Platypuschow This remake simply shouldn't have been, there was no need to make it or expand on an already competent original.I'd heard nothing but bad things and I fully understand why. It's not that it's poorly made, it's just so very mundane.Standing at over 4hrs split across 3 episodes this remake misses the point of the original story altogether. Gone are the iconic scenes including the blood filled elevator and creepy twins, gone is the bike down the corridor or dead lady seducing the father. And no there isn't a "Here's Johnny" moment.It's all replaced with lack of originality and mediocrity.The cast do their best but nobody could have turned this around, it simply should never have been.Cliched, boring and I don't mean to be harsh but that kid looks like he ingested the whole ugly tree.Plain and simply bad.The Good:The cast do a decent enough jobThe Bad:Kid is just awfulEnding is far fetchedPoor writingWhole thing is just so unecessaryThings I Learnt From This Movie:The classics need leaving the hell alone

Rainey Dawn If you have never read the book and have seen Kubrick's The Shining then there are a few questions left lingering in the mind. I've read that this film is King's book on film so I recommend watching this 1997 version. King himself had a hand in making this one.It is true that comparing the two films is like comparing Apples to Oranges - both are quite different. Kubrick's film is a condensed and somewhat changed version of King's book vs this 1997 film which is basically King's book on film (I want to reiterate for those who might not have given this movie a chance).I won't rehash the differences between the two movies - other reviewers have done a great job with that - but I can say that I like both movies.9/10

lomaran-1 So many people are unfairly comparing this to the movie of the same name but each should be considered separately as each is a presentation from its own genre. The movie, although a classic and VERY scary, was not true to King's book. This version, however, was and ~ being a fan of the book ~ I prefer this version. Granted, one may claim this moves slowly in places but again ~ this is a mini-series. It has more time to develop the characters, which it does. We SEE Jack evolve as the hotel begins to possess him more and more. We see the love he has for his family: his wife AND son and in fact, it is the love for his son that saves them all in the end (mild spoiler). We LIKE Jack. Does anyone like the Jack of the movie? One cannot truly compare Kubrick's version to this one. They are as apples and oranges but this one IS truer to the book.

larapage Absolutely no way on earth should this have a rating of 6. This is a really well scripted, shiveringly atmospheric, thoughtfully created, beautifully produced miniseries which in my opinion, is far greater than the better known movie version.Two things make this version better than The Shining movie. Firstly and most importantly, the characters are actually developed. We get to see the family in their everyday struggles before they move to The Overlook, we understand their motivations, their fears, their idiosyncrasies, their relationships with each other, so that when they reach the hotel, we have already been drawn into their lives enough to empathise with their situation and isolation. By the time the haunting begin, we feel every bit of the characters' fear with them. The same is said for Danny who, although seemingly suffering from a really annoying cold for most of the movie, is again a properly developed character who we get to know and understand.By contract, the old Shining movie throws the whole family straight into the hotel without really showing their relationship, their life before the hotel, their motivations or anything about them. The kid doesn't even speak! Secondly, the setting in King's version is perfect. He shows us the landscape, the vast mountains, the hotel in all weather conditions, we as voyeurs are invited privately into rooms, suites, bars and receptions as the first signs of haunting take place, so that it's as if we're there experiencing the apprehension along with the other characters.Another thing I love about King is his fascination with snow, winter and themes of being isolated and cut off from help, which is beautifully exemplified in Storm of the Century but not as well as it is in this. You feel like you need a huge winter jumper and a big mug of chili hot chocolate while you're watching this, it literally makes you shiver! The ultimate transformation from Jack's Vermont persona of a teacher trying to control anger outbursts and alcoholism and doing the best he can for his family to a wild, reckless, paranoid monster at the end of the film is mind blowing.In the movie version, Wendy hasn't been fully developed as a character and we're not really compelled to identify with her, so when Jack goes crazy in the famous 'hammer through bathroom door' scene at the end, I kind of thought 'So what?'. We don't have enough of a connection with her character to feel fear or sympathy. Whereas in this version, Wendy has already been developed as an outwardly vulnerable, inwardly strong, caring and supportive wife and mother. So when Jack turns on her in the end, we truly feel the terror of her predicament.Yes it's long - that's King films for you. But there's no better way to spend a cold winter's Sunday afternoon than curled up on your sofa watching this chilly tale unfold!