Whenever we hear the name Stanley Kubrick, the poster, scene or a shot from The Shining will come to our mind - most probably " Here's Johnny!". For a legendary filmmaker like Kubrick who has multiple masterpieces to his credit, would still be fine if he had never even made this film. But still, there would be some great missing which will be felt! That's because of The Shining's ability to penetrate into the viewer's mind, even the subconscious, and imprint an influence in it's deeper depths. How the movie hooks the viewer with its horror which is created from several dimensions are a remarkable factor which makes this film an all-perfect masterpiece which is thrilling and exciting even after watching umpteen number of times.
How Kubrick created the horror, just one among the many factors which makes the film a great one (still a very important one though), is so deep and mind-blowing, he builds tension in the viewer with enough substance written in the screenplay to showcase on the screen, and perfectly well-tuned and tastefully directed horror. And most importantly, the background music and sounds which has immense depth with it's structuring crafted to the innermost core and the finely touched upper layers. And the actors who gives performances which are dramatically aesthetic and showcases face expressions which are realistic to the utmost extent. As the film progresses the anticipation for something scary to expect in the upcoming scenes are created successfully and the anticipation which it created was also executed by scaring the viewer with horrors of huge intensity.
One thing which is found in this film, is in fact something of a variety. It's the portrayal of the supernatural in a very realistic manner, which is done in an absolutely subtle way which doesn't let the viewer know that it's a realistic portrayal of the supernatural, in fact he won't even care to notice it. Because that's how successfully it's done. And what's the use of it? It gives an impact on the viewer which affects the way in which he percieves the film, and that too which will be something of an advantage for the filmmaker.
I don't intend to say anything about the story of the film, whether it's supernatural horror or the breakdown of a madman's mind, is still debated among cinephiles, even after 40 years of the film's release. And that's also a thing which makes the film a great one! Rather than just showing what the maker wants to show, Kubrick let's the viewer decide what the film is, by making him analyse the film in his own perspective and coming up with an interpretation. And this is a form of interactive cinema, an indirect one though.
The Shining is one the greatest horror masterpieces, or even one of the best films of all time.
How Kubrick created the horror, just one among the many factors which makes the film a great one (still a very important one though), is so deep and mind-blowing, he builds tension in the viewer with enough substance written in the screenplay to showcase on the screen, and perfectly well-tuned and tastefully directed horror. And most importantly, the background music and sounds which has immense depth with it's structuring crafted to the innermost core and the finely touched upper layers. And the actors who gives performances which are dramatically aesthetic and showcases face expressions which are realistic to the utmost extent. As the film progresses the anticipation for something scary to expect in the upcoming scenes are created successfully and the anticipation which it created was also executed by scaring the viewer with horrors of huge intensity.
One thing which is found in this film, is in fact something of a variety. It's the portrayal of the supernatural in a very realistic manner, which is done in an absolutely subtle way which doesn't let the viewer know that it's a realistic portrayal of the supernatural, in fact he won't even care to notice it. Because that's how successfully it's done. And what's the use of it? It gives an impact on the viewer which affects the way in which he percieves the film, and that too which will be something of an advantage for the filmmaker.
I don't intend to say anything about the story of the film, whether it's supernatural horror or the breakdown of a madman's mind, is still debated among cinephiles, even after 40 years of the film's release. And that's also a thing which makes the film a great one! Rather than just showing what the maker wants to show, Kubrick let's the viewer decide what the film is, by making him analyse the film in his own perspective and coming up with an interpretation. And this is a form of interactive cinema, an indirect one though.
The Shining is one the greatest horror masterpieces, or even one of the best films of all time.