Reviews of Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition)

Stephen King's The Shining

Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 29 May 2007 02:37 (A review of Stephen King's The Shining (Two Disc Special Edition))

(this is really the equivalent of three discs, not two, as disc 1 is double-sided)

I finally was able to add this to my collection, as I am an avid Stephen King fan, despite the fact that I know that so many of his on screen translations of his movies are not the best.

While I wouldn't say this mini-series (written by Stephen King, and thus, truer to the novel) is better than the Stanley Kubrick film, it is less frustrating to anyone familiar with the original story, in that it is based more closely on the novel.

Steven Weber, while a favourite of mine, isn't exactly anywhere close to as scary as Jack Nicholson (or as convincingly crazy) was as Jack Torrance, and Rebecca DeMornay is lame as the weak wife, Wendy (she is better at playing strong female characters).

The mini-series drags a LOT in part 2, which nothing very much of significance happening. The same story could probably have been told in only two quicker-paced parts, rather than in three drawn out, slow-moving parts where not much happens in the long and boring middle. SIX hours to get from start to finish is a bit much for this story.

The very end of the story is needless cheese, and the whole mini-series would have been better left as they escape from the exploding, burning hotel.

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