita: 9/10
Paths Of Glory: 9/10
Spartacus: 8,5/10
The Killing: 8,5/10
Barry Lyndon: 8/10
Killer's Kiss: 6,5/10
Fear And Desire: 5/10
DD's Michael Mann retrospective score card:
HEAT: 10/10
The Insider: 9/10
Thief: 9/10
Collateral: 8,5/10
Miami Vice: 8/10
Manhunter: 8/10
Public Enemies: 7,5/10
Ali: 7/10
The Last Of The Mohicans: 7/10
The Keep: 5,5/10
DD's David Fincher retrospective score card:
Seven: 9,5/10
The Social Network: 9,5/10
Zodiac: 8,5/10
The Game: 8/10
Panic Room: 8/10
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: 8/10
Alien³: 7,5/10
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: 7,5/10
Fight Club: 7/10
I've been an X-Men fan since as long as I can remember. Watching the Singer films is a joy. Watching the Ratner film is part joy and part frustration. Watching the Gavin Hood X-Men Origins: Wolverine 'prequel' is a burden. Vaughn's X-Men First Class is a pleasure.
And now, in anticipation of Days Of Future Past, we get The Wolverine, a much needed new addition to the cinematic legacy of the X-Men. I can say right now: I love it! (despite our good friend Colonel Moon from DAD making an appearance. ;-))
Jackman is pumped up for a few rounds against some tough Japanese guys in this beautiful rendition of one of Chris Claremont's coolest stories ever. We're post-Phoenix with this one so this is not a direct sequel to X-Men Origins! Good to know, hey? ;-) We get another bit of Bond fame as 47 year old Femke makes regular appearances too. (This is not a spoiler; she gets enough billing for that. ;-)) Despite both Jackman and Femke having aged significantly since Singer's first X-Men, it felt like I was right back in that early X-Men atmosphere. There's not a single moment in this film when I feel like this is an afterthought for these actors. In fact, I'm pumped up myself for Days Of Future Past.
There's a very good story in the film with emotion and enough character material as well as action to please all. And let's not forget other mutants. There's at least one more, and she actually takes me back to Nick Fury Agent Of SHIELD. Again, not a spoiler since I doubt that anyone ever saw this David Hasselhoff vehicle besides me. ;-)
Will it do Iron Man 3 numbers? I don't know. I can't predict how bankable Jackman is versus Robert Downey Jr but for me, personally, The Wolverine is the better film of these two. While Iron Man 3 felt like it was still thriving on the fumes of the very first Iron Man, The Wolverine feels more like the next chapter, the real "phase 2", but then for the X-Men and not for The Avengers. (Note to self: X-Men versus Avengers - it works in comic book form, but will they ever go there in film? Would be awesome though.) Either way, with Avengers going nuts at the BO last year, and Iron Man 3 digging up more gold for Marvel this year, could it be that The Wolverine is about to score 3 for 3?
I love pretty much all comic book stuff put out so far in film (and that includes the obscure Dr Strange film that got a very limited release in the 70s ;-)). My absolute favourites, however, are DC's Batman and Marvel's X-Men. I'm into the comics as well as the films for both. With The Wolverine, it's another Marvel strike for me. I'm inclined to go see it again, if only for what they did with Logan's story.
Oh and one more thing. You might want to stay in your seats during the end credits. Just saying... ;-)
As for The Shining - I am one of those people who generally do not like horror films (shocking, eh?). And I hate slasher/bloody films. Just not my cup of tea, that's all. However, The Shining is a genuinely frightening, shimmering, spellbinding, gripping tale. It is the best horror movie I have ever seen - including the one that made me want to throw up, The Exorcist, and another old silent film that is beyond creepy (another masterpiece, in my opinion), Nosferatu.
The Shining is immaculately filmed, edited, paced, everything ... acting is superior, mood is perfect. Kubrick was indeed a master filmmaker. It is pretty much a perfect film, I think. I may have to watch it again soon; it has been ages.
Red rum, red rum ... here I come. ;)
Only Kubrick could even make title cards scary: "Tuesday", "Saturday" etc. One of the few films that terrifies me from start to finish.
Yes! The whole film is crafted with great care, all details. I need to get it soon.
I myself wouldn't quite go there, @chrisisall, but I sure am a fan of that little known film. It is genuinely scary, despite the presence of the ever lovable Roddy McDowall.
It's in my DVD collection but I doubt I have watched it in the past 2 years. That said, I've seen it enough not to forget its ominous atmosphere and its great cast. And I'm getting itchy to watch it again soon, thanks to you, @chrisisall. :)
After reading Lovecraft's tale of Herbert West: Re-Animator, I had to re-watch the film. And I still love it. Stuart Gordon is a director I know, of course, from such films as From Beyond and Dagon. Producer Bryan Yuzna, who would go on directing the two sequels to Re-Animator, is also a familiar force of horror in my DVD collection. He gave me such bizarre films as Silent Night, Deadly Night 4 and Return of the Living Dead III, but also the brilliant Society. Actor Jeffrey Combs is so delicious in the part of Herbert West. Add to that the pleasant score and the juicy special effects, and I'm sold. Re-Animator is not an Oscar winning classic, but for those who can enjoy 80s special effects and a mixture of horror and comedy, Re-Animator is a must see film. The funny thing is that I usually don't like comedy mixed in with my horror, which is why I never fully opened up to the first two Return Of The Living Dead films, to Army Of Darkness, to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and many more. But for some reason, Re-Animator makes it happen just the way I like it. It's a film I continue to enjoy no matter how often I've seen it.