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Behind the Scenes

The Shining

The Shining is a classic film, one that is enjoyed by both the younger generations as well as the older ones. It was made in 1980 and was directed by Stanley Kubrick. The story was written by Stephen King, however the true magic  and terror can be contributed to Stanley Kubrick. 

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Kubrick uses so many cinematic tricks to create this terror as well as psychological ones too. Kubrick's director style was very unusual which made the the actual filming take 13 months. Jack Nicholson (the main actor) eventually stopped bringing his script to film because of how often Kubrick changed it. Aside from the constant changing of the script, due to Kubrick's perfectionist tendencies, he also used many unusual film tactics. For example, He used the camera as the axe. Not literally but he made the camera follow the handle of the axe to show how the shining was taking over. In many of  the scenes this is a common theme. 

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Aside from the actual filming techniques, Kubrick also used psychological tactics to get people into their roles. It seems as if Shelly Duvall may have had the worst experience while on this set. Kubrick wanted Duvall to be visibly distraught and anxious. To get this effect, he advised many of the crew to be rude and also to show her no compassion. Duvall called one scene, which had to be filmed 127 times, "excruciating and almost unbearable." There was much conflict in the crew but even Duvall claims that it made the movie as good as it is today. There were many times where Duvall almost quit but luckily she pushed through and did a great job. By the end, her hair was falling out from stress and she had to have a water bottle with her at all times to keep from getting dehydrated with all the crying. 

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The actual filming of this piece was done in two places. Kubrick used a canadian ski lodge to base the hotel used off of as well to shoot some outdoor footage. The second crew - who was filming the sensory would go get up super early and film in canada while all the guests were still sleeping. This was what the hotel in the movie is based off of, although the movie one is more "americanized" than the other, they are very similar...Other than one is just a set and not an actual place. 

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The movie has been a pillar for lots of cinemagraphic ideas and projects since 1980. It has won many awards such as the Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActorSaturn Award for Best DVD or Blu-ray Collection as well as more. The outcome of the movie, according to the actors can be credited to how unucual and also how much tension was on set. While they werent actually getting chased by a deranged Jack Nicholson, they were still in a very unfun place. 

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