Daily Dialogue — October 18, 2019

“Hello. Anybody here?”

— The Shining (1980), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson, novel by Stephen King

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Killing.

Trivia: Steven Spielberg praised the scene in which Wendy finds Jack’s “novel” and is confronted by him, as a great example of counterintuitive direction by Stanley Kubrick. Spielberg noted that the obvious way of playing the scene would be to have Jack suddenly appear over Wendy’s shoulder while she and the audience is preoccupied with the manuscript. Instead, Kubrick abruptly cuts away from Wendy to a shot from behind the pillar that tracks over to a distant view of Wendy from behind, thus preparing the audience for Jack’s entrance into the frame and eliminating any shock of his appearance. Spielberg noted that Kubrick’s unusual way of filming and editing the scene had two benefits: 1. It allowed the remainder of the sequence to maintain tension without a moment of relief that would follow from a “shock”, and 2. By avoiding a surprise at that moment, Kubrick saved the biggest scare in the film for Hallorann’s murder, in which Jack’s sudden appearance does come as a shock.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Unfortunately for Dick Hallorann, there is somebody here. This is a surprise killing, especially for those who read the book before seeing the movie because in Stephen King’s version, Dick survives the whole ordeal. Not so per Stanley Kubrick.