THE SHINING

[rothschild]

It's good but I like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest a lot more. The acting in the Shining is secondary to the atmosphere -- which is superb -- and not terribly well-suited to it. Makes me wonder who was in charge of the casting.

According to what I've read about it the last couple of days it was Stanley Kubricks way or the highway. He had final say on everything & everyone cast. He thought that Nicholson played his part to perfection and he was Stanley's first choice. He actually gave some thought to Robin Williams, but Robin was very young and he wasn't yet a household name. He did have a plan B however and his choice was Kris Kristofferson of all people.

Stephen King wrote the screenplay and it was firmly declined by Stanley who decided to write his own version. As you might imagine, that created hard feelings and King has never had a nice word to say about the film.

Nicholson doesn't come off as a writer, in my humble estimation. He was perfect in Cuckoo's Nest. Anthony Hopkins would have been an interesting choice for Shining. Stars don't really do it for me most of the time. The acting in Das Boot was incredible, which is one of my favorite films.