Hello-Ween!!!
OK, not really. But, in exactly 6
months it will be October 1st, and that means horror
films. And since I'm growing impatient, I've decided to do a
'Christmas in July' (so to speak).
It's not an actual horror film, but a
documentary exploring one horror film in particular. The film itself
is less a horror film than a thrilling suspense feature. And the
documentary this film is centered around?
The Shining
The doc's title?
Yeah, The Shining is the big daddy of horror films,
despite being as far removed from that genre as you could get and
there's been little debate about that. As far as I'm concerned, the debate
ended after the first time I saw it. No, it's really not a horror
film, but it IS a Stanley
Kubrick film and that in itself opens the door to a laundry list of
cerebral interpretations.
And speaking of
that, there's myriad of different explanations and meanings of that
movie. If 9/11 were a movie, this would be the follow-up study on the
film, frame by frame. Watching this, you'll bare witness to some of
the weakest and wackiest crackpot theories, as well as some rather
compelling ones. Some link the movie to the Apollo 11 moon landings
and Kubrick's involvement in the faking of it. Another links it to
Native Americans and how The White Man destroyed their culture. Those
are the 2 main views and probably the most realistic. But that's not
really saying much, as it's like finding the sanest person in an
insane asylum. They're still insane
Truthfully, I
didn't buy into any of them, and I find most of the views silly and
reaching. The few that had compelling theories were still chock full
of unbridled speculation. And while the nit-picking seemed contrived,
it should be noted that Kubrick had control over every line, every
scene, and every bit of background. Truly, nothing was in a scene
without his microscopic over-examination. While you were watching his
movie, you were in his world, under his control. And THAT attention
to detail is why some of the scenes do bring up some questions. For
example, why does the typewriter change colors, why does furniture
disappear in the same scene, why is the TV missing a power cord?
These are all details that Kubrick wouldn't normally overlook and
that's the only thing I found intriguing. He's wasn't known to make
mistakes like this and most likely, they weren't.
I'll admit you
have to be in the right state of mind to watch this, but I do think
it's worth your time if you have ever seen The Shining. No, none of
your questions about the film will be answered and sadly, more will
be risen. Things you never noticed after multiple viewings will be
noted throughout the documentary and will leave you boggled.
My only real
complaint? The overuse of scenes from Eyes Wide Shut. It's bad
enough that movie was terrible, but why the hell would you use cut scenes
from that film (the same ones over and over, I might add) to examine the Shining and subsequently use them as
examples? The affair runs 104 minutes and I understand that you might
fall back on filler considering the entire film is dialog, but why of
all films did it have to be EWS?!? 2 films that have absolutely
NOTHING in common save the director.
 |
| This never makes sense. Ever. |
Maybe at times
you'll find this movie the equivalent of people-watching in a mall,
but I'm glad someone took the time to compile all the info and
theories...even if they're all bunk.
See you on Oct. 1st!!!!
....bring movies......
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