The shining review

Having read the book a number of times (yes yes, I know, I am a geeky nerd) during my school days: I decided on taking the plunge and watching the film which was despised by the author himself. After watching this highly artistic film I am left to wonder why Stephen King didn't like it? First things first...I did watch both versions; the 146  minutes version that the Americans got and the 119 minutes version that we (in the UK) got. To be quite honest: the UK version was OK for me. The extended version or the American cut didn't really add much in fact it included many unnecessary scenes that slowed down the film and my guess would be that many viewers will prefer the shorter version of things. The entire movie is shot beautifully and paced in such a way that although it would seem like it will be long winded and a slow bore it actually tightens the tension felt and makes the viewer wait in anticipation for what is going to happen next. The music also deserves a special mention: although it is very sparsely used, it adds to the atmosphere in such a way that it is borderline psychotic. All of this is further emphasised through great acting from all those that were involved. Jack Nicholson's (very unorthodox and masterfully done) acting doesn't leave much to the imagination of the portrayal of a man descending into madness and in stark contrast to this maniacal actor (Nicholson looks mad anyway) is the actress playing his wife Wendy. Shelley Duvall is excellent playing the wife with just the right amount of fragility and emotional distress. The book was a truly terrifying read considering that I read it when I was in my teens but as for the movie...not as terrifying as the book (or maybe  it is because I am older). If a film was a painting it would be this.