The Shining 4K Ultra review by Bobby Blakey
Over the last couple of years there has been a resurgence with some classic Stephen King films being remade with some great success including Pet Sematary and IT. In November of this year fans will get to set he sequel to his classic The Shining, Doctor Sleep make its big screen debut so what better time to revisit the iconic 1980 Stanley Kubrick film The Shining hitting 4K Ultra for the first time.
The Shining follows Jack Torrance, a normal writer and former teacher who agrees to take care of a hotel which has a long, violent past that puts everyone in the hotel in a nervous situation. While Jack slowly gets more violent and angry of his life, his son, Danny, tries to use a special talent, the "Shining", to inform the people outside about whatever that is going on in the hotel. If you are one of the sad few that have never seen this film it stars Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers. I have to be honest, I have never read a single King book, but still love the adaptations most of the time. So all of my reviews are based solely on the films themselves.
I was actually late to the party on appreciating this film. I was barely 6 years old when this film was originally released and didn’t fully appreciate horror films of any kind until my high school years outside a few. By then I was only into the slasher world and never got the appeal to this film, but one day I watched it with different eyes and saw the brilliance of it all like never before. Since I have seen it hundreds of times, but this latest viewing was quite different. The brilliance of the 4K visual along with my knowledge of not only the film itself, but all these years of film between its release and now gave me a new perspective.
The visuals of the cinematography is outstanding offering up its own stimulation
that fully immerses you into this world. The insanely brilliant score adds even more power to its effect and slaps you in the face with an uncomfortable tone. These alone make this film a piece of cinema brilliance, but you add the performances to the mix, most notably Nicholson and you have what some consider it to be one of the top films of all time. I loved seeing the nuances of Nicholson’s performance and seeing how elements were reused by him whether initially or otherwise in other roles like his Joker in Batman. Watching him slowly go insane reminds you that the he is one of the most unique and brilliant actors to ever step on screen and one I miss.
Outside of obviously loving this latest release of the film it made me all the more excited for the upcoming Doctor Sleep. While I don’t expect it to live up to this film I do hope for some of the same tropes that made it have the longevity that it still has today. This latest release not only features the film in beautiful 4K Ultra for the first time, but bonus content including commentary and numerous featurettes taking you behind bringing this classic to life. Grab your axe and smash through that door to get your copy of The Shining when it hits 4K Ultra for the first time on October 1st from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.