Stephen King Still Has No Love for Kubrick’s Shining; Also Hates Documentary Room 237
John Squires
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Stephen King has made no secret of the fact that he just plain doesn’t like Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining, which he’s been bashing for many years now. Today, the bashing continues, and King’s also got another target in his sights. Read on to learn what he’s got to say!
In an altogether fascinating interview with Rolling Stone, King explained why he has so much hatred for Kubrick’s classic film, digging deeper than even before into why he thinks it’s a rotten adaptation of his novel.
“The book is hot, and the movie is cold; the book ends in fire, and the movie in ice,” said King. “In the book there’s an actual arc where you see this guy, Jack Torrance, trying to be good, and little by little he moves over to this place where he’s crazy. And as far as I was concerned, when I saw the movie, Jack was crazy from the first scene.”
“I had to keep my mouth shut at the time,” he continued. “It was a screening, and Nicholson was there. But I’m thinking to myself the minute he’s on the screen, ‘Oh, I know this guy. I’ve seen him in five motorcycle movies, where Jack Nicholson played the same part.’ And it’s so misogynistic. I mean, Wendy Torrance is just presented as this sort of screaming dishrag. But that’s just me; that’s the way I am.”
King was also questioned about the recent documentary Room 237, which features talking heads rambling on about the hidden meanings of Kubrick’s film. Like most fans, King feels the doc is a load of hogwash, as he explains.
“I watched about half of it and got sort of impatient with it and turned it off,” he admitted. “These guys were reaching. I’ve never had much patience for academic bullshit. It’s like Dylan says, ‘You give people a lot of knives and forks, they’ve gotta cut something.’ And that was what was going on in that movie.”
Amen, sir. Amen.
If you’re a fan of Stephen King, be sure to head over to Rolling Stone to read the full interview, which is an absolute must. In it King talks about his drug years and even reveals his personal favorite adaptations of his work!
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