Steven Weber's reading of the IT audiobook is one of the BEST multi-character performances I've ever heard. His ability to do every character's voice as both a child and an adult, and make them recognizable yet distinct in each age - Amazing. I listened to it a couple years ago and was blown away. The book is made better by Weber's performance.
I finished reading the book maybe a few weeks ago. It was defintely long. I was a little dissapointed with the enidng. I thought it could have been shorter. I am trying to watch the ABC Mini=Sreis now on DVD from my local library. I will also eventually try to watch the recent Theaterical 2 Part Movie. I really liked Teh Stand Mini-Series that ABC did a few years ago but because I had such a hard tine with IT, I doubt if I I will ever read it, but I heard there is another Mini=Series based on The Stand which I will try to watch. I will probably read some other KIng- maybe try to read the Shining. I thought IT wasn't really about a Sup;ernatural MOnster, but about the Horrors of Childhood and how it affect Adults when they gorw up- Bullying, abusive parents, neglectful parents, loss of Siblings, etc, etc.
I just listened to it a few weeks ago and he was nothing short of amazing. I remember reading the book many years ago and still remember many parts of it but when I listened to him telling the story, he brought me into the story
FAAAAAACTS!!!!!!!!! The Audible is my all-time favorite version of the story. "The Outsider" and "Dr. Sleep" were not bad. How did I not recognize his voice???
Steven Weber is criminally underrated and his version of Jack Torrance was superbly terrifying, because he seemed a genuinely gentle, nice guy before he snapped and he went dark like a boss! He was also amazing in The Perfection.
On a completely different sidenote when I recently was rewatching episodes of the show Wings I noticed just how damn physically funny and animated Weber was. He comes flying into the scene, hopping over a counter and it always looked great.
Thanks for posting this. I've been rewatching the Shining for decades. Every 2 years after rewatching I love to go online to read people & theorists' latest view on the movie VS King's previous issues (which he is no longer as hung up on, since Doctor Sleep as he now views both, when watched together, as a a satisfying conclusion). But the latest takeaway for me, was actually from a Steven Spielberg interview on the film, in which he says "I get it NOW, and why it's genius. In King's version, Jack is a sane man trying to stay sober and not go crazy, while in Kubrick's version, Jack is an already insane man trying to keep a lid on his sanity and ultimately fails." Can't wait to watch again in a few years and see what new takeaway comes out then.
In the book Jack is a weak man possessed by the Overlook's ghosts to try and take Danny and absorb his power. The book is not about sanity or insanity. This is where Kubrick failed as an adaptation.
Best moment in the Shining is a tie for me. Jack and the bartender or Grady telling his story. "But I "corrected" them sir. And when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I "corrected" her."
@@matthewschwartz6607 It's been in the news recently - they quietly removed a scene (on the Criterion Channel no less!) where Popeye uses the "N" word. This scene in the Shining uses that word to great effect to expose Gradys character and old fashioned mind set. Same with Taxi Driver when Scorsese himself utters the word. This sneaky censorship is insidious and has far reaching tentacles. It seems that the rights to The French Connection belong to Disney now and this was their doing.
What's crazy is that in the Shining it's used to help establish Grady as a villain. It would be one thing if a movie used it in a way where the audience is clearly expected to approve or not mind. But that basically never happens. Even back in the days of slavery the word was considered bad language. It's all over "Huckleberry Finn" but Twain uses it to show either outright menacing evil, or (as in Huck's case) as an ironic contrast since Huck uses it because he was influenced by the vulgar side of an anti-black culture but rebels against it, even though he thinks he's doing the "wrong" thing by helping Jim. That dramatic irony is absolutely central to the story and Twain is obviously criticizing that anti-black value system but stupid people can't or won't see that and call the book "racist" and censor it. 🙄
"I saw this carpet that looked cool" As an author, I love that response. Contrary to what your English teacher and literary elitists would have you believe, not everything has some deep meaning behind it.
I completely agree. I was in a community college production of Anne of Green Gables and we had a visiting theatre professor come to see the show to give the students tips on acting. One of his comments was he really like the way I was emotional in one scene and he wanted to know what I was thinking of to get that emotion. Fortunately I didn't have to answer, because in reality I was just thinking of my next line.
Maybe not everything in Stephen's world of clumsy metaphor. I like King but I don't think his work would be included in any self-respecting literary dissertation.
@@mantislake4141 A lot of people feel this way. I’ve read the classics. Some I like and some I don’t. However, I think the writing of Salem’s Lot takes a skill level far above the average human being. There’s a reason King is so loved.
Kubrick's daughter shot a lot of super-8 footage on set while her dad was making the film which wound up as doco for the BBC's 'Arena' series. For anyone interested, it's incredible stuff and well worth a watch.
I've heard that criticism many times and I think it's very valid -- Nicholson plays Jack T as creepy and nuts from the beginning. His descent into madness is really more of a step or two downstairs, so to speak. That having been said, Kubrick's version is its own entity, almost independent of the book, like Mann's version of "The Keep." You don't have to choose, you can dig both.
@@alexd2555loved it as a kid. Now it’s just bland. My daughter didn’t like it either. Funny I still love everything else I considered my favorite films growing up.
That’s the big misnomer about Stephen King’s books. They are actually about people in this weird or supernatural situation. It’s not actually about the monsters, it’s about the people and everything is heightened because of the monsters.
I have a very difficult time bad mouthing the Kubrick film. I get that king has his own vision of the story. But what Kubrick did with the story is a masterpiece.
Kubrick tormented Shelley Duvall for months on end. His "masterpiece" fundamentally fails to understand the point of the story. Parts of it are cool, but the movie is a terrible adaptation.
@@zammmerjammer what position are you arguing? That he is a difficult person to work with based on a track record of being difficult to work with? Because I don’t disagree with that, mainly because that’s outside the scope of what I posted. Are you arguing its not a masterpiece? If so, that’s a tough one because its a matter of personal taste. It just seems you felt compelled to reply to my post, without organizing your thoughts first.
I was around the times of the greatness of Kubrick but have NO problem with bad mouthing something. I really don't love the original - regardless of King's feelings on it - there is some greatness to it. I have no problem with people's viewing it as iconic. I saw it in the theater opening night and my friend nearly ripped my arm off everytime she was scared or jumped at something. LOL The theater was PACKED. Every single seat.
It's like if a chef strayed from a recipe, added his own ingredients, left some out and it's delicious. But, the cookbook writer is the only complainer.
Back in 1980, I had just read "The Shining" and went to the film with the novel fresh in my mind. I did NOT like the Kubrick film. I appreciated the technique, the acting, the score, the cinematography, but it was not how I envisioned King's novel. What made the characters in the novel so frightening is that the little family was so normal. Nicholson, Duvall, and Danny Lloyd are all fine actors but the direction had them come across as a weird group of characters from the beginning. I couldn't get on board because Jack was creepy from the beginning. Wendy was hysterical from the beginning. There was no slow descent into madness which was so disturbing in the book. Over the years, I've come to definitely admire the original film but as Steven Weber states, this was Kubrick's vision, not King's.
Well said, completely agree. I also liked that there was more emphasis on the supernatural in the book. It's scary enough to think of an evil spirit influencing a bad or crazy person, but to influence a good, loving person so much that he tries to kill his family is far more disturbing and scary.
The book is amazing, I just stayed in the Stanley hotel. But the Kubrick movie is great too, but not the same story to be honest. It’s like compositing apples, to red grapes.
The scene in the mini series that got to me was late in the story when the father has gone crazy but then recovers and is his old good self again and Danny hugs him. But then the evil takes over and his face totally changes into this nightmare grin. And Danny can't see it but he senses it and freezes in terror. The acting in this is superb! And it shows the tragic arc and horror of the father's downfall in a powerful and sad and frightening way that Nicholson's "crazy from the start" portrayal just doesn't
@@tenderpawsm473 PC? This has nothing to do with PC which I'm super against anyway. What I said about the series had nothing to do with PC, and is true. And Nicholson's very entertaining and effective but his actual acting ability is wildly overrated. He has very limited range and plays only a very few character types with "visibly crazy guy" being probably the most common.
I really enjoyed the book of The Shining, but i read it WAY after i saw the movie. I thought i didn't care much for the movie after reading the book and then realized how great the movie is as a stand alone achievement. Steven Weber has always been one of my favorite people because of Wings i guess. He was SO good on that show, as was everyone. I have seen some of the mini series of The Shining and it's decent. Rebecca De Mornay is a good reason to watch it.
When you mentioned that he had done audiobooks for Stephen King, I was trying to figure out which book(s), but like .2 seconds later after hearing Steven talking; I remembered his voice. His work narrating IT was absolutely phenomenal!
Nicholson is able to chew up scenery on occasion, but Weber observing that he was at "amusement park level" is what Kubrick wanted him to do. He wasn't just being "big" and broad acting-wise for no reason. Kubrick has done that on multiple occasions with actors...probably most famously with Dr. Strangelove and George C. Scott....Scott initially fought Kubrick on it...thinking his character was coming off like a cartoon...but realized that was kind of what Kubrick was going for.
I know the miniseries version with Steven Weber follows the book more closely, but it's hard to beat the theatrical version for actual horror. Stephen King famously hated the Kubrick version but it has stood the test of time and stands near the top of the genre of horror, even after more than 40 years. Conversely, the sequel, "Doctor Sleep", bombed in theaters, but Stephen loved it. I actually liked it.
the thing about the (1980) film i love but at the same time i 100% agree with King on it though i didn't clearly write and if had i would feel the same exact way King does without a doubt. i also enjoy the (1997) film as well and in some parts Weber is good in it but when he's bat shit crazy he's awful and so when he says he'd love to tackle it again i think he means those scenes and he'd be right. one thing Kubrick said about his film was that the reason he choose a maze was because the Technology didn't exist back than for the FX the film needed and he wasn't wrong on that. if i recall the director of Doctor Sleep had to talk king into doing the end the way he did cause of how much people love the Original film. next time they redo it they need to do the Original ending. so we can pick which one is better. i have it on 4K i just haven't watched it yet for whatever reason it's a long fucking film
This version was better in some key ways. Especially showing the tragic arc of the father's downfall. Nicholson looked dangerously crazy from the start which was a completely different dynamic. And this guy was amazing. I'll never forget the scene where he briefly snaps out of being evil and has a moment of lucidity and Danny hugs him. Then the evil takes over again and his face completely changes and there's this terrifying evil grin. The acting is just superb. And Danny can sense it even though he can't see his father's face and freezes in terror. That scene alone justifies this version!
Nicholson looks "crazy" to some viewers because they expect it from him after being in The Shining and also Batman and more. For me, he starts out very normal in his demeanor and expressions and voice (the job interview, the drive up, getting oriented at the hotel); it is a subtle change over the first quarter of the movie where he changes into someone cruel and unpredictable and eventually evil and possessed.
There was a scene in the mini-series that scared the shit out of me. Danny goes into the hotel room & sees the lady in the tub. I was working the closing shift at my local Blockbuster the night that episode aired & I didn't watch it until I got home, obviously. I was so unprepared for the scene where Danny meets the lady in the tub, it scared the shit out of me! Here it is it's 1:30 in the AM & I just took a big bite of a100% nightmare power bar. I watched a half hour of Nick at Nite, to get the vision out of my head. Did. Not. Work☠️👹
I read The Shining at about age 14, then gave the book to my 12-year-old brother and told him to read the "lady in the tub" scene. It scared him so badly that he didn't bathe for three days.
😂 A little boy here. A little boy there. Here a boy, there a boy, everywhere a boy boy????😅 The scene in the series is laughable compared to the Kubrick film.
I haven't seen the miniseries version of The Shining yet but I love Weber's audiobook narration. I will have to look up the miniseries for a watch soon.
@morticiaheisenberg9679 - the difference is that I can still watch Kubrick version. As soon as I hear Danny's voice from the miniseries, I'm out. And Melvin Van Peebles is no Scatman Crothers.
I loved Steven’s version of the Shining and was at the hotel at the time they were filming. I asked about the playhouse and the snow storm. (There was a snowstorm about a week before) and if they had saved money and filmed the blizzard during it. (No-that would be so wrong and unsafe)
I actually like the Shining Mini Series and i thought that Steven Weber did a Great Job as Jack Torrance!! I think that both Kubrick and King's versions of The Shining are Great in different ways!!
Wow I just googled the reviews for the mini series and it got raves from critics. That is very impressive for something that casts such a huge shadow. Also it was 1 year after I moved to America😊
It's like all or most of Rod Serling's themes dealt with loneliness / depression amazing how they can wrap it all up in a package that is way over the top.
Steven Weber performed IT so well for the audiobook. I listen to IT every year around Halloween and it still delivers. His Beverly Marsh is so well done, his ability to hit all of the cadences and emotion of the female voice is very impressive. He completely nailed it.
Loved the one with Steven Webber the best because you get to see the characters GO crazy. In the original, the characters were already fragile. It didn't take much to push them over the edge. The evolution of the characters was much more interesting to watch.
Stanley's The Shinning was better as inspired by Steven's work while the mini series is based on the book. But the movie version is my favorite movie and my favorite horror movie. Its a perfect movie.
I love hearing stories where authors, directors, etc talk about their methods. You can take film courses in college, watch yt videos about film and watch professors and people dissect and look for hidden meanings and subtext in film and then find out from the author or director themselves say something like Weber addressed. "Yeah, this line is about a bottle of wine." I've seen Coppola talk about the oranges in godfather. People have dissected the oranges in the godfather for decades. Coppola said he just wanted something extra in the scene. Some other movement. So he had the oranges rolling around. Said there's nothing more than that. He just looked over and saw the oranges in the cart and went with it.
The biggest problem with Kubrick's The Shining as an adaptation is that it confused the supernatural element and changed the focus. The 'shining' and Danny's role in The Overlook takes a back seat. One could easily come away from the movie thinking that everything was just Jack's alcoholism and cabin fever causing him to lose his mind and try to kill his family. The book is about the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel wanting Danny and his 'shining' power, and using Jack's weakness to possess him and try to get it.
I think the divide between the fans who favor the movie vs. the miniseries depends on what you encountered first. Having read the book before seeing the movie, I found the movie disappointing and like the miniseries better because it's a better representation of what King was trying to say. The book, and it's sequel, is about the destructive nature of alcoholism, with the supernatural elements being a catalyst and metaphor for the alcoholism. The hotel sees the monster hiding in Jack that comes out when he's drunk, and brings that out. It's about fighting with inner demons. The movie version of The Shining is about a man possessed by an evil hotel. It's a visual masterpiece, but it takes a story about alcoholism set in a haunted hotel and makes it about the haunted hotel. Movie Jack is a monster wearing a mask; book and miniseries Jack is a regular guy whose ugly side comes out when he drinks too much. Movie Jack is the villain; book and miniseries Jack is another victim of the hotel. They're just completely different creatures.
What Kubrick is really saying is that evil doesn't exist in a bottle. It exists in all of us. Most of us put on a mask to hide it, and when we start drinking, our inhibitions start to fall down and then the real "us" comes out. People like to blame other substances for why they do horrible things, but those are the same things people do in the middle of war, stonecold sober. Perhaps this is why King didn't like the movie- Kubrick was pointing out that part of the alcoholic personality is to avoid taking accountability for themselves and their actions. Have you noticed that alcohol itself is not evil- in a bottle it does nothing but just sit there. Jack being a facsimile of king, he wants to think that man is corrupted by the environment around him, but he doesn't want to actually think that there is evil inside of him the flourishes in certain environments. Jack wanted to drink because he wanted to connect with that evil again. He subconsciously wants to do bad things, while being able to blame it on the booze.
It's so true. I first read The Shining when I was 14 and saw it as a kind of riff on Haunting of Hill House. But then I re-read it for only the second time in my 50s (I'm 57 now) after 17 years of sobriety and realized that it was a book about dealing the demon of alocholism and trying to redeem yourself." It's now my second favorite King book after "'salem's Lot"
As someone who will die on the mountain of "Kubrick butchered King's best work" I appreciate Steven Weber so much. He will always be Jack Torrance. And I will always cry when I hear "Kissin', Kissin', thats what I've been missin'"
The quote thay always stayed with me was when Stephen king said The book was warm and the film was cold and that pretty much summed up for me I love both book and the film seperately, they have the same location and same characters but not the same story
@@jameskuhn432No thanks. It was a shoddy and cheap production. The writing was poor and the acting sucked too. If I'll give anything a rewatch it'll be the 1980 Kubrick version.
The made-for-TV version in which Weber portrayed Jack Torrance was NOT 100% faithful to King's novel, any more than Kubrick's film was. It, too, took liberties with the source novel -- and NOT for the better. In the book, Jack is not 'redeemed' -- he had forgotten to dump the boiler, and after rushing down to the basement to save the hotel, he gets there too late and it goes KABLOOIE. The TV version has Weber's Jack first trying to prevent the explosion . . . but then he has a change of heart and CAUSES the explosion to happen, sacrificing himself nobly, so that his 'Force-ghost' can show up at his son Daniel's graduation ceremony spouting that gag-inducing schmaltzy line echoed from earlier in the teleplay about missin' all the kissin' . . . BLECHHH!!! The TV version combines Grady and Lloyd. Why??? That's not how the book had it! In certain ways, Kubrick's version WAS closer to the book than how King re-wrote himself for the teleplay. Oh, I'll grant you that Kubrick intentionally changed certain things, using only the bare skeleton of the novel's plot onto which he built up a different musculature, so to speak. Kubrick's film reveals, at the end, that Jack was the reincarnation of a previous "Mr. Torrance" who used to be the Caretaker way back when, the man who looked just like Jack, in that photo taken on July 4, 1921. Charles Grady, too, can be similarly interpreted as the reincarnation of Delbert Grady, also looking just like his earlier self since Jack recognizes Delbert from the photo of Charles which he had seen after the tragedy of 1970. In Kubrick's version, men who had never been murderers in their earlier lifetimes later reincarnated -- within their own families, the Grady family and the Torrance family -- and, once they became aware of their Past Life memories of their beloved Overlook Hotel, they both earned permanent nirvana-like places there, following the Human Sacrifices each made: Grady murdering his wife and two daughters (then himself), and Jack murdering Hallorann after his failed attempt to murder Wendy and Danny. There is no hint of a similar reincarnation-motif in King's novel, of course. It also needs to be said that the Dead Hag in Room 217 didn't speak a single word during Danny's scary encounter with her -- in the novel, that is. The TV version unfortunately gave the actress lines of dialogue to say, which helped to make that scene less scary than how the prose of the novel reads. And the Stanley Hotel, where the TV version was filmed, does NOT resemble the hotel described in the novel. Oh, King staying at the Stanley may have been inspired to write THE SHINING after a stay there on the last day of their season, sure . . . but the hotel he describes in the novel is different -- and Kubrick's sets (and use of exteriors and interiors from other lodge-hotels like the Timberline and Ahwanee) give a closer 'feel' to the ambiance of the fictional Overlook than does the Stanley. Maybe someday some other filmmaker will get the rights to do a word-for-word adaptation of the novel, perhaps a 10-episode miniseries, averaging about 45 pages per episode (going by the 447-page novel in PB), and MAYBE the actors will be able to deliver their verbatim lines of dialogue in a way that sounds realistic and not cheesy. Maybe the CGI needed to make the Hedge Animals come to life will actually work, and not look silly. And MAYBE the scenes of Jack wielding that roque mallet will come across as genuinely terrifying, after the lackluster TV version's attempts which, sadly, are nowhere near as terrifying as Jack Nicholson's axe-wielding. I so SO wanted to like the TV version, but when I saw it I couldn't believe how utterly lousy it was. How NOT scary. How cheesy it was. How smarmy. How untalented the child actor playing Danny was -- and, yeah, I know, it's not nice to beat up on a child, but there's just no comparing that kid to Danny Lloyd, who was PERFECT in Kubrick's film. ANY movie featuring a child actor either succeeds or fails depending on the performance of the kid. Just ask the kid who had the misfortune to play Anakin Skywalker in Episode I, and remember that George could've cast Haley Joel Osment in the role, but DIDN'T because his daughter thought the boy who got the part was 'cuter' -- HAH! The best child actor of his generation lost out to a not-so-good actor because the other kid was 'cuter'! HJO might have made that film watchable, might've been able to deliver his lines better and believably -- even with Jar Jar sharing the screen with him. Unlikely, yes, but we can only wonder about what might-have-been. I like Steven Weber as an actor, but he was in over his head in the TV version of THE SHINING. The production purports to be 'true' to the novel, but it wasn't. It took liberties of its own, and for the most part they were WORSE alterations than those Kubrick made. King wrote the novel imagining HIMSELF being driven by his own alcoholism into becoming a monster. Kubrick changed 'Jack' into a vile man who had ALWAYS been vile -- who had been planning on murdering Wendy and Danny ever since he saw the story about Charles Grady in the newspapers shortly after that tragedy had happened . . . well before he even married Wendy and begot a son with her. King hated that Kubrick changed the alter ego representing himself as a potential monster, a good man corrupted by the evils present at the hotel, into an evil man who had merely PRETENDED to be a decent enough fella to fool Wendy into marrying him and "the Denver people" into hiring him. Then King re-wrote the whole thing with his lousy teleplay, changing Jack into a HERO at the end, having his floating 'Force-ghost' smiling like a proud papa at Danny's graduation -- which most certainly WASN'T in the source novel. Ugh. King has talent when it comes to writing prose horror novels, and I give him all the kudos for that. But he doesn't seem to know how to make a decent horror film, especially when adapted from one of his own works. His SHINING remake stunk to high heaven, despite the attempts by Weber et al. to try to make it work. It wasn't scary. It was embarrassingly bad. It gives me no pleasure to say it, but it's true, alas!
Finally got my hands on that Premium Indy statue after seeing it on your podcast a few years ago. Kudos to you for keeping the pleather jacket from shredding lol
favorite part in the Shining movie is when wendy comes up the stairs and the guy with the bear costume is giving head to the guy on the bead in tails beyond bizarre beyond freaky for scary, it's Kubrick not king
I know the TV mini series was truer to the book, but Kubrick produced a masterpiece. It's like the difference between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lost in Space, lol.
Guess I’m one of the rare "Stephen King faithful," a "constant reader," as King would say, that loves both the book and Kubrick’s adaptation. King’s just too close to the novel to be impartial. It’s personal for him. It’s his "baby." Also think he was hurt that Kubrick didn’t want his input, or to collaborate. At its core, there is a misunderstanding of Kubrick’s method, how he adapts an idea, rather than faithfully putting a written source on the screen.
Even more than anything Kubrick specific, writers need to let go and realize some movie adaptations need more changing than others, because the two mediums have different things that are possible/not possible. As a result, staying bery close to some books while making a movie results in a terrible movie.
@@andyscott5277 I don’t know plenty of dead celebrities or historical people personally, and I feel comfy calling them horrible. Maybe it’s insensitive, but I fail to care about dead famous people’s hurt feelings? Idk what to tell you. 😂
I have to say, I enjoy both the film The Shining and the book The Shining, they have their differences for sure and they're both so damn good! Also the brilliance of Mike Flanagan being able to merge both the book and the Kubrick Shining for the sequel Doctor Sleep was so masterfully done, check out the Director's Cut of Doctor Sleep if you haven't already, so good! I'm excited to check out the audiobook of IT after seeing so much praise for it here in the comments!
I love Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (it's one of my favorite movies) but The Shining with Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay is pretty true to the book, and thus, better.
I never understood why people were upset that Stanley Kubrick made *Stanley Kubrick's* version of The Shining. What did people think he was going to do?
To be fair, King tried that with Maximum Overdrive and it was a bomb. Even King himself was embarrassed by it and disowned it, which is why he's never directed another movie again. King is a much better writer than a director, and there's nothing wrong with that.
As a writer you have to let go and accept that most likely your works will not get a 1:1 translation in another medium. This has always been the case with books to film, and often trying to stay completely loyal to the book makes for a bad film.
I read the book, saw the movie as well as the television series. Kubrick's film blows both the book and the miniseries out of the water, in my opinion.
I think so, too. Generally I always love the book more, but I started reading the book years after the movie came out. Once I got to the line about how they were microbes in the intestines of a monster...I gave up. Never went back to it. That line was SO terrible. He must have been drunk, at least writing that line.
Yuck. The book is brilliant. Not only one of the scariest books I've ever read, but one of the best novels of any genre. Kubrick's movie fundamentally misunderstands the entire point of the book and both the adult leads were woefully miscast. Also, he tormented Shelley Duvall for months on end, and for what? So she'd act scared? If the actress you hired doesn't act well enough, then you shouldn't have hired her, bub.
oh, for crying out loud - EVERYTHING Kubrick did, he made it his OWN VERSION of what Kubrick wanted to present and display and "play" an audience as great masters excel doing great work.
Wow I had not seen Steven Weber in the longest time. I honestly barely remember the mini series version of The Shining except for the last scene where he is seen smiling as a ghost.
I didn’t care for the Kubrick movie much either, for the same reason King didn’t. There is no real character arc for Jack. Nicholson is clearly batshit from the first scene, which misses the whole point of the novel. However, there’s one particular and excellent scene Kubrick added which was not in the novel. And that’s when Wendy looks at the huge pile of draft that Jack has spent weeks typing up and realizes that all it says is “All work and no play makes Jack a full boy,” over and over again, in a variety of capitalizations and type styles. That was chilling, IMO, because it left no doubt that he was completely off his rocker.
I really liked Weber as Mayor Hamilton on NCIS:New Orleans, the perfect combination of likability and political corruption. He seems nice, but if you shake hands you notice the oily sheen he leaves behind. Great actor.
I thought the best moment in Kubrick's version was, "How do you like it?" That line along with the accompanying music crescendo totally creeped me out. Now Wendy knows.
Kubrick’s The Shining is a masterpiece and one of my favorite horror films. But the miniseries is amazing as well. Obviously it’s ridiculous to compare the movie and miniseries because they are completely different. They are both great in their own ways.
I read the book before seeing either so I could not take to the original film at all. It was a mockery of Stephen Kings talent. The mini series however was great. I found it interesting what Steven Weber said about wishing that he could go back and tackle some of those scenes again now that he has had more life experience. It would be interesting to see what would come of that.
"Stephen King's talent" You act like he was something to revere. He wrote decent stories with a gimmick that lost it's originality after a few books, and his technical writing beyond his creative concepts is nothing to brag about. He was an average writer who found a novel niche and then proceeded to milk it to death.
I LOVE everything that Steven Weber said. If anyone asks you what "The Shining" is about, the answer is alcoholism. And, no, I'm not talking about the Kubrick film because the Kubrick film veers so far from the original work that it's criminal. Do I think it's a fantastic horror film? Of course. I just wish that it were its own entity and not linked to King, because it's not a true reflection of King's work. That must really piss him off and I don't blame him. I really liked the Stephen Weber version because I liked how true it was to the book. I'm sure fans of the original film who aren't big King fans probably hated the miniseries, but that's so unfair, because they're missing the point. It's a story about addiction and how that addiction impacts a family. As a recovering alcoholic myself, I think it's brilliant. I'm a horror buff and monsters don't scare me because they're not real. The disease of alcoholism, however, is very real and it's the most terrifying thing that I've ever experienced in real life.
And I have another take. Instead of alcoholism being the boogeyman, families that are unloving, splintered, narcissistic, abusive. Two people that should have never met, and the subsequent kids that should have never been. And the alcoholic in the family, often the dad, in this case myself, who treats their trauma, loneliness, broken dreams and stress with alcohol. That it only releases what is smoldering under the surface anyway,
Wow. No one talks about that movie other than to say it's bad (I like it- for the record). To find you talking to Steven Weber about this remake is a treasure for me.
I worked in the entertainment industry for years, Steven Weber was top 5 nicest dude in the industry
I love comments like this.
the shucker!
Who else makes the short list?
Curious too. Who are the other top 4?
I believe that! I hate when he plays villains (though he is great at it), because he just seems like a nice person!
Steven Weber's reading of the IT audiobook is one of the BEST multi-character performances I've ever heard. His ability to do every character's voice as both a child and an adult, and make them recognizable yet distinct in each age - Amazing. I listened to it a couple years ago and was blown away. The book is made better by Weber's performance.
I finished reading the book maybe a few weeks ago. It was defintely long. I was a little dissapointed with the enidng. I thought it could have been shorter. I am trying to watch the ABC Mini=Sreis now on DVD from my local library. I will also eventually try to watch the recent Theaterical 2 Part Movie.
I really liked Teh Stand Mini-Series that ABC did a few years ago but because I had such a hard tine with IT, I doubt if I I will ever read it, but I heard there is another Mini=Series based on The Stand which I will try to watch. I will probably read some other KIng- maybe try to read the Shining. I thought IT wasn't really about a Sup;ernatural MOnster, but about the Horrors of Childhood and how it affect Adults when they gorw up- Bullying, abusive parents, neglectful parents, loss of Siblings, etc, etc.
Downright AMAZING. Made me fall in love with Audible.
Facts.
Really? I thought it was okay. A little too over-acted in some parts. Wasn’t a fan of bud Pennywise voice, either.
Listened to that last year, and 100% agree. It was fantastic.
I cannot fully express how incredible Steven's narration of the IT audiobook is. You have to listen to it. Sublime.
I just listened to it a few weeks ago and he was nothing short of amazing. I remember reading the book many years ago and still remember many parts of it but when I listened to him telling the story, he brought me into the story
So good it's a work of art!!!
I just posted the same thing, then read yours. Have to agree. An amazing performance!
Him and Campbell Scott. Brilliant.
FAAAAAACTS!!!!!!!!! The Audible is my all-time favorite version of the story. "The Outsider" and "Dr. Sleep" were not bad. How did I not recognize his voice???
Steven Weber also acted in Desperation which is a very underrated King novel
Steven Weber is criminally underrated and his version of Jack Torrance was superbly terrifying, because he seemed a genuinely gentle, nice guy before he snapped and he went dark like a boss! He was also amazing in The Perfection.
"LIKE A BAAAWWWSSSSSSS"
50 Internet Points if you get that reference 😂
Weber’s performance of the audiobook version of IT is one of the all time greats. Highly recommend!
On a completely different sidenote when I recently was rewatching episodes of the show Wings I noticed just how damn physically funny and animated Weber was. He comes flying into the scene, hopping over a counter and it always looked great.
that show is so great
I still love Wings. Recently started rewatching myself.
Thanks for posting this. I've been rewatching the Shining for decades. Every 2 years after rewatching I love to go online to read people & theorists' latest view on the movie VS King's previous issues (which he is no longer as hung up on, since Doctor Sleep as he now views both, when watched together, as a a satisfying conclusion). But the latest takeaway for me, was actually from a Steven Spielberg interview on the film, in which he says "I get it NOW, and why it's genius. In King's version, Jack is a sane man trying to stay sober and not go crazy, while in Kubrick's version, Jack is an already insane man trying to keep a lid on his sanity and ultimately fails." Can't wait to watch again in a few years and see what new takeaway comes out then.
In the book Jack is a weak man possessed by the Overlook's ghosts to try and take Danny and absorb his power. The book is not about sanity or insanity. This is where Kubrick failed as an adaptation.
Best moment in the Shining is a tie for me. Jack and the bartender or Grady telling his story. "But I "corrected" them sir. And when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I "corrected" her."
Is this the Nicholson one, or The King one?
Not long before this scene dissappears like that scene from The French Connection. Keep your physical media.
@@CousinCreepy - What scene from The French Connection disappeared?
@@matthewschwartz6607 It's been in the news recently - they quietly removed a scene (on the Criterion Channel no less!) where Popeye uses the "N" word. This scene in the Shining uses that word to great effect to expose Gradys character and old fashioned mind set. Same with Taxi Driver when Scorsese himself utters the word. This sneaky censorship is insidious and has far reaching tentacles. It seems that the rights to The French Connection belong to Disney now and this was their doing.
What's crazy is that in the Shining it's used to help establish Grady as a villain. It would be one thing if a movie used it in a way where the audience is clearly expected to approve or not mind. But that basically never happens. Even back in the days of slavery the word was considered bad language. It's all over "Huckleberry Finn" but Twain uses it to show either outright menacing evil, or (as in Huck's case) as an ironic contrast since Huck uses it because he was influenced by the vulgar side of an anti-black culture but rebels against it, even though he thinks he's doing the "wrong" thing by helping Jim. That dramatic irony is absolutely central to the story and Twain is obviously criticizing that anti-black value system but stupid people can't or won't see that and call the book "racist" and censor it. 🙄
You did a GREAT job in the Shining. It really brought Kings vision to life
The scenes between Scatman and Danny are amazing.
"I saw this carpet that looked cool" As an author, I love that response. Contrary to what your English teacher and literary elitists would have you believe, not everything has some deep meaning behind it.
I completely agree. I was in a community college production of Anne of Green Gables and we had a visiting theatre professor come to see the show to give the students tips on acting. One of his comments was he really like the way I was emotional in one scene and he wanted to know what I was thinking of to get that emotion. Fortunately I didn't have to answer, because in reality I was just thinking of my next line.
Maybe not everything in Stephen's world of clumsy metaphor. I like King but I don't think his work would be included in any self-respecting literary dissertation.
@@mantislake4141 A lot of people feel this way. I’ve read the classics. Some I like and some I don’t. However, I think the writing of Salem’s Lot takes a skill level far above the average human being. There’s a reason King is so loved.
@@mantislake4141”Self-respecting” Good golly, Miss Molly, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
@orangebean325 - Are you learned and generous enough to help me escape my own ignorance?
Kubrick's daughter shot a lot of super-8 footage on set while her dad was making the film which wound up as doco for the BBC's 'Arena' series. For anyone interested, it's incredible stuff and well worth a watch.
That’s nothing to do with this miniseries version.
@thefonzkiss that should be clear from my comment 😉
I've heard that criticism many times and I think it's very valid -- Nicholson plays Jack T as creepy and nuts from the beginning. His descent into madness is really more of a step or two downstairs, so to speak. That having been said, Kubrick's version is its own entity, almost independent of the book, like Mann's version of "The Keep." You don't have to choose, you can dig both.
Jack Nicholson knocked that role out of the ball park and so did Stanley Kubrick. The movie is 100 times better than the show.
@@alexd2555loved it as a kid. Now it’s just bland. My daughter didn’t like it either. Funny I still love everything else I considered my favorite films growing up.
@@marsoblivi0n945 🙄
so? and what was he at the beginning of the book? a paragon of sanity?!
That’s the big misnomer about Stephen King’s books. They are actually about people in this weird or supernatural situation. It’s not actually about the monsters, it’s about the people and everything is heightened because of the monsters.
the people are the monsters in his books, and that statement's not meant to be complimentary in any way.
I have a very difficult time bad mouthing the Kubrick film. I get that king has his own vision of the story. But what Kubrick did with the story is a masterpiece.
Kubrick tormented Shelley Duvall for months on end. His "masterpiece" fundamentally fails to understand the point of the story.
Parts of it are cool, but the movie is a terrible adaptation.
@@zammmerjammer what position are you arguing? That he is a difficult person to work with based on a track record of being difficult to work with? Because I don’t disagree with that, mainly because that’s outside the scope of what I posted.
Are you arguing its not a masterpiece? If so, that’s a tough one because its a matter of personal taste.
It just seems you felt compelled to reply to my post, without organizing your thoughts first.
I was around the times of the greatness of Kubrick but have NO problem with bad mouthing something. I really don't love the original - regardless of King's feelings on it - there is some greatness to it. I have no problem with people's viewing it as iconic. I saw it in the theater opening night and my friend nearly ripped my arm off everytime she was scared or jumped at something. LOL The theater was PACKED. Every single seat.
It's like if a chef strayed from a recipe, added his own ingredients, left some out and it's delicious. But, the cookbook writer is the only complainer.
Movie way better than novel.
Back in 1980, I had just read "The Shining" and went to the film with the novel fresh in my mind. I did NOT like the Kubrick film. I appreciated the technique, the acting, the score, the cinematography, but it was not how I envisioned King's novel.
What made the characters in the novel so frightening is that the little family was so normal. Nicholson, Duvall, and Danny Lloyd are all fine actors but the direction had them come across as a weird group of characters from the beginning. I couldn't get on board because Jack was creepy from the beginning. Wendy was hysterical from the beginning. There was no slow descent into madness which was so disturbing in the book.
Over the years, I've come to definitely admire the original film but as Steven Weber states, this was Kubrick's vision, not King's.
Exactly
Well said, completely agree.
I also liked that there was more emphasis on the supernatural in the book. It's scary enough to think of an evil spirit influencing a bad or crazy person, but to influence a good, loving person so much that he tries to kill his family is far more disturbing and scary.
I love how Steven looked at Michael with the "I know you're lying" look when Michael said that a lot of people said it was the best version.
The unconvinced “aaahhh.” 😆 I enjoyed King’s version, but Kubrick’s is a masterpiece.
The book is amazing, I just stayed in the Stanley hotel. But the Kubrick movie is great too, but not the same story to be honest. It’s like compositing apples, to red grapes.
Spot on about the book having a redemption arc.
That ending really struck home for me .
I also love what Kubrick did too
The scene in the mini series that got to me was late in the story when the father has gone crazy but then recovers and is his old good self again and Danny hugs him. But then the evil takes over and his face totally changes into this nightmare grin. And Danny can't see it but he senses it and freezes in terror. The acting in this is superb! And it shows the tragic arc and horror of the father's downfall in a powerful and sad and frightening way that Nicholson's "crazy from the start" portrayal just doesn't
@@IrishCarneyOkay. I guess you prefer political correctness over true horror. 😂 The acting in the series was atrocious from start to finish.
@@tenderpawsm473 PC? This has nothing to do with PC which I'm super against anyway. What I said about the series had nothing to do with PC, and is true.
And Nicholson's very entertaining and effective but his actual acting ability is wildly overrated. He has very limited range and plays only a very few character types with "visibly crazy guy" being probably the most common.
@@IrishCarney are you high?
@@vladimirarangogiraldo828 He won the argument, high or not.
I really enjoyed the book of The Shining, but i read it WAY after i saw the movie. I thought i didn't care much for the movie after reading the book and then realized how great the movie is as a stand alone achievement. Steven Weber has always been one of my favorite people because of Wings i guess. He was SO good on that show, as was everyone. I have seen some of the mini series of The Shining and it's decent. Rebecca De Mornay is a good reason to watch it.
When you mentioned that he had done audiobooks for Stephen King, I was trying to figure out which book(s), but like .2 seconds later after hearing Steven talking; I remembered his voice. His work narrating IT was absolutely phenomenal!
His narration of It doesn't get enough credit. He was amazing and that's an understatement.
Nicholson is able to chew up scenery on occasion, but Weber observing that he was at "amusement park level" is what Kubrick wanted him to do. He wasn't just being "big" and broad acting-wise for no reason. Kubrick has done that on multiple occasions with actors...probably most famously with Dr. Strangelove and George C. Scott....Scott initially fought Kubrick on it...thinking his character was coming off like a cartoon...but realized that was kind of what Kubrick was going for.
Oh sure, make excuses for him. Jack Nicholson is just plain laughable in every role. He's a joke.
@@john.premose Yeah, and Deniro and Pacino couldn't act their way out of a hat.......
@@john.premose Laughable? You're jokin right?
@@ReadyPlayerTomVR no. He's embarassing.
@@john.premose To each their own
I know the miniseries version with Steven Weber follows the book more closely, but it's hard to beat the theatrical version for actual horror. Stephen King famously hated the Kubrick version but it has stood the test of time and stands near the top of the genre of horror, even after more than 40 years. Conversely, the sequel, "Doctor Sleep", bombed in theaters, but Stephen loved it. I actually liked it.
that's because it was more Kubrick than King
Doctor Sleep was good.
@@shaunsteele6926 For sure, but it still holds up today in the horror genre.
@@mr.dragoncrypto4138 Same. I love it when the little black girl teaches the main woman a lesson.
the thing about the (1980) film i love but at the same time i 100% agree with King on it though i didn't clearly write and if had i would feel the same exact way King does without a doubt. i also enjoy the (1997) film as well and in some parts Weber is good in it but when he's bat shit crazy he's awful and so when he says he'd love to tackle it again i think he means those scenes and he'd be right. one thing Kubrick said about his film was that the reason he choose a maze was because the Technology didn't exist back than for the FX the film needed and he wasn't wrong on that. if i recall the director of Doctor Sleep had to talk king into doing the end the way he did cause of how much people love the Original film. next time they redo it they need to do the Original ending.
so we can pick which one is better. i have it on 4K i just haven't watched it yet for whatever reason it's a long fucking film
This version was better in some key ways. Especially showing the tragic arc of the father's downfall. Nicholson looked dangerously crazy from the start which was a completely different dynamic. And this guy was amazing. I'll never forget the scene where he briefly snaps out of being evil and has a moment of lucidity and Danny hugs him. Then the evil takes over again and his face completely changes and there's this terrifying evil grin. The acting is just superb. And Danny can sense it even though he can't see his father's face and freezes in terror. That scene alone justifies this version!
its mostly forgotten. The Kubrick version will remain the definitive version at least on screen.
Nicholson looks "crazy" to some viewers because they expect it from him after being in The Shining and also Batman and more. For me, he starts out very normal in his demeanor and expressions and voice (the job interview, the drive up, getting oriented at the hotel); it is a subtle change over the first quarter of the movie where he changes into someone cruel and unpredictable and eventually evil and possessed.
@@eduardo_corrochio No, his inherent physical appearance and his acting (as directed) combined to create that impression
@@IrishCarney As you wish.
@@purefoldnz3070that’s laughable
There was a scene in the mini-series that scared the shit out of me. Danny goes into the hotel room & sees the lady in the tub. I was working the closing shift at my local Blockbuster the night that episode aired & I didn't watch it until I got home, obviously. I was so unprepared for the scene where Danny meets the lady in the tub, it scared the shit out of me! Here it is it's 1:30 in the AM & I just took a big bite of a100% nightmare power bar. I watched a half hour of Nick at Nite, to get the vision out of my head. Did. Not. Work☠️👹
I read The Shining at about age 14, then gave the book to my 12-year-old brother and told him to read the "lady in the tub" scene. It scared him so badly that he didn't bathe for three days.
😂 A little boy here. A little boy there. Here a boy, there a boy, everywhere a boy boy????😅 The scene in the series is laughable compared to the Kubrick film.
Kubrick's Shining is awesome as a film. King's Shining as a book is awesome. Both are incredibly enjoyable.
The mini series, on the other hand, is garbage.
@@VuotoPneumaNN never watched it. Never will
@@VuotoPneumaNN Much better than the movie.
@@redrick8900 LOL
@@VuotoPneumaNN Pretending to laugh is what ignorant people do when you want to project confidence and have nothing to say.
I guess I'm one of the few people who never really cared for the original Kubrick Shining movie and never really thought it was scary at all.
Kubrick's Shining was amazing
I haven't seen the miniseries version of The Shining yet but I love Weber's audiobook narration. I will have to look up the miniseries for a watch soon.
I'm surprised I've seen no mention of it, but the miniseries suffers a fatal flaw - the casting of Danny. It would've otherwise been great.
@mantislake4141 Danny in both movies were bad. But the miniseries, in general, is far superior.
@morticiaheisenberg9679 - the difference is that I can still watch Kubrick version. As soon as I hear Danny's voice from the miniseries, I'm out. And Melvin Van Peebles is no Scatman Crothers.
I loved Steven’s version of the Shining and was at the hotel at the time they were filming. I asked about the playhouse and the snow storm. (There was a snowstorm about a week before) and if they had saved money and filmed the blizzard during it. (No-that would be so wrong and unsafe)
*Stephen's
@@danman6669i think he meant Steven Weber.
I actually like the Shining Mini Series and i thought that Steven Weber did a Great Job as Jack Torrance!! I think that both Kubrick and King's versions of The Shining are Great in different ways!!
Wow I just googled the reviews for the mini series and it got raves from critics. That is very impressive for something that casts such a huge shadow. Also it was 1 year after I moved to America😊
Weber's impersonation of King was hilariously on point 😂
Underrated actor imo. Should've been a big name
It's like all or most of Rod Serling's themes dealt with loneliness / depression amazing how they can wrap it all up in a package that is way over the top.
Steven Weber performed IT so well for the audiobook. I listen to IT every year around Halloween and it still delivers. His Beverly Marsh is so well done, his ability to hit all of the cadences and emotion of the female voice is very impressive. He completely nailed it.
I prefer Kubrick's version. The miniseries has its moments.
Love these insights. Love the comments. Long live the King.
This version of The Shining is the only one I rewatch. Fantastic work and the version I always recommend to anyone.
Loved the one with Steven Webber the best because you get to see the characters GO crazy. In the original, the characters were already fragile. It didn't take much to push them over the edge. The evolution of the characters was much more interesting to watch.
*Steven Weber's performance in the Broadway musical "The Producers" was absolutely amazing back in the day.*
Stanley's The Shinning was better as inspired by Steven's work while the mini series is based on the book. But the movie version is my favorite movie and my favorite horror movie. Its a perfect movie.
GTHO with 'The Shining' TV Movie. Everyone involved with that atrocity, including King himself, did TERRIBLE work.
I love hearing stories where authors, directors, etc talk about their methods. You can take film courses in college, watch yt videos about film and watch professors and people dissect and look for hidden meanings and subtext in film and then find out from the author or director themselves say something like Weber addressed. "Yeah, this line is about a bottle of wine." I've seen Coppola talk about the oranges in godfather. People have dissected the oranges in the godfather for decades. Coppola said he just wanted something extra in the scene. Some other movement. So he had the oranges rolling around. Said there's nothing more than that. He just looked over and saw the oranges in the cart and went with it.
The biggest problem with Kubrick's The Shining as an adaptation is that it confused the supernatural element and changed the focus. The 'shining' and Danny's role in The Overlook takes a back seat. One could easily come away from the movie thinking that everything was just Jack's alcoholism and cabin fever causing him to lose his mind and try to kill his family. The book is about the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel wanting Danny and his 'shining' power, and using Jack's weakness to possess him and try to get it.
My favorite parts of the Kubrick film are the long shots. That hotel was the perfect character.
I think the divide between the fans who favor the movie vs. the miniseries depends on what you encountered first. Having read the book before seeing the movie, I found the movie disappointing and like the miniseries better because it's a better representation of what King was trying to say.
The book, and it's sequel, is about the destructive nature of alcoholism, with the supernatural elements being a catalyst and metaphor for the alcoholism. The hotel sees the monster hiding in Jack that comes out when he's drunk, and brings that out. It's about fighting with inner demons.
The movie version of The Shining is about a man possessed by an evil hotel. It's a visual masterpiece, but it takes a story about alcoholism set in a haunted hotel and makes it about the haunted hotel.
Movie Jack is a monster wearing a mask; book and miniseries Jack is a regular guy whose ugly side comes out when he drinks too much. Movie Jack is the villain; book and miniseries Jack is another victim of the hotel.
They're just completely different creatures.
What Kubrick is really saying is that evil doesn't exist in a bottle. It exists in all of us. Most of us put on a mask to hide it, and when we start drinking, our inhibitions start to fall down and then the real "us" comes out. People like to blame other substances for why they do horrible things, but those are the same things people do in the middle of war, stonecold sober.
Perhaps this is why King didn't like the movie- Kubrick was pointing out that part of the alcoholic personality is to avoid taking accountability for themselves and their actions. Have you noticed that alcohol itself is not evil- in a bottle it does nothing but just sit there. Jack being a facsimile of king, he wants to think that man is corrupted by the environment around him, but he doesn't want to actually think that there is evil inside of him the flourishes in certain environments. Jack wanted to drink because he wanted to connect with that evil again. He subconsciously wants to do bad things, while being able to blame it on the booze.
I thought Steven Weber's performance in the mini-series version of The Shining was amazing, and it's so much closer to the book.
It's so true. I first read The Shining when I was 14 and saw it as a kind of riff on Haunting of Hill House. But then I re-read it for only the second time in my 50s (I'm 57 now) after 17 years of sobriety and realized that it was a book about dealing the demon of alocholism and trying to redeem yourself." It's now my second favorite King book after "'salem's Lot"
It's great how this channel has comments from actual people in the industry
I love Steven Weber! ❤❤❤❤
I haven’t seen his version of the shining but his audio book narration is awesome. He is so good. Plus Wings is my favorite TV show of all
As someone who will die on the mountain of "Kubrick butchered King's best work" I appreciate Steven Weber so much. He will always be Jack Torrance. And I will always cry when I hear "Kissin', Kissin', thats what I've been missin'"
I loved the mini series. Much closer to the original story.
The quote thay always stayed with me was when Stephen king said The book was warm and the film was cold and that pretty much summed up for me
I love both book and the film seperately, they have the same location and same characters but not the same story
I definitely dig the 1997 version of The Shining more than the theatrical version. I usually watch it a few times a year!
It was my first version I watched so I always loved it more
It's far far FAR better
Mini Series was hot flaming dog feces. SO BAD. SO AWFUL.
@@titusmccarthy it was great! Closer to the book. You should give it a rewatch.
@@jameskuhn432No thanks. It was a shoddy and cheap production. The writing was poor and the acting sucked too. If I'll give anything a rewatch it'll be the 1980 Kubrick version.
The made-for-TV version in which Weber portrayed Jack Torrance was NOT 100% faithful to King's novel, any more than Kubrick's film was. It, too, took liberties with the source novel -- and NOT for the better. In the book, Jack is not 'redeemed' -- he had forgotten to dump the boiler, and after rushing down to the basement to save the hotel, he gets there too late and it goes KABLOOIE. The TV version has Weber's Jack first trying to prevent the explosion . . . but then he has a change of heart and CAUSES the explosion to happen, sacrificing himself nobly, so that his 'Force-ghost' can show up at his son Daniel's graduation ceremony spouting that gag-inducing schmaltzy line echoed from earlier in the teleplay about missin' all the kissin' . . . BLECHHH!!!
The TV version combines Grady and Lloyd. Why??? That's not how the book had it! In certain ways, Kubrick's version WAS closer to the book than how King re-wrote himself for the teleplay. Oh, I'll grant you that Kubrick intentionally changed certain things, using only the bare skeleton of the novel's plot onto which he built up a different musculature, so to speak. Kubrick's film reveals, at the end, that Jack was the reincarnation of a previous "Mr. Torrance" who used to be the Caretaker way back when, the man who looked just like Jack, in that photo taken on July 4, 1921. Charles Grady, too, can be similarly interpreted as the reincarnation of Delbert Grady, also looking just like his earlier self since Jack recognizes Delbert from the photo of Charles which he had seen after the tragedy of 1970. In Kubrick's version, men who had never been murderers in their earlier lifetimes later reincarnated -- within their own families, the Grady family and the Torrance family -- and, once they became aware of their Past Life memories of their beloved Overlook Hotel, they both earned permanent nirvana-like places there, following the Human Sacrifices each made: Grady murdering his wife and two daughters (then himself), and Jack murdering Hallorann after his failed attempt to murder Wendy and Danny.
There is no hint of a similar reincarnation-motif in King's novel, of course.
It also needs to be said that the Dead Hag in Room 217 didn't speak a single word during Danny's scary encounter with her -- in the novel, that is. The TV version unfortunately gave the actress lines of dialogue to say, which helped to make that scene less scary than how the prose of the novel reads.
And the Stanley Hotel, where the TV version was filmed, does NOT resemble the hotel described in the novel. Oh, King staying at the Stanley may have been inspired to write THE SHINING after a stay there on the last day of their season, sure . . . but the hotel he describes in the novel is different -- and Kubrick's sets (and use of exteriors and interiors from other lodge-hotels like the Timberline and Ahwanee) give a closer 'feel' to the ambiance of the fictional Overlook than does the Stanley.
Maybe someday some other filmmaker will get the rights to do a word-for-word adaptation of the novel, perhaps a 10-episode miniseries, averaging about 45 pages per episode (going by the 447-page novel in PB), and MAYBE the actors will be able to deliver their verbatim lines of dialogue in a way that sounds realistic and not cheesy. Maybe the CGI needed to make the Hedge Animals come to life will actually work, and not look silly. And MAYBE the scenes of Jack wielding that roque mallet will come across as genuinely terrifying, after the lackluster TV version's attempts which, sadly, are nowhere near as terrifying as Jack Nicholson's axe-wielding.
I so SO wanted to like the TV version, but when I saw it I couldn't believe how utterly lousy it was. How NOT scary. How cheesy it was. How smarmy. How untalented the child actor playing Danny was -- and, yeah, I know, it's not nice to beat up on a child, but there's just no comparing that kid to Danny Lloyd, who was PERFECT in Kubrick's film. ANY movie featuring a child actor either succeeds or fails depending on the performance of the kid. Just ask the kid who had the misfortune to play Anakin Skywalker in Episode I, and remember that George could've cast Haley Joel Osment in the role, but DIDN'T because his daughter thought the boy who got the part was 'cuter' -- HAH! The best child actor of his generation lost out to a not-so-good actor because the other kid was 'cuter'! HJO might have made that film watchable, might've been able to deliver his lines better and believably -- even with Jar Jar sharing the screen with him. Unlikely, yes, but we can only wonder about what might-have-been.
I like Steven Weber as an actor, but he was in over his head in the TV version of THE SHINING. The production purports to be 'true' to the novel, but it wasn't. It took liberties of its own, and for the most part they were WORSE alterations than those Kubrick made. King wrote the novel imagining HIMSELF being driven by his own alcoholism into becoming a monster. Kubrick changed 'Jack' into a vile man who had ALWAYS been vile -- who had been planning on murdering Wendy and Danny ever since he saw the story about Charles Grady in the newspapers shortly after that tragedy had happened . . . well before he even married Wendy and begot a son with her. King hated that Kubrick changed the alter ego representing himself as a potential monster, a good man corrupted by the evils present at the hotel, into an evil man who had merely PRETENDED to be a decent enough fella to fool Wendy into marrying him and "the Denver people" into hiring him.
Then King re-wrote the whole thing with his lousy teleplay, changing Jack into a HERO at the end, having his floating 'Force-ghost' smiling like a proud papa at Danny's graduation -- which most certainly WASN'T in the source novel. Ugh. King has talent when it comes to writing prose horror novels, and I give him all the kudos for that. But he doesn't seem to know how to make a decent horror film, especially when adapted from one of his own works. His SHINING remake stunk to high heaven, despite the attempts by Weber et al. to try to make it work. It wasn't scary. It was embarrassingly bad. It gives me no pleasure to say it, but it's true, alas!
Finally got my hands on that Premium Indy statue after seeing it on your podcast a few years ago. Kudos to you for keeping the pleather jacket from shredding lol
favorite part in the Shining movie is when wendy comes up the stairs and the guy with the bear costume is giving head to the guy on the bead in tails
beyond bizarre
beyond freaky
for scary, it's Kubrick not king
really ?? That scene made me laugh it was so campy. Should have been in Beyond The Valley of the Dolls 😂
"Lot of people say that's the best Shining."
A whole lot LESS, sure.
I know the TV mini series was truer to the book, but Kubrick produced a masterpiece. It's like the difference between 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lost in Space, lol.
Love both versions of The Shining
Guess I’m one of the rare "Stephen King faithful," a "constant reader," as King would say, that loves both the book and Kubrick’s adaptation. King’s just too close to the novel to be impartial. It’s personal for him. It’s his "baby." Also think he was hurt that Kubrick didn’t want his input, or to collaborate. At its core, there is a misunderstanding of Kubrick’s method, how he adapts an idea, rather than faithfully putting a written source on the screen.
Even more than anything Kubrick specific, writers need to let go and realize some movie adaptations need more changing than others, because the two mediums have different things that are possible/not possible. As a result, staying bery close to some books while making a movie results in a terrible movie.
Kubrick was a horrible person and a great filmmaker, so it’s understandable.
@@rrodz1447 oh yeah, and you knew Kubrick personally? 🙄
@@andyscott5277 I don’t know plenty of dead celebrities or historical people personally, and I feel comfy calling them horrible. Maybe it’s insensitive, but I fail to care about dead famous people’s hurt feelings? Idk what to tell you. 😂
Yeah, I remember enjoying his The Shining mini series. I just wish it was easier to view so I could watch it again and see how it holds up.
The audio version of IT is THE best version. Weber is amazing
The Steven Weber Shining was absolutely the best!
🤣🤣🤣
I have to say, I enjoy both the film The Shining and the book The Shining, they have their differences for sure and they're both so damn good! Also the brilliance of Mike Flanagan being able to merge both the book and the Kubrick Shining for the sequel Doctor Sleep was so masterfully done, check out the Director's Cut of Doctor Sleep if you haven't already, so good! I'm excited to check out the audiobook of IT after seeing so much praise for it here in the comments!
Great book
I love Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (it's one of my favorite movies) but The Shining with Steven Weber and Rebecca De Mornay is pretty true to the book, and thus, better.
Lol.
If you want your story done right in movie form, and this is important, be the director and NOT the writer.
I never understood why people were upset that Stanley Kubrick made *Stanley Kubrick's* version of The Shining. What did people think he was going to do?
To be fair, King tried that with Maximum Overdrive and it was a bomb. Even King himself was embarrassed by it and disowned it, which is why he's never directed another movie again. King is a much better writer than a director, and there's nothing wrong with that.
As a writer you have to let go and accept that most likely your works will not get a 1:1 translation in another medium.
This has always been the case with books to film, and often trying to stay completely loyal to the book makes for a bad film.
Lloyd the Bartender is the best scene hands down ❤
I read the book, saw the movie as well as the television series. Kubrick's film blows both the book and the miniseries out of the water, in my opinion.
I think so, too. Generally I always love the book more, but I started reading the book years after the movie came out. Once I got to the line about how they were microbes in the intestines of a monster...I gave up. Never went back to it. That line was SO terrible. He must have been drunk, at least writing that line.
@@greyeyed123Drunk and coked out of his mind. Stephen King doesn't remember alot of the books he wrote in the 80s cause of it.
King hated Kubrick's version, the miniseries is closely true to the book.
@@Deuteromis This is true.....doesn't change my opinion.
Yuck. The book is brilliant. Not only one of the scariest books I've ever read, but one of the best novels of any genre.
Kubrick's movie fundamentally misunderstands the entire point of the book and both the adult leads were woefully miscast. Also, he tormented Shelley Duvall for months on end, and for what? So she'd act scared? If the actress you hired doesn't act well enough, then you shouldn't have hired her, bub.
I'm listening to IT narrated by Steven and his telling of it is perfect just perfect
His face when Rosy says it was the best Shining lol.
Damn it I miss Wings!
Horribly underrated. I love that Family Guy referenced how great that show was in one of their episodes.
I like the bit where he's sitting on the bed and staring out the window and the kid comes in and sits next to him.
oh, for crying out loud - EVERYTHING Kubrick did, he made it his OWN VERSION of what Kubrick wanted to present and display and "play" an audience as great masters excel doing great work.
I love The Shining for both the Theatrical as well as the TV mini series.
Wow I had not seen Steven Weber in the longest time. I honestly barely remember the mini series version of The Shining except for the last scene where he is seen smiling as a ghost.
Who says that's the best Shining? Apart from King obviously...
Brian Hackett!! Love Wings...still watch it
I didn't know Steven Weber was morphing into Wolf Blitzer.
Steven did a great job for IT. Probably why I've listened to the book so many times is because of how well Steven did.
I didn’t care for the Kubrick movie much either, for the same reason King didn’t. There is no real character arc for Jack. Nicholson is clearly batshit from the first scene, which misses the whole point of the novel.
However, there’s one particular and excellent scene Kubrick added which was not in the novel. And that’s when Wendy looks at the huge pile of draft that Jack has spent weeks typing up and realizes that all it says is “All work and no play makes Jack a full boy,” over and over again, in a variety of capitalizations and type styles.
That was chilling, IMO, because it left no doubt that he was completely off his rocker.
My fave scene in Kubrick's version is when Wendy approaches the typewriter and sees what Jack has REALLY been working on. ;-p
“A lot of people say that’s the best Shining” “Uhhh. Thanks.”
Show me 3 people that say the miniseries is the best version of The Shining.
I didn't know there even was a miniseries until now.
I really liked Weber as Mayor Hamilton on NCIS:New Orleans, the perfect combination of likability and political corruption. He seems nice, but if you shake hands you notice the oily sheen he leaves behind. Great actor.
I thought the best moment in Kubrick's version was, "How do you like it?" That line along with the accompanying music crescendo totally creeped me out. Now Wendy knows.
This version had a firehose which came to life and walking topiary tree animals. LOL.
Steven weber was in an episode of tales from the crypt called "mournin mess". He's pretty good in it
I loved Kubrick’s The Shining
🎉🎉
Webber is a cool guy
Nice to see Brian Hackett still getting work.🎉
Not to be compared. Both are different concepts and both were well done.
Kubrick’s The Shining is a masterpiece and one of my favorite horror films. But the miniseries is amazing as well. Obviously it’s ridiculous to compare the movie and miniseries because they are completely different. They are both great in their own ways.
I was impressed by Weber's performance in the miniseries, only knowing him from Wings.
It was hard the first time through because he was so hilarious in Wings but watch it more than once and you start to see the range.
Like all Kubric movies, it's all spectacle with nothing to say.
@@alphanerd7221- exactly backwards
@@masterofallgoons Well that is nakedly absurd.
I read the book before seeing either so I could not take to the original film at all. It was a mockery of Stephen Kings talent. The mini series however was great. I found it interesting what Steven Weber said about wishing that he could go back and tackle some of those scenes again now that he has had more life experience. It would be interesting to see what would come of that.
"Stephen King's talent"
You act like he was something to revere. He wrote decent stories with a gimmick that lost it's originality after a few books, and his technical writing beyond his creative concepts is nothing to brag about.
He was an average writer who found a novel niche and then proceeded to milk it to death.
I LOVE everything that Steven Weber said. If anyone asks you what "The Shining" is about, the answer is alcoholism. And, no, I'm not talking about the Kubrick film because the Kubrick film veers so far from the original work that it's criminal. Do I think it's a fantastic horror film? Of course. I just wish that it were its own entity and not linked to King, because it's not a true reflection of King's work. That must really piss him off and I don't blame him.
I really liked the Stephen Weber version because I liked how true it was to the book. I'm sure fans of the original film who aren't big King fans probably hated the miniseries, but that's so unfair, because they're missing the point. It's a story about addiction and how that addiction impacts a family. As a recovering alcoholic myself, I think it's brilliant. I'm a horror buff and monsters don't scare me because they're not real. The disease of alcoholism, however, is very real and it's the most terrifying thing that I've ever experienced in real life.
And I have another take. Instead of alcoholism being the boogeyman, families that are unloving, splintered, narcissistic, abusive. Two people that should have never met, and the subsequent kids that should have never been. And the alcoholic in the family, often the dad, in this case myself, who treats their trauma, loneliness, broken dreams and stress with alcohol. That it only releases what is smoldering under the surface anyway,
It's nice to see that the actors appreciate Kurbrick's version as well. Both versions have their place.
*Kubrick's
Wow. No one talks about that movie other than to say it's bad (I like it- for the record). To find you talking to Steven Weber about this remake is a treasure for me.
It was a mini-series though, not a movie