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The Ending of The Shining?

i dont think kubrick had a specific intention with the ending, i think it was purposely ambiguous to create a discussion that will forever leave the film wrapped in wonder.
 
I actually amused myself for hours one night looking through the interpretations of The Shining and the hidden meaning of it (as well as Kubrick's other films).

Has anyone seen this one? It sounds crazy but makes sense in the context of the movie and some of the other stuff people think about Kubrick.

Its a good watch either way.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEq6IjgR04
 
I think the ending was purposefully a mind ****. What is scarier or creepier than something you can't get your head around? It's the whole Lovecraftian angle.

It's like in David Lynch films, something really weird happens that the human mind can't explain. Like in Lost Highway with the mysterious man at the party, who is also in the guys house, on the phone to him.

Yea, that **** is ****ing creepy.
 
A good scary movie creates fear through dread and ominous foreboding rather than "jump out at you" type crap.
 
I actually amused myself for hours one night looking through the interpretations of The Shining and the hidden meaning of it (as well as Kubrick's other films).

Has anyone seen this one? It sounds crazy but makes sense in the context of the movie and some of the other stuff people think about Kubrick.

Its a good watch either way.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMEq6IjgR04

Look up the Kubrick film analysis from Rob Ager. His video on the the geography of the Overlook hotel is amazing.
 
That Moon Landing theory is interesting actually. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but the point he makes in that video, about the carpet, Danny's Apollo 11 sweater, and room 237... very interesting.
 
Thats because King has iffy tastes in films.

In a certain sense, I have to agree, even with as much as I love him as a writer.

He hates Kubrick's The Shining for the changes it made (even though, for the most part, the changes were for the best). But he loves The Stand, which was a very weak adaptation.

But, then again, he seems to be good with the adaptations of Darabont and Rob Reiner, and those have been great, so maybe he'd be singing a different tune if he had actually had a good relatioship with Kubrick.
 
Look up the Kubrick film analysis from Rob Ager. His video on the the geography of the Overlook hotel is amazing.

I think I ran across that. I will check it out to be sure though.

That Moon Landing theory is interesting actually. I'm not a conspiracy nut, but the point he makes in that video, about the carpet, Danny's Apollo 11 sweater, and room 237... very interesting.

Thats what i'm saying. I'm not prepared to buy into the moon landing hoax theory just yet, but there seem to be WAY to many exact coincidences in the movie (like changing the room to 237 and the obvious shirt like you mentioned). Either way it almost does seem like that IS what Kubrick was trying to say.

I looked through many of the other interpretations and the moon landing one was by far the most exact in its details and metaphors.
 
Perhaps The Shining is Danny's nightmare. The way he copes with an abusive father. Notice how some of the most disturbing and surreal sequences are book-ended with shots of folks in bed, near a bed, or somebody napping. A lot or mirrors and doorways as well. Stanley Kubrick's films had much more in common with David Lynch than many folks realize. He was just more subtle in the way he used dream logic to narrate. Things are often going on in the mind of the protagonist, but not neccessarily in the real world.

There isn't enough time in the day to get to the meat of Kubrick's The Shining. Its one of the most underappreciated and multi-layered films in cinematic history. Kubrick was a visionary who elevated King's schlock to high art. The bastard should have been grateful, but I'm guessing he felt very threatened by and jealous of Kubrick's vision.
 
Last edited:
Deleted Shining epilogue

Posted: January 25, 2013, 13:22:59
Here are some info about a deleted epilogue from Kubrick's version of The Shining.
 
Its about the Indians, they are getting revenge.

The hotel, the land that the hotel was built on, was ancient Indian burial grounds. The land was never theirs to begin with, they were only caretaking it.

Throughout the film the clothes suggest a patriotic stance for america. I believe Danny wears red white and blue for most of the film. The underlying cause of this insanity that Jack is destroyed by is this sense that he has always been there.

We as american's fight as though this is our land, as though we are natives, as though we have always been here. But we haven't and the movie is suggesting that true madness is believing such a thing.
 
For me the ending says: History always repeats itself.
 
I think the ending was purposefully a mind ****. What is scarier or creepier than something you can't get your head around? It's the whole Lovecraftian angle.

It's like in David Lynch films, something really weird happens that the human mind can't explain. Like in Lost Highway with the mysterious man at the party, who is also in the guys house, on the phone to him.

Yea, that **** is ****ing creepy.

Oh and what this guy said.

I love great mindf****. Cause there are bad and good, it's not just about throwing in something weird. It's about context, timing and thoughtfulness.
 
I was rewatching it the other day and I was thinking that maybe the Overlook wanted Jack as much as Danny, if not more, the whole time.
What a great film (and I also love the book, can't wait for Dr. Sleep).
This thread makes me want to watch it again and I'm also looking forward to "Room 237", the documentary about the movie. Does anyone know when that's coming out (in any form) in the US?
 
thats why its a good adaptation. the movie needs to show us something different. the story needs to work in the movie. when you are focring something that make the movie bad then you failed.

Its not as if the story of the book couldn't have been told well on film. Kubrick just chose not to. That's not a slight against the film but lets not act like actually adapting the themes of the book would have inherently made a poor film.
 
Its about the Indians, they are getting revenge.

The hotel, the land that the hotel was built on, was ancient Indian burial grounds. The land was never theirs to begin with, they were only caretaking it.

Throughout the film the clothes suggest a patriotic stance for america. I believe Danny wears red white and blue for most of the film. The underlying cause of this insanity that Jack is destroyed by is this sense that he has always been there.

We as american's fight as though this is our land, as though we are natives, as though we have always been here. But we haven't and the movie is suggesting that true madness is believing such a thing.

Interesting note about the Native American theories about this film:

Kubrick was very specific about what the posters for the film looked like in different markets. In Europe, the posters read "The Terror that Swept Across America IS HERE" even though the film actually came out in Europe before America. I call shenanigans.
 
shenanigans good or shenanigans bad? There could be something to all theories, I don't think he faked the moon landing, only calling out that without the holocaust of America's indigenous people the moon landing wouldn't be possible. It's a call for America's humility. But that's just the way I see it. I'm open you re views as well.
 
I was rewatching it the other day and I was thinking that maybe the Overlook wanted Jack as much as Danny, if not more, the whole time.
What a great film (and I also love the book, can't wait for Dr. Sleep).
This thread makes me want to watch it again and I'm also looking forward to "Room 237", the documentary about the movie. Does anyone know when that's coming out (in any form) in the US?

According to /Film, it should be out in late March. Which is great, because I'm dying to see it.
 
I just watched this for the first time. Wow. That was, really, really good. I'm not quite sure how to take the ending. My first thought was reincarnation but reading through this thread, there are a lot of great theories. I think I have an idea though: we'll never know and it'll be discussed until the end of time.
 
shenanigans good or shenanigans bad? There could be something to all theories, I don't think he faked the moon landing, only calling out that without the holocaust of America's indigenous people the moon landing wouldn't be possible. It's a call for America's humility. But that's just the way I see it. I'm open you re views as well.

I just mean that Kubrick was certainly up to something whatever that may have been rather than it just being an insane fan theory kind of thing.
 
Robert Ager, who has done many videos about Kubrick film interpretations, has done a few on the shining. His first few which were about the 'impossible' architecture of the Overlook set and various bear and native american symbols were both really good. About a year ago though he came out with another video positing that the whole film was a statement about returning to the gold standard. He actually gave a lot of evidence but most of that evidence was dependent upon his claim that Woodrow Wilson was one of the people in the photograph, which has since been debunked.
 
i dont think kubrick had a specific intention with the ending, i think it was purposely ambiguous to create a discussion that will forever leave the film wrapped in wonder.

^ This :up: ^

I 100% concur. That's the beauty of the film to me. It makes you think. It asks you "What do YOU think this movie was about?" Rather than telling you "THIS is what this movie is about!"

This discussion reminds me of 10th Grade English class, when we were asked to read a novel or a short story and then the teacher would ask us stuff like "What was the symolism behind this part?" Or "What was the author trying to say when he wrote this?" I never did well on those questions, because I always found them to be irrelevent. I always thought more relevent questions would be "How did this part of the story make you feel?" Or "What do YOU think the moral of this story is? What did YOU get out of it?" I might be able to read palms, Tarot cards, and rune stones, but I don't read minds. I have no idea what the author's original intent might be for a story or novel, just by reading it. And quite frankly, I don't give two s#!ts what it was either. If I come away from reading a book with something other than what the author intended, it doesn't make me a stupid person, nor make him a bad writer. It's just the way writing and reading stories works.

Kubrik read The Shining and came away from the experience with his own interpretation of its meaning. He made the film using his own interpretation, and ends it in a way that allows other people to come up with their own interpretations.

Pure genious.
 
The Shining has become a Rorschach test. You can see into it what you want to see. If you're passionate about the Moon Landing hoax, you're gonna find the Moon Landing hoax. If you're passionate about the Gold Standard, you're going to find the Gold Standard. Etc, etc.

The impossible architecture is insanely interesting though. It's not a theory either. It's all right there on screen and it's too deliberate to be a series of continuity errors. I find those kinds tangible, deliberate details far more intriguing than these feedback-loop theories. What it means is open for debate, but I prefer not to read too much into it. It works in an unsettling nightmare logic way that is satisfying enough for me.
 

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