Wow, Clint Eastwood hated The Shining even more than Stephen King

Clint Eastwood’s dislike for Shine even eclipsed author Stephen King, with an on-screen icon representing the 1980 horror film “Giant failureIt seemed like there was a time when every major genre director had to adapt at least one Stephen King book for the big screen. John Carpenter directed ChristineDavid Cronenberg visited Dead zone while George A. Romero directed every chapter Creepshow. It’s all the more unusual that King’s second film adaptation was directed by King’s Stanley Kubrick. 2001 And A Clockwork Orange fame/shame.

After being disappointed by the reaction to his historical drama Barry LyndonKubrick intended to do something more commercial. He turned to the horror genre and fell in love with King’s. Shine. The resulting film is now considered a masterpiece; an incomparable, breathtaking work filled with unforgettable images. Still, Shine received mixed reviews upon releasewith outlets such as Diversity And New Yorker giving him disappointing notices. Its $48 million gross (via Cashier Mojo) was also considered disappointing.

Why Clint Eastwood thought Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was a failure

Eastwood hasn’t been shy about speaking out about The Shining

Stephen King has openly stated his disgust at what Kubrick did with his novel.from the change in character right down to his cold tone. However, King’s thoughts almost glow compared to those of Clint Eastwood, who once spoke about Shine journalist Paul Nelson (via Conversations with Clint: Paul Nelson’s Lost Interviews with Clint Eastwood, 1979–1983.). During this discussion, Clint recalled seeing the film at a Warner Bros screening and summed up his feelings this way:

It was just a gigantic failure. The clearest example in the picture is that there was nothing horrifying about it.

Eastwood felt Shine lacked emotion and energy due to Kubrick’s tendency to do dozens of takes. “I’ve never seen so many good actors, really good actors that you’ve seen in many, many films, all these people who are old pros seem so tough.“, Clint said. He thought that none of the scare scenes worked, and that Kubrick “fell in lovewith his own footage, resulting in long, repetitive Steadicam shots that would not have bothered the audience.

Eastwood and Nelson agree on many things about their problems with Shinefeeling that Kubrick intended to make a true horror film, but his style ruined it. They seem to view it as an expensive folly, and Eastwood believes that if a first-time director had made it, “…they would bomb it right out of the building“

Clint Eastwood’s criticism of Shining Mirrors Reception of the film in 1980

Nobody understood The Shining in 1980.

It’s strange looking back Shine initial reception in light of his status now. The film often tops lists of the scariest films ever made, and endless articles and video essays explore its many mysteries. The film had its fans when it arrived in 1980, but Eastwood’s problems with the film were largely consistent with how it was received at the time. Major critics such as Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael considered Shine it was also a huge disappointmentand that it was neither scary nor exciting.

Many, including King, felt that Jack Nicholson’s performance as Jack Torrance was too over the top and that he seemed crazy from the first scene. Like John Carpenter Thing, it took people many years to rediscover Shine on television or on videotapes to turn the tide. Of course, Eastwood’s words are harsher than even some of them. Shine worst reviews, but not quite the opposite opinion.

Eastwood was considering a parody of The Shining slogan for one of his films

“Any Way You Can” Almost Cast a Shade on Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick was meticulous in almost every aspect of his films, right down to the posters. Records of his correspondence with Shine poster designer Saul Bass (via Open culture), with Kubrick’s handwritten notes expressing his problems with most of them; Bass and Kubrick went through 300 iterations of the design before settling on the final version. Kubrick’s idea was to place the slogan “MASTERPIECE OF MODERN HORROR” on top of Shine poster too much.

In Eastwood’s conversation with Nelson, he chastised Kubrick for making such a lofty statement. Clint recalled that some World Bank executives tried to dissuade the director from doing this, saying: “Stanley, maybe you should wait and let some reviewer attach that caption to the film, because it might seem like a bit of an exaggeration on your part.Eastwood then tells Nelson that while discussing publicity for his 1980 comedy, Any way you canhe thought: “Well, perhaps we should call it “a masterpiece of modern comedy and adventure.”.'”

While this is no doubt an ironic remark, it would actually be funny if Eastwood’s film stuck this slogan on the poster. Instead, they chose a much softer slogan: “Faster, funnier and wilder. It’ll knock you out!”

Even Stephen King wasn’t as harsh on The Shining as Eastwood

The author of The Shining praises Kubrick’s film

Generally, Kubrick Shine considered a horror classic, that is Also terrible adaptation of King’s novel. The book is deeply personal for King and addresses his own struggles with addiction and raising a family. The author was so unhappy with how Kubrick treated his original story that he later remade it Shine as a miniseries much more faithful to the source material.

King has often written about his opinion of Kubrick. Shining and has given many interviews on the subject, but perhaps his most famous quote comes from a TCM documentary. Night at the Movies: Stephen King Horror. Here the author has provided images inside Shine are “startling“, but this is all superficial, without substance, and “It’s like a beautiful car that doesn’t have an engine.“Despite my problems, King still gave compliments Shinefrom young Danny Lloyd’s performance to the visual effects.

In 2019, Mike Flanagan took over Doctor SleepA Shining a sequel that did the seemingly impossible by unifying the disparate tones of King’s book. And Kubrick’s film. After seeing the sequel, King told Flanagan that Doctor Sleep “redeemed“everything he didn’t like about the 1980 film – although the author still doesn’t seem to be a fan. Despite everything, even King has some good things to say Shinewhereas Clint didn’t like Kubrick’s film from top to bottom..

Eastwood’s criticism of The Shining is justified

Rightly or wrongly, Eastwood is thoughtful in his critique of The Shining.

Scatman Crothers played Dick Hallorann in Shine and continued the film with a role in Eastwood’s favorite western. Bronco Billy. There is an unconfirmed story that Crothers cried after Eastwood stated that he was satisfied with the actor’s first take of the scene and moved on; Crothers cried not because he was upset, but because he was so used to endless takes while working with Kubrick..

Kubrick was known for filming dozens of takes for even the simplest scenes, while Eastwood often shoots the first or second take. of this scene. Their contrasting styles may be why Eastwood remained indifferent to Kubrick’s films. Shinewith the latter finding the film’s patient pacing too clinical. Eastwood’s comments about Kubrick’s work may be derogatory, but as a major director himself, his concerns are entirely valid.

Eastwood is thoughtful in his Shining comments and the reasons why he felt the film didn’t work, ranging from the use of sets instead of real locations, the overuse of the Steadicam, to the lack of energy in the performances. This was all a deliberate choice by Kubrick, and is why he is now held in such high esteem, but for Eastwood and others who felt frozen out Shinethese are fatal flaws.

Source: Cashier Mojo, Open culture, YouTube/The Drew Barrymore Show