
“The Shining” is perfect quarantine viewing - jkuria
https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/04/25/the-shining-is-perfect-quarantine-viewing
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intopieces
If you do (re-)visit this film, I highly recommend the "International Cut"
that was shows and released on video everywhere _except_ the US. It's the
director's preferred version. It's more than 20 minutes shorter(!) making for
a much tighter movie, and removes some bits that didn't move the plot or
looked weirdly dated (spooky Skeletons towards the end, for example)

~~~
CharlesW
FWIW: _" When released theatrically in the United States, the film ran approx.
146 minutes. However, as explained above, three weeks into its release,
Kubrick cut the 2 minute coda from the end of the film, reducing its length to
144 minutes. After meeting with poor reviews and erratic box office, Kubrick
decided to further edit the film for its theatrical release outside the US. He
cut approximately 31 minutes of footage, reducing the length to 113 minutes.
The 144 minute 'US version' is often erroneously called the director's cut
when in fact director Kubrick regards both the 119 minute version and the 144
minute version as director's cuts."_

[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/alternateversions](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/alternateversions)

~~~
intopieces
I don't know if it's some weird quirk of copyright, but I really wish they'd
just release both versions on video everywhere. AFAICT, there isn't a 4K HDR
re-release of the International Cut, which is a shame.

~~~
Lammy
At least it's within the realm of possible fan recreation if the international
cut is strictly shorter than the 4K release we have.

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dade_
Agreed, then watch Room 237, probably my favourite conspiracy theory doc:

[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085910/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2085910/)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_237](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_237)

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SideburnsOfDoom
We watched "The Shining" last week, oddly enough.

And yes it has something to say about "Cabin fever"

It seems likely to be an influence on a lot of David Lynch's work - in terms
of a sense of oddness that's hard to define the cause of, and malign
supernatural elements presented without much explanation, but which "make
sense" in "logic of dreams" kind of way.

I did see The Shining years ago, but have seen a lot of David Lynch's work
since then, so it's only now that I make the connection.

~~~
causeandeffect
You got it backwards. Kubrick actually screened Lynch's Eraserhead to the cast
and crew of the Shining to help them prepare for what he wanted to accomplish

~~~
thomasec
Yes! In fact, one at least one occasion, Kubrick proclaimed that Eraserhead
was his favorite movie of all time. It blows my mind that Lynch made
Eraserhead while he was still in school - imagine having your student film
receive that sort of acclaim from the arguably the most respected director in
the world.

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downerending
If you want to feel more optimistic, _The Martian_ seems apt.

~~~
taejavu
If not, try Moon, from 2009

~~~
caymanjim
I somehow missed Moon all these years. I literally just discovered and watched
it last night. I don't know how it stayed so off my radar, since it's right up
my alley. I'm glad that I was 100% unspoiled. tldr: +1.

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bacon_waffle
Watching The Shining at midwinter is a tradition among South Pole Winterovers
- for roughly 9 months there are no flights in or out.

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farseer
I thought watching the "The Thing" was mandatory initiation for polar
expeditions.

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bacon_waffle
"South pole winterover" is a much more specific thing than "polar
expeditions", but yes as the sibling suggests, the tradition at S Pole is to
watch The Thing after the last flight of summer leaves.

My year also tried to institute a "Con Air" viewing before the first flight,
mainly as a poke at the previous crew, but I'm not sure that stuck.

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js2
I recently learned it's Stephen King's least favorite adaptation of any of his
stories:

[http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-does-stephen-
kin...](http://screenprism.com/insights/article/why-does-stephen-king-dislike-
stanley-kubricks-the-shining)

~~~
blisterpeanuts
That's interesting. Years ago, I recall King stating that _The Shining_ was
the best movie adaptation of any of his stories. I wonder what changed, or
maybe I'm misremembering?

Regardless, it's my favorite King movie (though I haven't yet seen "It").

~~~
inefficient
I don't think I've ever seen anything stating that. He much preferred the
later tv adaptation.

A big part of this is that he felt Jack Nicholson was just playing a crazy
character. But the character in the book was a father first. And you could
feel that. Not to mention this book had a lot to do with King himself and how
he was lost in drugs and alcohol. There was a lot of internal and external
struggle for him in the book that King felt was mostly ignored. This meant
that by the end, the viewer had very little sympathy for him.

Personally, I love the movie and I love the book. But I completely understand
King's criticism.

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seibelj
Some more movies in no particular order if you want to explore more of
psychological horror:

Pandorum

The Lighthouse

eXistenZ

Videodrome

Hellraiser (I’m a fan of the series, some are better than others)

Blue Velvet

Mulholland Drive

The Thing

American Psycho

The Fly

Invasion of the Bodysnatchers (1978 version with Leonard Nimoy)

~~~
sk5t
Ex Machina and Solaris would probably be at home on this list too.

The Lighthouse is fantastic.

~~~
Threeve303
Not strictly a quarantine movie but Take Shelter (2011) is a good watch. Deals
with certain themes going on now.

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pc2g4d
"The Masque of the Red Death" for a weird 1960's horror take on quarantine.
Vincent Price. Adapted (substantially) from the Edgar Alan Poe story which is
itself perfect reading for the occasion.

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MilnerRoute
I don't want to say too much, but after you've watched "The Shining" you might
also appreciate one part of "Ready, Player One"

~~~
serf
conversely, the weakness of the hommage just made me dislike 'Ready, Player
One' even more.

~~~
sk5t
Ready Player One misinterprets The Shining as a horror flick and not as
psychological horror. Delbert Grady disapproves.

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lm2s
Talking about "The Shining": Doctor Sleep is one of the best "scary" movies
I've seen in the last years.

The submersion was amazing.

~~~
magicalhippo
Both me and my significant other found absolutely nothing about it scary, and
were very underwhelmed by it all (it had a lot of cool shots and such though).

Different strokes for different folks.

It's been a while but I do remember enjoying Oculus[1] and The Blackcoat's
Daughter[2]. My gf got so scared watching Session 9[3] that we had to sit
there with the lights on for a while afterwards, though I haven't seen it in
over a decade so maybe my memories of it are a bit rose-tinted.

[1]:
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388715/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388715/)

[2]:
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3286052/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3286052/)

[3]:
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0261983/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0261983/)

~~~
trimbo
The Blackcoat's Daughter deserves wider recognition. Very good.

~~~
cloakandswagger
I turned it off after 40 minutes. I appreciate movies that use slower-pacing
to build tension (No Country for Old Men comes to mind) but _every_ scene in
The Blackcoat's Daughter is glacial to the point of being parody while still
not accomplishing much in the way of characterization or plot development.

Maybe one day I'll revisit it, because I see it recommended all the time.

~~~
magicalhippo
I fully acknowledge that it's not a film for everyone. I loved the movie but
my gf couldn't watch it for similar reasons you specify.

But if you do find yourself alone one dark night, and in the mood for
something slow and brooding, I would suggest you give it another try.

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blisterpeanuts
Or some of the short indy films that are freely available these days. The
Omeleto channel on Youtube has dozens of shorts that are quite well done, a
few in the horror/sci-fi category but many more in the psycho-drama topic.

There's also Dust and CGIBros. for mainly sci-fi/fantasy/horror. Alter
specializes in horror, and there are several others that I haven't checked out
yet (Mr. Nightmare is a large one).

For people working from home, as I've done for years, it's nice to take a
short break at lunchtime or after work and catch a 15 minute movie. My eyes
are bleary after eight hours, so a short film is ideal.

Later in the evening, we'll jump on Amazon Prime or Netflix and watch
something family friendly (though I recently discovered that my 15-year-old
kid was watching an anime that had about the most graphic violence I've ever
seen).

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AzzieElbab
Is the Economist trying to get us to kill our wives and children?

~~~
dntbnmpls
No, just trying to get us to click and give them ad money.

~~~
downshun
We are feeding parasites, and they've been evolving.

Is there real value to the article? I mean, really, more than the "oh well
value is relative" thing... Wonder how it would be if Newton would have
preferred to watch a movie (or an equivalent at the time) instead of taking a
stroll thinking of his theories and finding inspiration in a falling apple
(the equivalent at the time).

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lihaciudaniel
What mental illness he had? Schizophrenia, did voices told him to kill people?
Wouldn't he died of other diseases? What else Bipolar mania and depression
sounds reasonable combined with psychopathy I could see this happening.

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herostratus101
I happened to start reading it a few weeks ago. The book is even better than
the movie, and the movie is one of my favorite horror films of all time.

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yellowapple
Speaking of perfect quarantine movies, might I recommend John Carpenter's "The
Thing"?

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fnord77
Ingmar Bergman's Seventh Seal.

Parallels to the time of the black plague.

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DanCarvajal
Also The Lighthouse.

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imchillyb
No it's not, Mrs. Torrence.

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zwieback
I tried watching this classic because I ski Timberline sometimes but it's just
a godawful movie all the way through.

