"The Shining" (1997) TV mini-series

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Mick Garris

Writers (WGA):

Stephen King (novel)
Stephen King (teleplay)

Release Date:

27 April 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Some guests never leave!

Plot:

A recovering alcoholic must wrestle with demons within and without when he and his family move into a haunted hotel as caretakers.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Caretaker | Recovering Alcoholic | Colorado | Writer

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Steven Weber	...	John 'Jack' Torrance
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Winifred 'Wendy' Torrance
Courtland Mead	...	Daniel "Danny" / "Doc" Anthony Torrance
Melvin Van Peebles	...	Richard "Dick" Hallorann
Wil Horneff	...	Tony
Pat Hingle	...	Pete Watson
Elliott Gould	...	Stuart Ullman
John Durbin	...	Horace 'Harry' Derwent
Stanley Anderson	...	Delbert Grady
Cynthia Garris	...	Decayed Lorraine Massey
Mickey Giacomazzi	...	Waiter (episodes 1, 3) (as Micky Giacomazzi)
Tomas Herrera	...	George Hatfield (episode 1)
Tim Perovich	...	Croquet Player (episode 1)
Kenn Solomon	...	Basketball Player (episode 1)
Jan Van Sickle	...	Al Shockley

Also Known As:

"Stephen King's The Shining" (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

273 min (3 parts)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Arvada, Colorado, USA

Company:

Lakeside Productions

Trivia:

Cameo: [Sam Raimi]The director of The Evil Dead and Spider-Man trilogies makes a cameo as the garage attendant who rents a snowmobile to Dick Halloran.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the family runs out of the hotel following the first snow storm, a yellow rental truck is visible on the far right of the screen, at the corner of the hotel (possibly widescreen only).

Quotes:

Danny Torrance: Being someone else, sometimes that's better.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Shining (1980)

Soundtrack:

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

When it's Kubrick vs. King...

A single statement: No film will be done justice if produced for a network. The censorship laws will simply not allow it. This is why I'm so perplexed as to why Stephen King has done two of his most prolific novels ("The Stand" and "The Shining") through network miniseries format. There's also one other reality our dear Mr. King is going to have to realize: While cornering the market on the written word, King's ideas fall as flat as two-day old soda on the big screen. The horrific adaptation of "Pet Sematary" and the cornball delivery of "The Stand" are just testaments that SK's books should remain locked in the binding. "The Green Mile" is the ONLY true-to-book adaptation of a King novel, and that's just because the director and studio deemed it necessary. I have heard an exorbitant amount of comparison between the miniseries "The Shining" and the Kubrick film, or the lack thereof, to be more precise. King has often said that he didn't like the 1980 film, and it should be used as an example of how not to make a horror film. King should realize that Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", while deviating from aspects of the author's story and changing the end, is still better than his own vision of the adaptation. As a King fan, one becomes aware of a certain mystique that makes his books addictive. However, seeing his films make one realize that King has quite a different opinion on the delivery of his work, as opposed to the darker opinions of his readers. In 1980, Stanley Kubrick presented the world with the first epic horror film. The fact that he changed the story and ending are dismissable, simply because Kubrick removed the useless flab from a mass of back story and (forgive me) somewhat cheesy happenings in the Overlook. The Kubrick film is better for two reasons: 1) It's a dark, moody descent into madness. The cinematography in Kubrick's film is revolutionary. King's own brainchild is lumbering and standard fare. 2) The ending of Kubrick's film is simply better. It's incredibly distrubing, whereas King's thoughts on the end of Jack Torrance's odyssey are somewhat... more redeeming. One gets the idea from Kubrick that the Overlook's evil is insurmountable and, indeed, necessary. King's conclusion is the common end of good overcoming evil, etc. End result -- When it's Kubrick vs. King, good ol' Stanley (R.I.P.) comes out on top. Regardless of whether King originated the story, Kubrick delivered it to glory, and made it an instant classic. King merely proved he could make a version of the film himself, and make the effort seem completely unnecessary in the process.