Stanley Kubrick was a director with an assortment of quirks and trademarks that enter into his films. When it comes to “The Shining,” this article explores some of the visual habits of this filmmaking master. Other facts and trivia about the movie include the topic of blood and what connection that the Well of the Souls tomb has with “The Shining.”
Director Trademarks
There is a great deal of director trademarks that appear in “The Shining.” Kubrick is known for his use of the bathroom. Jack speaks to the ghost of Delbert Grady while he is in the men’s room of the hotel. Wendy chooses the bathroom to hide away from Jack during the famous ax attack scene. Kubrick was big on faces, as he zeroes in on Jack when he chases Danny around the maze. He also places emphasis on Danny’s face when he sees the twins in the hallway scene. Zooming in another director trademark of Kubrick, as shown in the scene when Halloran is on his bed watching television.
Fire Hazard
The interior rooms of The Overlook Hotel were filmed at Elstree Studios in England, such as the Colorado Lounge where Jack is seen completing all of his typing. However, the lighting produced such a great level of heat when trying to recreate window sunlight that the lounge actually caught on fire. Luckily, all of the scenes had already been completed. Eventually, the set was reconstructed, but this time it had a higher ceiling. It was used later by Steven Spielberg to create the Well of the Souls tomb (the scene with all of the snakes) for his “Raiders of the Lost Ark” movie in 1981.
A Baseball Fan’s Insert
Stephen King is a big fan of the Red Sox. In the movie, we see Wendy beat Jack with a Louisville Slugger baseball ball. It is signed by Hall of Fame Red Sox player, Carl Yastrzemski.
Blood, Blood, Blood”¦
Interestingly, when the time to release the movie approached , the MPAA had a policy of forbidding the portrayal of blood in trailers. If blood was shown in a trailer, it was not approved for the public. In an attempt to overcome this technicality , Stanley Kubrick was able to convince the board that the blood seen coming out of the elevators was rusty water. The plan worked and the trailer was approved.
Protecting the Children
Can you believe that Danny Lloyd (the boy that played Danny) never knew he was working on a horror film until after it was released? Because of his age and that this was his first time acting, Stanley Kubrick was highly protective of the child and did everything in his power to make sure the boy was not aware of what was going on at the time.