The Shining
Stephen King must be the most adapted writer in film history. He also has no problem telling you how it is if you mess up his story. Perhaps the most famous example of this was Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining…talk about a couple of egos butting heads.
Kubrick had no problem twisting King’s tale from right under the author’s nose – the filmmaker, with his distinctive, trademark style, had built a reputation for making any story his own. The argument rages on whether or not the adaptation built upon its source material, but there’s no doubt that the master had made another gem.
The story follows Jack Torrance’s (Jack Nicholson) slow and bitter descent into madness. The winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, Jack brings his wife (Shelly Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) along with him. With only a few major characters outside of these three, the film relies heavily on Nicholson’s eerie performance and Kubrick’s climactic direction.
Again, King didn’t appreciate the director’s interpretation of his work (so much so that he went on to produce his own TV special), but The Shining has sparked so much conversation since its debut that it seems like it will never cease to be, just like the hotel it’s set around.
