Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Who beat up Danny?
In the movie, Jack has the same ability as Danny and therefore both are able to telepathically “Shine” images into the minds of other people. This is exactly what Danny does to Dick Hallorann in his bedroom in Florida when he needs his help. When Danny is beat up Jack is having a nightmare and his power to “Shine” combined with his increasing madness is what makes him able to lash out at Danny without being physically present. It couldn’t have been the old woman in 237 because, as Dick Hallorann tells Danny over ice cream, she’s only a vision of the past and not real. Having this special ability enables them to “Shine” these images into each others minds.
Click here and read more about Jack’s ability to “Shine”.
Click here and read more about Jack’s ability to “Shine”.
Why are there so many references to Native Americans and what do they mean?
I feel these references, which are seen in just about every shot of the movie, are only meant to throw off anyone trying to figure out the meaning of this movie. The only important Indians here are the well-hidden Mayan’s and their prediction of the end of the world, 12/24/2011. The rest is a con unless someone can prove different.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Are the ghosts in the movie real?
No! Not a one and that’s the beauty of Stanley Kubrick’s unbelievable deception. What the audience thinks are “ghosts” are visions from the Overlook’s guests who all have this very special supernatural ability to “Shine” that enables them to see these visions. I’ve often thought that in the movie version of this story The Overlook may have been a place that attracted people with this special power to “Shine”. It appears to be quite obvious, and it also seems that people who “Shine” have invisible friends by their sides.
I believe the ghosts that everyone believes haunt The Overlook are actually the Doppelgangers of the current residents, and there’s no solid evidence that I can find to the contrary. Everything they see are visions, whether they be of the past, future, or of their deepest fears. No one is there except the Torrance family. It’s brilliant how Stanley Kubrick gave each cast member powers that make it appear to the audience that The Overlook is haunted, when it actually isn’t.
Click here and go back to my blog with over 450 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
I believe the ghosts that everyone believes haunt The Overlook are actually the Doppelgangers of the current residents, and there’s no solid evidence that I can find to the contrary. Everything they see are visions, whether they be of the past, future, or of their deepest fears. No one is there except the Torrance family. It’s brilliant how Stanley Kubrick gave each cast member powers that make it appear to the audience that The Overlook is haunted, when it actually isn’t.
Click here and go back to my blog with over 450 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Who lets Jack out of the storeroom?
In the movie Jack has the ability to “Shine” and therefore he's able to supernaturally move objects. Charles Grady is a real person, who worked in The Overlook in 1970, but the other one Delbert Grady is a product of Jack’s mind and as he speaks to him in the storeroom he’s really talking to himself. But it’s his power to “Shine”, that’s so well hidden in the movie, which enables him to unlock the storeroom door and get out by himself.
Click here and read more about Jack’s ability to “Shine”।
In the novel a ghost does let out Jack out of the storeroom. But this is another obvious reversal Stanley Kubrick made from the novel as he turned it inside out.
Click here and read more about Jack’s ability to “Shine”।
In the novel a ghost does let out Jack out of the storeroom. But this is another obvious reversal Stanley Kubrick made from the novel as he turned it inside out.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What book does Jack have opened on his desk?
This is not explained in the movie. In Stephen King’s novel it’s a scrapbook kept in the basement of The Overlook where Jack does most of his work. It’s what he plans to use as a source for a novel he plans to write on The Overlook.
Click here! Stanley Kubrick adds another obvious reversal to Stephen King’s novel here as Jack is only working on one book; in the novel he is working on two projects 1) a play and 2) planning a novel on the history of The Overlook.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Click here! Stanley Kubrick adds another obvious reversal to Stephen King’s novel here as Jack is only working on one book; in the novel he is working on two projects 1) a play and 2) planning a novel on the history of The Overlook.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Who are the women in room 237?
This is not explained in the movie. In Stephen King’s novel, the woman's name is Mrs. Massey and she committed suicide in the bathtub of room 217. Cast members who “Shine” can see visions of what happened there in the past and are able to see her in that bathroom. Stanley Kubrick doubled much from the novel and we now see 2 woman in the bathroom of a different room, 237.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Who is Tony?
In Stephen King’s novel Tony is Danny's subconscious mind protecting him just like any other person's subconscious mind would do. Danny's difference, from most of us on this site, is in his ability to "Shine".
In the novel Tony is also Danny’s imaginary friend and he can talk to him face to face, but Stanley Kubrick reverses this in the movie and we don’t see him because he’s invisable. We just hear him talking through Danny in a strange voice. Another thing Stanley Kubrick changed in the movie is that other people can “Shine” and they also have invisible imaginary friends. Now how on earth could he show us an invisible entity on a movie screen? Just click here and find out.
In the novel Tony is also Danny’s imaginary friend and he can talk to him face to face, but Stanley Kubrick reverses this in the movie and we don’t see him because he’s invisable. We just hear him talking through Danny in a strange voice. Another thing Stanley Kubrick changed in the movie is that other people can “Shine” and they also have invisible imaginary friends. Now how on earth could he show us an invisible entity on a movie screen? Just click here and find out.
How have the cast members power to “Shine” been changed from the novel?
Anything we know about this special ability come from two sources, Dick Hallorann’s mouth or observations of the two characters in the story who we are 100% positive have this ability, Danny and Dick Hallorann. In Stephen King’s novel people who “Shine” have the supernatural ability to do 2 basic things 1) they can see into the past and the future and 2) they can speak to each other telepathically over any distance. To understand “Shining” in Stanley Kubrick’s movie it’s essential to look at how he altered Stephen King’s source novel. Anyone who attempts to explain this special power without mentioning these alterations is committing a grave error on the reader, and quite possibly doesn’t know anything about what they’re talking about. The changes he made are easily found by reading it and they’re not an object of speculation and conjecture. They are what they are and can’t be changed.
You can look at how he altered the source novel here and give special attention to what’s reversed and what’s doubled.
For me one of the best and creepiest parts of the novel was when The Overlook animates certain objects for its guests and special attention should be paid to the 3 items that move by supernatural means. It’s absurd to think that Stanley Kubrick would leave out such a great plot point from the novel, and if you look closely; he doesn’t, he just reverses it like so much else from Stephen King’s novel.
The three items that moved by themselves in the novel are the Hedge Animals, the fire hose, and the elevators. They all move because they’re possessed, but what Stanley Kubrick did to these three items in the movie cannot be ignored. There’s an obvious reversal and no one can dispute that these three items, glaringly if not hauntingly, remain motionless throughout the entire movie
In the novel all three were possessed by the hotel and it’s clear that what The Overlook moves in the novel doesn’t move in the movie. Not only has Stanley Kubrick reversed colors and plot points from the novel he has also change the location of every major scene. Except that they are in the same hotel (or are they?) not one major thing happens in the movie’s Overlook in the same place it did in the novel’s Overlook (room 237 and 217 are different in each, Jack works in the basement in the novel, there’s no Gold Room in the novel and Jack meets Grady and Lloyd in the Colorado Lounge, in the end of the novel Wendy and Jack fight in the hallway, the final chase takes place inside The Overlook in the novel, etc., etc., etc.). The reason I bring all this up is because after looking at all he altered from the novel it would be inane to think that he wouldn’t alter this very special power mentioned in the title of the story, “Shining”, in the same fashion.
Much from the novel has also mysteriously been doubled (2 women are in the bathroom of room 237 the novel has only one. 2 elevators, the novel has only one. 2 typewriters, the novel has only one). Stanley Kubrick also doubles the amount of this special power to “Shine” that cast members in the movie possess. In addition to 1) seeing into the past and the future and 2) speaking to each other telepathically over any distance, they also have the ability 3) to change the color of items and possessions, and 4) to supernaturally move objects, making them disappear than reappear between shots. They are the ones who have the power in the movie, not The Overlook and this is yet another reversal from the novel. How do I know this? The objects that move and change color not only happen inside The Overlook but also in Danny’s condo and Dick Hallorann’s apartment in Florida. These movements are obvious and I have extensively documented what moves supernaturally in “The Shining” in my blog. Click here and go back to look at almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
You can look at how he altered the source novel here and give special attention to what’s reversed and what’s doubled.
For me one of the best and creepiest parts of the novel was when The Overlook animates certain objects for its guests and special attention should be paid to the 3 items that move by supernatural means. It’s absurd to think that Stanley Kubrick would leave out such a great plot point from the novel, and if you look closely; he doesn’t, he just reverses it like so much else from Stephen King’s novel.
The three items that moved by themselves in the novel are the Hedge Animals, the fire hose, and the elevators. They all move because they’re possessed, but what Stanley Kubrick did to these three items in the movie cannot be ignored. There’s an obvious reversal and no one can dispute that these three items, glaringly if not hauntingly, remain motionless throughout the entire movie
In the novel all three were possessed by the hotel and it’s clear that what The Overlook moves in the novel doesn’t move in the movie. Not only has Stanley Kubrick reversed colors and plot points from the novel he has also change the location of every major scene. Except that they are in the same hotel (or are they?) not one major thing happens in the movie’s Overlook in the same place it did in the novel’s Overlook (room 237 and 217 are different in each, Jack works in the basement in the novel, there’s no Gold Room in the novel and Jack meets Grady and Lloyd in the Colorado Lounge, in the end of the novel Wendy and Jack fight in the hallway, the final chase takes place inside The Overlook in the novel, etc., etc., etc.). The reason I bring all this up is because after looking at all he altered from the novel it would be inane to think that he wouldn’t alter this very special power mentioned in the title of the story, “Shining”, in the same fashion.
Much from the novel has also mysteriously been doubled (2 women are in the bathroom of room 237 the novel has only one. 2 elevators, the novel has only one. 2 typewriters, the novel has only one). Stanley Kubrick also doubles the amount of this special power to “Shine” that cast members in the movie possess. In addition to 1) seeing into the past and the future and 2) speaking to each other telepathically over any distance, they also have the ability 3) to change the color of items and possessions, and 4) to supernaturally move objects, making them disappear than reappear between shots. They are the ones who have the power in the movie, not The Overlook and this is yet another reversal from the novel. How do I know this? The objects that move and change color not only happen inside The Overlook but also in Danny’s condo and Dick Hallorann’s apartment in Florida. These movements are obvious and I have extensively documented what moves supernaturally in “The Shining” in my blog. Click here and go back to look at almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
What do the Numbers Mean?
Why does Stanley Kubrick have so many of the same numbers (12, 21, 24, and 42) showing up throughout The Shining on Danny’s sweaters, room numbers, movie titles, dates, times, etc. etc.?
He wants the audience to notice them and they’re key to explaining the date in the last shot of the movie. They are quite obvious; Room 237 adds up to 12, the 21 pictures on the wall in the final shots, the numbers of the date 7/4/1921 added together equal 24, and Danny wearing the number 42 on his sweatshirt in their bathroom.
What's the significance of the four shots filmed entirely in the reflection of a mirror, and why does Stanley Kubrick have Danny wear an Apollo sweater with the number 11 on it?
Mirrors or so important in Stanley Kubrick’s “Shining”. If you read the novel it’s obvious he’s holding Stephen King’s novel up to a mirror and in the movie we are seeing that reflection.
The time codes of the four unique shots where a cast member is filmed entirely in the reflection of a mirror are part of a code that Stanley Kubrick wants us to notice throughout the movie. Just as we would never know Redrum is murder if we didn’t see it in the reflection of a mirror, we would never know of the number 11’s significance (a mirror image of itself) if we didn’t look at the time codes of the four mirror shots. Mirrors are the key clue that leads to the explanation of what the puzzling date at the end of the movie, “July 4th 1921”, actually means.
Danny’s reflection as he talks to Tony in the bathroom mirror (the duration is :24 seconds exactly and the time code is :11 minutes).
Jack’s reflection in the bedroom mirror as Wendy gives him breakfast (the duration is 1:21 minutes exactly and the time code is :35 minutes, :24+:11).
Jack’s reflection in the bedroom mirror as Danny comes in for his truck (the duration is :24 seconds exactly and the time code is :53 minutes, :42+:11).
Wendy’s reflection as she sees Redrum reflected in the bedroom mirror (the duration is :04 seconds exactly and the time code is 2 hours and :01 minute, 1:10+:11).
Why does Stanley Kubrick have an enigmatic date on the screen in the final shot instead of what you see there in thousands of classic movies, The End?
The date on the screen, 7/4/1921, is meaningless unless you add up its component numbers. It’s put at the very end of the movie as a clue to another date he has in mind, an ancient Mayan Indian prediction of the end of the world just a few years from now. Stanly Kubrick wanted us to wonder about this fictitious date while giving us numerical clues throughout the movie to the real date he believes to be a prediction of the Apocalypse. The end of this movie is a metaphor for The End of everything and he even gives us the date positioned in the most perfect spot; the end.
To get the month, take the mirror image of 21 (the number of pictures on the wall in the last shots).
To get the day, add up 7/4/1921.
To get the year, count the 20 people in the second to last close-up picture of the movie.
... and add that to the number 11 on Danny’s Apollo sweater (or 2, 1’s (twins) from the last two digits of the year 1921).
The hidden date is 12/24/2011.
By now you’ve probably already made up your mind about how wrong I am about the Mayan Indians. After all they’re never mentioned in the movie so how could this be right. The Mayan Indians never being mentioned in the movie doesn’t mean anything. They’re there, just look at how subtly he included them. For almost 30 years viewers have looked at this shot and not seen what it actually is.
There’s a perfect depiction of an ancient Mayan pyramid (top, sides and stairs) in Jack’s dream of the hedge maze and it’s proof positive that I’m correct about the Mayan date 12/24/2011. The many American Indian references throughout the movie are obvious and hold no mystery at all. The real mystery here is the date in the last shot of the movie. The inclusion of a hidden depiction of an ancient Mayan pyramid in Jack’s dream of the hedge maze (in conjunction with the mysterious numbers) has no explanation other than that it has something to do with Mayan Indians and not American Indians as is a popular belief held by some.
If this isn't enough maybe seeing the actual numbers of the date 12/24/2011 hidden in the picture will be. They’re all there and quite obvious if you know where to look.
12 is represented by adding up the three 4’s formed by the center shadows.
24 is represented by multiplying the number 12 from the center shadows by the 2 Mayan Temples that are shown in the picture.
20 is represented by adding the four 5’s on the left and right of the number 12 in the center ( the bottom 2 are inverted).
Adding the Roman Numerals X and I also hidden in the picture represents the number 11.
12/24/2011, it’s unbelievable how much was hidden in plain sight in this one picture.
12/24/2011
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
He wants the audience to notice them and they’re key to explaining the date in the last shot of the movie. They are quite obvious; Room 237 adds up to 12, the 21 pictures on the wall in the final shots, the numbers of the date 7/4/1921 added together equal 24, and Danny wearing the number 42 on his sweatshirt in their bathroom.
What's the significance of the four shots filmed entirely in the reflection of a mirror, and why does Stanley Kubrick have Danny wear an Apollo sweater with the number 11 on it?
Mirrors or so important in Stanley Kubrick’s “Shining”. If you read the novel it’s obvious he’s holding Stephen King’s novel up to a mirror and in the movie we are seeing that reflection.
The time codes of the four unique shots where a cast member is filmed entirely in the reflection of a mirror are part of a code that Stanley Kubrick wants us to notice throughout the movie. Just as we would never know Redrum is murder if we didn’t see it in the reflection of a mirror, we would never know of the number 11’s significance (a mirror image of itself) if we didn’t look at the time codes of the four mirror shots. Mirrors are the key clue that leads to the explanation of what the puzzling date at the end of the movie, “July 4th 1921”, actually means.
Danny’s reflection as he talks to Tony in the bathroom mirror (the duration is :24 seconds exactly and the time code is :11 minutes).
Jack’s reflection in the bedroom mirror as Wendy gives him breakfast (the duration is 1:21 minutes exactly and the time code is :35 minutes, :24+:11).
Jack’s reflection in the bedroom mirror as Danny comes in for his truck (the duration is :24 seconds exactly and the time code is :53 minutes, :42+:11).
Wendy’s reflection as she sees Redrum reflected in the bedroom mirror (the duration is :04 seconds exactly and the time code is 2 hours and :01 minute, 1:10+:11).
Why does Stanley Kubrick have an enigmatic date on the screen in the final shot instead of what you see there in thousands of classic movies, The End?
The date on the screen, 7/4/1921, is meaningless unless you add up its component numbers. It’s put at the very end of the movie as a clue to another date he has in mind, an ancient Mayan Indian prediction of the end of the world just a few years from now. Stanly Kubrick wanted us to wonder about this fictitious date while giving us numerical clues throughout the movie to the real date he believes to be a prediction of the Apocalypse. The end of this movie is a metaphor for The End of everything and he even gives us the date positioned in the most perfect spot; the end.
To get the month, take the mirror image of 21 (the number of pictures on the wall in the last shots).
To get the day, add up 7/4/1921.
To get the year, count the 20 people in the second to last close-up picture of the movie.
... and add that to the number 11 on Danny’s Apollo sweater (or 2, 1’s (twins) from the last two digits of the year 1921).
The hidden date is 12/24/2011.
By now you’ve probably already made up your mind about how wrong I am about the Mayan Indians. After all they’re never mentioned in the movie so how could this be right. The Mayan Indians never being mentioned in the movie doesn’t mean anything. They’re there, just look at how subtly he included them. For almost 30 years viewers have looked at this shot and not seen what it actually is.
There’s a perfect depiction of an ancient Mayan pyramid (top, sides and stairs) in Jack’s dream of the hedge maze and it’s proof positive that I’m correct about the Mayan date 12/24/2011. The many American Indian references throughout the movie are obvious and hold no mystery at all. The real mystery here is the date in the last shot of the movie. The inclusion of a hidden depiction of an ancient Mayan pyramid in Jack’s dream of the hedge maze (in conjunction with the mysterious numbers) has no explanation other than that it has something to do with Mayan Indians and not American Indians as is a popular belief held by some.
If this isn't enough maybe seeing the actual numbers of the date 12/24/2011 hidden in the picture will be. They’re all there and quite obvious if you know where to look.
12 is represented by adding up the three 4’s formed by the center shadows.
24 is represented by multiplying the number 12 from the center shadows by the 2 Mayan Temples that are shown in the picture.
20 is represented by adding the four 5’s on the left and right of the number 12 in the center ( the bottom 2 are inverted).
Adding the Roman Numerals X and I also hidden in the picture represents the number 11.
12/24/2011, it’s unbelievable how much was hidden in plain sight in this one picture.
12/24/2011
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Why did Stanley Kubrick change so much from the novel?
He can therefore he does. He must have had total control over the story line in making the movie. I feel the movie is much better but if Stephen King was disappointed with the changes I can see why, as there are so many. What he changed and how he did it is the most important clue to understanding the mystery of the film. After reading the book I've discovered something in the movie that's very well hidden, something that Stephen King has never said anything about even though he must have noticed it right away; Stanley Kubrick didn’t just randomly alter things from the novel (as many viewers think), he's reversed them. It’s like looking in a mirror where images are the reverse of what’s real. It's been noted how important mirrors are and parts of the movie are not just changed from the novel but are inverted mirror images (opposites) of what happens in the novel. I realized this with the colors of the two main vehicles in the story. In the novel they're brought to The Overlook in a red VW and saved on a yellow snowmobile. In the movie they're brought to The Overlook in a yellow VW and saved in a red Sno-cat. These color changes were meant to be noticed and this inversion can't be ignored, he's even done it with the plot. Stanley Kubrick has taken Stephen King’s novel and held it up to a mirror and what we're seeing in the movie is that reflection. A reflection where, in typical Kubrick fashion, just enough obvious changes are puzzlingly noticeable (The Hedge Maze and colors) and just enough is left alone (names and places), not being so obvious as to give it all away; Exactly like the numbers he wants us to notice.
If you would like to see some of what was altered in the movie click here and see.
If you would like to see some of what was altered in the movie click here and see.
What do Delbert Grady and Tony have in common?
Something very odd moves around in "The Shining" when it shouldn’t. It was one of the first things I ever noticed and I just knew it was the most common of continuity errors seen hundreds of times in other movies. Than I read Stephen King's novel and everything changed.
Tony is Danny's imaginary friend and can be seen by him in the novel. I believe in this movie Stanley Kubrick is showing us an inverted image of Stephen King's novel (click here), and now in the movie Tony's invisible; but he is still there if you know where to look. In the movie Tony is not only a voice inside Danny, but he's an actual invisible entity. In fact anyone else who "Shines" in this movie also has an invisible entity around them. This may be a little hard to comprehend but the proof of what I'm saying is in the pictures. Every time one of these invisible entities makes an appearance in the movie they do the exact same thing. I'll show you the pictures first and see if you can find where they are in each one.
Did you notice a chair moving between shots in each scene? This isn't a mistake. No cast member went near them and they shouldn’t have moved. It’s deliberate and it happens at least five times in the movie. The invisible entities are present and are sitting in a chair making themselves comfortable while hanging around their host. In the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary the definition of the word Doppelganger is; a ghostly counterpart of a living person, and I believe there's proof here in these pictures that each major character in “The Shining” has a Doppelganger associated with them. Even though the modern Internet definition indicates an evil presence Stanley Kubrick is working from the older definition here, as only Jack’s Doppelganger is evil.
There should be no confusion as to whether The Overlook itself is causing this because it happens three times in the hotel and twice outside of it. Therefore the moving chairs are happening as a result of “Shining” and not any other popular phenomena, like ghosts.
As I’ve already stated it’s pretty obvious that all these people have the same ability. I’ve shown this many times in pictures throughout my blog (click here).
Now just look at the 6 chairs to the right of Mr. Ullman that move between shots in this scene. 6 people who arguably have the “Shine” are present and not one of them went near any of these 6 chairs. Their invisible Doppelgangers are sitting right there with them.
I'm sure that these invisible entities are the power in the movie behind what's causing everything to move around, disappear, and change colors and the person who "Shines" or their invisible entity is present in the scene when they do. The actual characters have no idea what's going on. It's their subconscious that is doing it and Danny is the only one who may have the slightest clue.
It's obvious that Dick Hallorann and Wendy have imaginary friends; but what about Jack, his are a little different because we can actually see them (Stanly Kubrick is letting us see the results of Jack’s imagination on the screen). We know that Charles Grady was an actual person who worked in The Overlook, murdered his family then killed himself. The other one, Delbert Grady, never actually exists and is Jack's subconscious version of Danny's imaginary friend Tony. That's why he's able to let him out of the storeroom without Jack's conscious mind (or the audience's) knowing it. Grady and Tony probably communicate without Jack or Danny ever knowing it. I'm sure this is how Danny was beat up during Jack's nightmare. There never was and old woman in room 237 while they were The Overlook, just a vision of one who was there in the past. It's true that Jack is talking to himself when he speaks to Grady with the mirror in front of him. Don't forget about Lloyd the bartender he's part of Jack's subconscious also as he speaks to himself again with a mirror in front of him. As the movie progresses the madder Jack gets the more stuff happens, it's his subconscious that's doing everything. It's amazing how much mystery there is in this movie and all the answers are right there in front of us if you know where to look.
Someone else also had an invisible friend sitting next to him when he did his dirty work.
First of all the ax is the same one that Jack uses later in the movie, but don’t let that confuse you the important thing is the overturned chair. The chairs we see throughout The Overlook are not the same style as this one but I knew that if I looked through the movie I would find this particular chair somewhere in there. We see it a total of four times but the thing that's really important is that every time we see it it's upside down. It's right outside of Wendy and Jacks apartment.
Charles Grady was also able to “Shine” and his invisible entity was sitting in that very chair before he killed his family and himself. The reason the chair is now overturned is because he killed himself and there's nothing sitting there any more.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 500 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Tony is Danny's imaginary friend and can be seen by him in the novel. I believe in this movie Stanley Kubrick is showing us an inverted image of Stephen King's novel (click here), and now in the movie Tony's invisible; but he is still there if you know where to look. In the movie Tony is not only a voice inside Danny, but he's an actual invisible entity. In fact anyone else who "Shines" in this movie also has an invisible entity around them. This may be a little hard to comprehend but the proof of what I'm saying is in the pictures. Every time one of these invisible entities makes an appearance in the movie they do the exact same thing. I'll show you the pictures first and see if you can find where they are in each one.
Did you notice a chair moving between shots in each scene? This isn't a mistake. No cast member went near them and they shouldn’t have moved. It’s deliberate and it happens at least five times in the movie. The invisible entities are present and are sitting in a chair making themselves comfortable while hanging around their host. In the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary the definition of the word Doppelganger is; a ghostly counterpart of a living person, and I believe there's proof here in these pictures that each major character in “The Shining” has a Doppelganger associated with them. Even though the modern Internet definition indicates an evil presence Stanley Kubrick is working from the older definition here, as only Jack’s Doppelganger is evil.
There should be no confusion as to whether The Overlook itself is causing this because it happens three times in the hotel and twice outside of it. Therefore the moving chairs are happening as a result of “Shining” and not any other popular phenomena, like ghosts.
As I’ve already stated it’s pretty obvious that all these people have the same ability. I’ve shown this many times in pictures throughout my blog (click here).
Now just look at the 6 chairs to the right of Mr. Ullman that move between shots in this scene. 6 people who arguably have the “Shine” are present and not one of them went near any of these 6 chairs. Their invisible Doppelgangers are sitting right there with them.
I'm sure that these invisible entities are the power in the movie behind what's causing everything to move around, disappear, and change colors and the person who "Shines" or their invisible entity is present in the scene when they do. The actual characters have no idea what's going on. It's their subconscious that is doing it and Danny is the only one who may have the slightest clue.
It's obvious that Dick Hallorann and Wendy have imaginary friends; but what about Jack, his are a little different because we can actually see them (Stanly Kubrick is letting us see the results of Jack’s imagination on the screen). We know that Charles Grady was an actual person who worked in The Overlook, murdered his family then killed himself. The other one, Delbert Grady, never actually exists and is Jack's subconscious version of Danny's imaginary friend Tony. That's why he's able to let him out of the storeroom without Jack's conscious mind (or the audience's) knowing it. Grady and Tony probably communicate without Jack or Danny ever knowing it. I'm sure this is how Danny was beat up during Jack's nightmare. There never was and old woman in room 237 while they were The Overlook, just a vision of one who was there in the past. It's true that Jack is talking to himself when he speaks to Grady with the mirror in front of him. Don't forget about Lloyd the bartender he's part of Jack's subconscious also as he speaks to himself again with a mirror in front of him. As the movie progresses the madder Jack gets the more stuff happens, it's his subconscious that's doing everything. It's amazing how much mystery there is in this movie and all the answers are right there in front of us if you know where to look.
Someone else also had an invisible friend sitting next to him when he did his dirty work.
First of all the ax is the same one that Jack uses later in the movie, but don’t let that confuse you the important thing is the overturned chair. The chairs we see throughout The Overlook are not the same style as this one but I knew that if I looked through the movie I would find this particular chair somewhere in there. We see it a total of four times but the thing that's really important is that every time we see it it's upside down. It's right outside of Wendy and Jacks apartment.
Charles Grady was also able to “Shine” and his invisible entity was sitting in that very chair before he killed his family and himself. The reason the chair is now overturned is because he killed himself and there's nothing sitting there any more.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 500 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
What happened to Jack in the end of the movie?
One of the most puzzling questions in The Shining has always been; what happened to Jack at the end of the movie?
In Stephen King’s novel he dies in a boiler explosion inside The Overlook, but nothing that simple happens here. In another undeniable Kubrickian reversal of the source novel at the end of the movie we see him frozen solid outside of The Overlook. But what may have been also included in the first directors cut, and later removed, is that his body couldn’t be found by the police. This is very important. His body just disappears and to answer the question we should look at something else first; was Jack ever in the hotel before?
What would lead us to believe Jack’s been to The Overlook before as he definitely wasn’t there before in Stephen King’s novel? Early on he says this to Wendy, “It was as though I had been here before” but this statement doesn’t really prove anything. Grady’s famous line, “I'm sorry to differ with you, sir, but you are the caretaker. You have always been the caretaker, I should know, sir. I've always been here” cannot be used as proof that Jack’s returned because his visions of Grady are a product of his own imagination, combined with his growing madness coupled with his ability to “Shine”. If The Overlook is speaking to him through Grady it can’t be believed because as Danny states in Stephen King’s novel, “The house always lies”.
Then we see it! Jack appears standing in The Overlook in the last picture of the movie dated July 4th 1921. Ask anybody who’s seen "The Shining" if Jack Torrance has ever been there before and they will all use this picture as the one irrefutable example of it.
“Of course he was, I’ve seen a picture of him with a date under it from 1921, I’m absolutely sure of it, it has to be; Are you f’ing crazy?” The audience has been masterfully manipulated, this is just too easy. On the surface the picture is just to easy to interpret and as I’ll show you Stanley Kubrick’s put specific suggestions in our heads throughout the movie; Jack has never been in the hotel before, hasn’t returned, and isn’t Grady reincarnated. No matter how hard you say, “I believe, I believe” it just isn’t so; we’ve been manipulated by a master.
Any serious discussion of this film must address what happens in the last scene and can’t be considered complete without it. We’ve seen throughout the movie that whenever someone “Shines” something moves, changes color or disappears whether inside or outside of The Overlook. Just about all of the props in the last shot except the ceiling and floor have changed, and this alters everything because the question has to be; Who did it now? The cast members have all gone. But you must ask yourself; am I the one seeing the vision this time with the song "Midnight, The Stars and You" playing in my ears?
The chairs are now covered maybe indicating that “The Caretaker” is gone and there are more no invisible entities sitting around on them. The Gold Room sign moves across the floor from left to right but hasn’t changed with the same 2 artist’s pictures on it (indicating to me that we’re still in the present time frame and not in the past, or in some recurring BS sci-fi time warp).
The 2 mirrors on the sides of the 21 pictures are gone, replaced by Indian artwork, and the red couch, another place to sit, has now disappeared.
Lastly, don't forget there’s the most important alteration in the whole movie (maybe of any movie ever), the 21 pictures on the wall. They’re entirely different from what was in this spot when we’ve seen it several other times throughout the movie and the most puzzling image of all time dead center, “Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball 1921”, just wasn’t there before this last shot of the movie. No one ever noticed this. How could all the pictures be different?
Anyone who doesn’t realize by now that all the cast members in this movie have a very special ability may be hopelessly thick. They can see visions, speak together telepathically, change the colors of possessions and surroundings, and they can move objects without touching them. This is what the movie is about and it’s obvious someone used this special power and “Shined” that picture onto the wall at the end of the movie, but everyone in the story with the power is either dead or has left the building; Do you know who did it this time?
Stanley Kubrick has added yet another brilliant twist to this movie (maybe the greatest hidden twist in movie history); In the end as the camera zooms in on the center picture we, the audience, are the only ones there in the lobby, and we become an integral part of the movie. Jack was never in The Overlook in 1921 but we, never realizing that it’s us doing it, “Shine” him to the spot on the wall where we believe he was and belongs; back into the Overlook’s past. In the end he doesn’t exist anymore. Nothing more, nothing less. We’ve turned him into just a picture on a wall. Now he’s where he belongs, in the Overlook, frozen for all time, “for ever and ever and ever”. Throughout this entire movie we’ve been guided by the art of Stanley Kubrick’s simple suggestions and are unshakenly positive in our belief that Jack Torrance was in a past life, Grady, The Overlook’s caretaker. In the end, again, we’re seeing a reflection of what we thought was real. Anyone who erroneously tries to explain why this picture, the most enigmatic prop in movie history, isn’t there for 99% of the movie as a movie mistake or continuity error is insulting Mr. Kubrick’s intelligence, and just doesn’t get this movie. This must have a valid and plausible explanation. No one would go through the trouble of finding an authentic picture from 1921, as stated in his interview with Michel Ciment, and then forget to hang it up till the end of the movie. Come on, get real. Jack was never there before, but he sure is now, “for ever and ever and ever”; and you did it.
There’s a classic episode of “The Twilight Zone” from 1961 that reminds me of all this, and I bet Stephen King or Stanley Kubrick must have seen it. In “It's a Good Life”, Billy Mumy plays a child who has a special power that will look very familiar if you ever get to watch it. He’s totally evil and is able to transform people he doesn’t like into inanimate objects at will. If you ever get to see this episode you’ll know why the picture isn’t there for most of the movie and what power transformed the 21 pictures on the wall in the end. It will also become very clear who did it.
But it’s so obvious; Jack’s been reincarnated. Everyone believes he’s been in The Overlook before. This is the enormous power held in this one enigmatic image. The image of Jack standing there is almost like a religious icon. There’s a weird kind of faith people have in it, that it’s telling us he’s been in The Overlook before. It's unshakable. The audience must be aware of the visual inconsistencies contained in that picture though. They can’t be explained away or ignored, and I believe they prove that he’s never been there before.
Unfortunately Stanley Kubrick will be no help whatsoever in trying to understand what’s going on in the end of “The Shining”. Look carefully at what Stanley Kubrick said about this scene in his interview with Michel Ciment. He could have told Michel exactly what the ballroom picture means, but instead he cleverly says this; “The ballroom photograph at the very end suggests the reincarnation of Jack”. What an interesting choice of words he uses as the definition of ‘suggests’ is to cause one to think that something exists. The implication here is obvious. He wants Michel Ciment, as well as the rest of us, to “think that something exists” or else he simply wouldn’t have used that word. Everyone is positive they have the answer to the most puzzling question in this movie because the power of this one image, and what it says, is unbelievable. But look closely at Jack in the final picture. The Overlook's caretaker worked in the winter. It’s a total paradox. July 4th is in the summer and Jack wouldn’t have been there. He isn’t the caretaker in that picture either if you look closely he’s The Manager. It isn’t even July 4th, as the only identifiable object seen there would obviously make us think of a New Year’s Eve party. Unless you're someone who uses New Years Party favors in the summer. And what happened to all the other caretakers that had to have worked in between and before Jack and Grady?
It can be just as powerful in a movie but we see this in life all the time; the amazing power of a single image.
Stanley Kubrick purposely created a cinematic enigma that he knew viewers would be trying to understand for a very long time. In a beautifully simple way he made it as hard as possible to figure out because the more you look, the more you notice. And the more you notice, well…. No one can argue this fact though; he released a work that looked exactly the way he wanted it to. It was planned out ahead of time and what we see on the screen was placed there purposely. It is what it is. What we see can’t be changed and has to be the foundation of any attempted explanation.
If you just want to enjoy “The Shining” on a basic level what I’ve shown here won’t matter to you, but if your desire is to delve into a deeper understand of this work you’ll need to look very carefully at this picture. I stated before I don’t believe Jack’s ever been in The Overlook before. It’s the reverse of what everyone else believes but everything needed to prove my seemingly outrageous statement is there in the picture. It must be looked at and any examination of the last shot in “The Shining” that doesn’t acknowledge or attempt to explain these three obvious facts is intentionally incomplete.
The first problem as I stated before is the definition of reincarnation; the rebirth of a soul in a [new] body. Jack is still in the same body and this can’t be changed; by the very definition he hasn’t been reincarnated. Second, there’s one glaring problem with the July 4th picture that hardly anyone has ever realized, yet can’t be ignored. If Jack is the reincarnated caretaker from the Overlook’s past, or for that matter if he has ever been there in a previous life, than the picture had to have been taken in The Overlook. It may say “Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball 1921” but the party depicted in the picture quite simply isn’t in any room of The Overlook. We’ve seen all the big rooms in the hotel and there's absolutely no indication of another one either in the movie or the novel. This is no mistake. It’s such a brilliant yet simple deception. Stanley Kubrick makes us believe the photo was taken in The Overlook by what’s written on it. Anything can be written on a picture but it doesn’t make it true. Kubrick aficionados can jump up and down, throw tantrums, spit blood, or spin their heads like Regan from the Exorcist, but it will not change a thing. The place depicted in the picture is just not The Overlook. Stanley Kubrick planned it this way and this picture simply cannot be used as proof that Jack has ever been in The Overlook before in this or any other lifetime because it’s obvious, the picture has been taken somewhere else. The “somewhere else” Stanley Kubrick may have had in mind might be an interesting thing to ponder though.
Again we must return to what I showed you before. The third and most important thing about this picture that I bet you never noticed until now is; it’s not there on the wall at any other time in the movie. The most enigmatic prop in movie history just appears on the wall in the last shot? I believe someone “Shined” it up there. After all “Shining” is what this story is about, not reincarnation and there’s not a shred of evidence that any supernatural power other than “Shining” is going on here. Something else happened to Jack Torrance at the end of this story. We still see him in the same body; it’s not reincarnation as the definition of the word is very precise. Jack's never been in The Overlook before and the final picture wasn’t there earlier in the movie because, in the story’s time line, what it depicts simply hasn’t happened yet. It’s our vision of Jack’s future that Stanley Kubrick made to look like the past, and it happens at the very end of the story when all the cast members with this power are gone. He’s been frozen again a second time, for the rest of time. “Shined” onto a wall in a hotel where he will be “for ever, and ever, and ever”.
Look at all the major reversals Stanley Kubrick made to Stephen King’s story. In the novel Jack burns to death, The Overlook is destroyed and no one remains there. In the movie The Overlook is not destroyed, Jack is frozen and remains there on the wall forever. It’s obvious, but old perceptions die-hard and again a knee-jerk explanation for all this is that the picture has mistakes in it. But Stanley Kubrick doesn’t make “mistakes” like this without a reason and anyone who thinks he does should be prepared to prove how they know this for a fact. “The Shining” was released looking exactly the way he wanted it to. We’re looking at a brilliant deception. Everyone thinks they see people attending a party back in 1921. The picture looks like the past but we don’t even know for certain whether it’s past, present, or future; or what it actually depicts. The question that’s never asked is “who are the people in the picture?” Maybe it’s a get together of previous “Shiners” who visited The Overlook in the past. If you look closely all the sofas do disappear as the movie progresses – no place for their Doppelgangers to sit. When you read the next section of my blog you’ll understand why I believe the picture is not only there in the end but might actually depict a different type of end; a future gathering in hell. Whether you like his character or not Jack took a major wrong turn in life.
I mentioned before Stanley Kubrick’s obvious manipulation of time codes in this movie. If you look closely the shot where Jack gulps down his first drink is exactly 66 minutes and 6 seconds into the movie. Could this have just happened by chance? It’s undeniable the time code is exact to the second from when the story starts after the :11-second Warner Brothers logo is finished. If you don’t believe me “go check it out” for yourself.
In the last picture if Jack has become, as I believe, The Manager or the Master of Ceremonies in hell the people with him may very well be other “Shiners” who, like Jack, have passed through life and taken a similar wrong turn. It’s not The Overlook in the picture though, that’s not where they’re gathered. The picture may have ended up on The Overlook’s wall but they are definitely somewhere else.
You may still feel Jack’s been in the hotel before but think about this. There’s something in the dialog that proves Jack in the present day Overlook could not be a reincarnation of Charles Grady who killed his family and himself. Listening to the bathroom conversation between the two Charles Grady and Delbert Grady appear to be, on the surface, the same person, but they actually aren’t. Stanley Kubrick gave them two different names for a reason; they’re two different entities. One is a vision and the other is a real person. There should be no confusion about this; Delbert Grady is a vision inside Jack’s head that looks exactly like the real Overlook caretaker, Charles Grady. We know this positively from the dialog Stanley Kubrick put in the movie. Jack says this as he speaks to him in the bathroom, “Mr. Grady. You were the caretaker here. I recognize ya. I saw your picture in the newspapers.” There’s something here that movie viewers who have never read the book are not aware of. When Jack says, “I saw your picture in the newspapers” he’s referring to the unexplained scrapbook that we see open on his desk throughout the movie. The scrapbook plays a big part in the novel as it’s in the basement and used by “the manager” to lure Jack. It contains articles about the hotel and Jack eventually decides to use it to work on a different project about The Overlook’s past. When he says, “I saw your picture in the newspapers” he already knows what Charles Grady looks like. You don’t know what Grady looks like, but Jack does. Delbert Grady, “the ghost”, and Charles Grady, “the caretaker”, look exactly the same and Jack knows this for sure. He’s imagining talking to the same Charles Grady that he’s seen in the newspaper clippings who killed his family and himself in 1970. But there’s a major problem here; there can’t be any reincarnation of these two people because of what we know from the interview with Mr. Ullmann. We know when the two little girls were killed. Jack and Charles Grady, when he worked at the hotel, are both alive at the same time in 1970. The party is all a vision we’re seeing from Jack’s imagination. Grady may say this line “You are the caretaker, you have always been the caretaker” indicating all the caretakers are the same entity; Jack. But he and Charles Grady were obviously both alive at the same time and this can’t be debated or changed no matter what your opinion is. You can’t be a reincarnation of someone who is alive at the same time you are.
This perplexing picture is the final vision in a movie that’s full of visions. It’s by someone who has the exact same ability to “Shine” and see visions as The Overlook’s previous guests, the Torrences and Dick Hallorann who we know in the end are all either dead or like Elvis have "left the building”. The hotel is now empty except for us, the audience. Just think of how brilliantly this was put across in Stanley Kubrick’s script by Dick Hallorann, the only expert on “Shining” we know of; “But there are other folks, though mostly they don't know it, or don't believe it”. That may be you he's talking about, think about it; you are the other folks that don't know it, or don't believe it. What an unbelievable twist! The power of this one image. The unbelief of realizing that it might not be what it seems. It turns out in the end Stanley Kubrick has taken Stephen King’s story about a little boy who possesses the power to “Shine” and in the end reverses that power by giving it to the audience. Now, in this last perplexing shot as John Lennon sang in the song that inspired the novel.... “We all ‘Shine’ on”!
Several of the mysteries of the movie are explained by the obvious changes Stanley Kubrick made to Stephen King’s novel. Here are the differences between the novel and the movie again.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 450 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
In Stephen King’s novel he dies in a boiler explosion inside The Overlook, but nothing that simple happens here. In another undeniable Kubrickian reversal of the source novel at the end of the movie we see him frozen solid outside of The Overlook. But what may have been also included in the first directors cut, and later removed, is that his body couldn’t be found by the police. This is very important. His body just disappears and to answer the question we should look at something else first; was Jack ever in the hotel before?
What would lead us to believe Jack’s been to The Overlook before as he definitely wasn’t there before in Stephen King’s novel? Early on he says this to Wendy, “It was as though I had been here before” but this statement doesn’t really prove anything. Grady’s famous line, “I'm sorry to differ with you, sir, but you are the caretaker. You have always been the caretaker, I should know, sir. I've always been here” cannot be used as proof that Jack’s returned because his visions of Grady are a product of his own imagination, combined with his growing madness coupled with his ability to “Shine”. If The Overlook is speaking to him through Grady it can’t be believed because as Danny states in Stephen King’s novel, “The house always lies”.
Then we see it! Jack appears standing in The Overlook in the last picture of the movie dated July 4th 1921. Ask anybody who’s seen "The Shining" if Jack Torrance has ever been there before and they will all use this picture as the one irrefutable example of it.
“Of course he was, I’ve seen a picture of him with a date under it from 1921, I’m absolutely sure of it, it has to be; Are you f’ing crazy?” The audience has been masterfully manipulated, this is just too easy. On the surface the picture is just to easy to interpret and as I’ll show you Stanley Kubrick’s put specific suggestions in our heads throughout the movie; Jack has never been in the hotel before, hasn’t returned, and isn’t Grady reincarnated. No matter how hard you say, “I believe, I believe” it just isn’t so; we’ve been manipulated by a master.
Any serious discussion of this film must address what happens in the last scene and can’t be considered complete without it. We’ve seen throughout the movie that whenever someone “Shines” something moves, changes color or disappears whether inside or outside of The Overlook. Just about all of the props in the last shot except the ceiling and floor have changed, and this alters everything because the question has to be; Who did it now? The cast members have all gone. But you must ask yourself; am I the one seeing the vision this time with the song "Midnight, The Stars and You" playing in my ears?
The chairs are now covered maybe indicating that “The Caretaker” is gone and there are more no invisible entities sitting around on them. The Gold Room sign moves across the floor from left to right but hasn’t changed with the same 2 artist’s pictures on it (indicating to me that we’re still in the present time frame and not in the past, or in some recurring BS sci-fi time warp).
The 2 mirrors on the sides of the 21 pictures are gone, replaced by Indian artwork, and the red couch, another place to sit, has now disappeared.
Lastly, don't forget there’s the most important alteration in the whole movie (maybe of any movie ever), the 21 pictures on the wall. They’re entirely different from what was in this spot when we’ve seen it several other times throughout the movie and the most puzzling image of all time dead center, “Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball 1921”, just wasn’t there before this last shot of the movie. No one ever noticed this. How could all the pictures be different?
Anyone who doesn’t realize by now that all the cast members in this movie have a very special ability may be hopelessly thick. They can see visions, speak together telepathically, change the colors of possessions and surroundings, and they can move objects without touching them. This is what the movie is about and it’s obvious someone used this special power and “Shined” that picture onto the wall at the end of the movie, but everyone in the story with the power is either dead or has left the building; Do you know who did it this time?
Stanley Kubrick has added yet another brilliant twist to this movie (maybe the greatest hidden twist in movie history); In the end as the camera zooms in on the center picture we, the audience, are the only ones there in the lobby, and we become an integral part of the movie. Jack was never in The Overlook in 1921 but we, never realizing that it’s us doing it, “Shine” him to the spot on the wall where we believe he was and belongs; back into the Overlook’s past. In the end he doesn’t exist anymore. Nothing more, nothing less. We’ve turned him into just a picture on a wall. Now he’s where he belongs, in the Overlook, frozen for all time, “for ever and ever and ever”. Throughout this entire movie we’ve been guided by the art of Stanley Kubrick’s simple suggestions and are unshakenly positive in our belief that Jack Torrance was in a past life, Grady, The Overlook’s caretaker. In the end, again, we’re seeing a reflection of what we thought was real. Anyone who erroneously tries to explain why this picture, the most enigmatic prop in movie history, isn’t there for 99% of the movie as a movie mistake or continuity error is insulting Mr. Kubrick’s intelligence, and just doesn’t get this movie. This must have a valid and plausible explanation. No one would go through the trouble of finding an authentic picture from 1921, as stated in his interview with Michel Ciment, and then forget to hang it up till the end of the movie. Come on, get real. Jack was never there before, but he sure is now, “for ever and ever and ever”; and you did it.
There’s a classic episode of “The Twilight Zone” from 1961 that reminds me of all this, and I bet Stephen King or Stanley Kubrick must have seen it. In “It's a Good Life”, Billy Mumy plays a child who has a special power that will look very familiar if you ever get to watch it. He’s totally evil and is able to transform people he doesn’t like into inanimate objects at will. If you ever get to see this episode you’ll know why the picture isn’t there for most of the movie and what power transformed the 21 pictures on the wall in the end. It will also become very clear who did it.
But it’s so obvious; Jack’s been reincarnated. Everyone believes he’s been in The Overlook before. This is the enormous power held in this one enigmatic image. The image of Jack standing there is almost like a religious icon. There’s a weird kind of faith people have in it, that it’s telling us he’s been in The Overlook before. It's unshakable. The audience must be aware of the visual inconsistencies contained in that picture though. They can’t be explained away or ignored, and I believe they prove that he’s never been there before.
Unfortunately Stanley Kubrick will be no help whatsoever in trying to understand what’s going on in the end of “The Shining”. Look carefully at what Stanley Kubrick said about this scene in his interview with Michel Ciment. He could have told Michel exactly what the ballroom picture means, but instead he cleverly says this; “The ballroom photograph at the very end suggests the reincarnation of Jack”. What an interesting choice of words he uses as the definition of ‘suggests’ is to cause one to think that something exists. The implication here is obvious. He wants Michel Ciment, as well as the rest of us, to “think that something exists” or else he simply wouldn’t have used that word. Everyone is positive they have the answer to the most puzzling question in this movie because the power of this one image, and what it says, is unbelievable. But look closely at Jack in the final picture. The Overlook's caretaker worked in the winter. It’s a total paradox. July 4th is in the summer and Jack wouldn’t have been there. He isn’t the caretaker in that picture either if you look closely he’s The Manager. It isn’t even July 4th, as the only identifiable object seen there would obviously make us think of a New Year’s Eve party. Unless you're someone who uses New Years Party favors in the summer. And what happened to all the other caretakers that had to have worked in between and before Jack and Grady?
It can be just as powerful in a movie but we see this in life all the time; the amazing power of a single image.
Stanley Kubrick purposely created a cinematic enigma that he knew viewers would be trying to understand for a very long time. In a beautifully simple way he made it as hard as possible to figure out because the more you look, the more you notice. And the more you notice, well…. No one can argue this fact though; he released a work that looked exactly the way he wanted it to. It was planned out ahead of time and what we see on the screen was placed there purposely. It is what it is. What we see can’t be changed and has to be the foundation of any attempted explanation.
If you just want to enjoy “The Shining” on a basic level what I’ve shown here won’t matter to you, but if your desire is to delve into a deeper understand of this work you’ll need to look very carefully at this picture. I stated before I don’t believe Jack’s ever been in The Overlook before. It’s the reverse of what everyone else believes but everything needed to prove my seemingly outrageous statement is there in the picture. It must be looked at and any examination of the last shot in “The Shining” that doesn’t acknowledge or attempt to explain these three obvious facts is intentionally incomplete.
The first problem as I stated before is the definition of reincarnation; the rebirth of a soul in a [new] body. Jack is still in the same body and this can’t be changed; by the very definition he hasn’t been reincarnated. Second, there’s one glaring problem with the July 4th picture that hardly anyone has ever realized, yet can’t be ignored. If Jack is the reincarnated caretaker from the Overlook’s past, or for that matter if he has ever been there in a previous life, than the picture had to have been taken in The Overlook. It may say “Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball 1921” but the party depicted in the picture quite simply isn’t in any room of The Overlook. We’ve seen all the big rooms in the hotel and there's absolutely no indication of another one either in the movie or the novel. This is no mistake. It’s such a brilliant yet simple deception. Stanley Kubrick makes us believe the photo was taken in The Overlook by what’s written on it. Anything can be written on a picture but it doesn’t make it true. Kubrick aficionados can jump up and down, throw tantrums, spit blood, or spin their heads like Regan from the Exorcist, but it will not change a thing. The place depicted in the picture is just not The Overlook. Stanley Kubrick planned it this way and this picture simply cannot be used as proof that Jack has ever been in The Overlook before in this or any other lifetime because it’s obvious, the picture has been taken somewhere else. The “somewhere else” Stanley Kubrick may have had in mind might be an interesting thing to ponder though.
Again we must return to what I showed you before. The third and most important thing about this picture that I bet you never noticed until now is; it’s not there on the wall at any other time in the movie. The most enigmatic prop in movie history just appears on the wall in the last shot? I believe someone “Shined” it up there. After all “Shining” is what this story is about, not reincarnation and there’s not a shred of evidence that any supernatural power other than “Shining” is going on here. Something else happened to Jack Torrance at the end of this story. We still see him in the same body; it’s not reincarnation as the definition of the word is very precise. Jack's never been in The Overlook before and the final picture wasn’t there earlier in the movie because, in the story’s time line, what it depicts simply hasn’t happened yet. It’s our vision of Jack’s future that Stanley Kubrick made to look like the past, and it happens at the very end of the story when all the cast members with this power are gone. He’s been frozen again a second time, for the rest of time. “Shined” onto a wall in a hotel where he will be “for ever, and ever, and ever”.
Look at all the major reversals Stanley Kubrick made to Stephen King’s story. In the novel Jack burns to death, The Overlook is destroyed and no one remains there. In the movie The Overlook is not destroyed, Jack is frozen and remains there on the wall forever. It’s obvious, but old perceptions die-hard and again a knee-jerk explanation for all this is that the picture has mistakes in it. But Stanley Kubrick doesn’t make “mistakes” like this without a reason and anyone who thinks he does should be prepared to prove how they know this for a fact. “The Shining” was released looking exactly the way he wanted it to. We’re looking at a brilliant deception. Everyone thinks they see people attending a party back in 1921. The picture looks like the past but we don’t even know for certain whether it’s past, present, or future; or what it actually depicts. The question that’s never asked is “who are the people in the picture?” Maybe it’s a get together of previous “Shiners” who visited The Overlook in the past. If you look closely all the sofas do disappear as the movie progresses – no place for their Doppelgangers to sit. When you read the next section of my blog you’ll understand why I believe the picture is not only there in the end but might actually depict a different type of end; a future gathering in hell. Whether you like his character or not Jack took a major wrong turn in life.
I mentioned before Stanley Kubrick’s obvious manipulation of time codes in this movie. If you look closely the shot where Jack gulps down his first drink is exactly 66 minutes and 6 seconds into the movie. Could this have just happened by chance? It’s undeniable the time code is exact to the second from when the story starts after the :11-second Warner Brothers logo is finished. If you don’t believe me “go check it out” for yourself.
In the last picture if Jack has become, as I believe, The Manager or the Master of Ceremonies in hell the people with him may very well be other “Shiners” who, like Jack, have passed through life and taken a similar wrong turn. It’s not The Overlook in the picture though, that’s not where they’re gathered. The picture may have ended up on The Overlook’s wall but they are definitely somewhere else.
You may still feel Jack’s been in the hotel before but think about this. There’s something in the dialog that proves Jack in the present day Overlook could not be a reincarnation of Charles Grady who killed his family and himself. Listening to the bathroom conversation between the two Charles Grady and Delbert Grady appear to be, on the surface, the same person, but they actually aren’t. Stanley Kubrick gave them two different names for a reason; they’re two different entities. One is a vision and the other is a real person. There should be no confusion about this; Delbert Grady is a vision inside Jack’s head that looks exactly like the real Overlook caretaker, Charles Grady. We know this positively from the dialog Stanley Kubrick put in the movie. Jack says this as he speaks to him in the bathroom, “Mr. Grady. You were the caretaker here. I recognize ya. I saw your picture in the newspapers.” There’s something here that movie viewers who have never read the book are not aware of. When Jack says, “I saw your picture in the newspapers” he’s referring to the unexplained scrapbook that we see open on his desk throughout the movie. The scrapbook plays a big part in the novel as it’s in the basement and used by “the manager” to lure Jack. It contains articles about the hotel and Jack eventually decides to use it to work on a different project about The Overlook’s past. When he says, “I saw your picture in the newspapers” he already knows what Charles Grady looks like. You don’t know what Grady looks like, but Jack does. Delbert Grady, “the ghost”, and Charles Grady, “the caretaker”, look exactly the same and Jack knows this for sure. He’s imagining talking to the same Charles Grady that he’s seen in the newspaper clippings who killed his family and himself in 1970. But there’s a major problem here; there can’t be any reincarnation of these two people because of what we know from the interview with Mr. Ullmann. We know when the two little girls were killed. Jack and Charles Grady, when he worked at the hotel, are both alive at the same time in 1970. The party is all a vision we’re seeing from Jack’s imagination. Grady may say this line “You are the caretaker, you have always been the caretaker” indicating all the caretakers are the same entity; Jack. But he and Charles Grady were obviously both alive at the same time and this can’t be debated or changed no matter what your opinion is. You can’t be a reincarnation of someone who is alive at the same time you are.
This perplexing picture is the final vision in a movie that’s full of visions. It’s by someone who has the exact same ability to “Shine” and see visions as The Overlook’s previous guests, the Torrences and Dick Hallorann who we know in the end are all either dead or like Elvis have "left the building”. The hotel is now empty except for us, the audience. Just think of how brilliantly this was put across in Stanley Kubrick’s script by Dick Hallorann, the only expert on “Shining” we know of; “But there are other folks, though mostly they don't know it, or don't believe it”. That may be you he's talking about, think about it; you are the other folks that don't know it, or don't believe it. What an unbelievable twist! The power of this one image. The unbelief of realizing that it might not be what it seems. It turns out in the end Stanley Kubrick has taken Stephen King’s story about a little boy who possesses the power to “Shine” and in the end reverses that power by giving it to the audience. Now, in this last perplexing shot as John Lennon sang in the song that inspired the novel.... “We all ‘Shine’ on”!
Several of the mysteries of the movie are explained by the obvious changes Stanley Kubrick made to Stephen King’s novel. Here are the differences between the novel and the movie again.
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 450 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Does The Overlook “Shine”?
At first I thought that the hotel was behind everything out of the ordinary that happened in the movie, and that’s what we’re supposed to think, until you look deeper.
In the movie we’re seeing a mirror image (reversal) of many major plot points from the novel. Just like the obvious color reversal Stanley Kubrick chose for the VW and Sno-Cat, what’s red is yellow and what’s yellow is red. But in typical Kubrick fashion he doesn’t make this obvious. In the novel Jack’s possessed by The Overlook, and in the movie we’re led to believe, that it’s possessing him again. What’s actually happening may be a complete reversal of this. I believe the cast members who “Shine” are controlling everything that happens in the movie. The visions and ghosts are all in their own minds (at least up to the last scene)! Jack’s ability to “Shine” coupled with his decent into insanity is what’s causing many of the spooky goings on in the movie and not The Overlook itself. In fact I believe Stanley Kubrick put an almost unbelievable twist to his version of The Shining; He’s totally reversed what was in Stephen King’s novel and The Overlook isn’t possessed or even haunted, and doesn’t have the special ability to “Shine” like it’s visitors. I can’t think of one other director that could (or would even try to) pull something like this off, and the proof is this. If The Overlook were able to “Shine” Dick Hallorann would have immediately picked it up when he was working there, just like he immediately picked up Danny’s ability when they first met and he warned him not to go into room 237. If you find this a little hard to believe just think about this; everything we’re told about “Shining” comes from one source, the lips of Dick Hallorann. Whether we’re reading the novel or looking at the movie, he’s the only one that knows anything or says anything about it. He’s a board certified expert on the subject, and when he says “the Overlook Hotel here has somethin' almost like 'shining'." we have to take this as coming from someone that knows exactly what they’re talking about. “Somethin' almost like 'shining” is not the same thing as “Shining”, it’s almost like it. If you look at what he and Danny are talking about over ice cream you’ll see he’s trying to convince him not to go into room 237. The reason is not that he’ll find anyone in there or that it’s even dangerous (which he would have told him if it was) but because Danny, with his very special ability, will see the echo of something that was there in the past, exactly like what he knew the maid in the novel saw, a suicide. All these years everyone’s thought that The Overlook was in control, because it’s that way in the novel. And now it may be that the exact opposite is true.
Again the proof is in the treatment he gave to Stephen King's novel. The inversions I’ve pointed out from the source novel cannot be ignored; where do they stop? Does anyone think a perfectionist like Stanley Kubrick would stop right at the end in his alteration of the source material? If you think about it there's not one shred of evidence anyone can point to that the movie Overlook, as evil as it may be, has done anything to, or affected it’s inhabitants in any way. There’s just as much evidence that they did it all to themselves, and that’s the beauty of it; the ambiguity. What I’m saying is very controversial but why would he make this point so ambiguous if The Overlook were actually (as everyone believes) haunted?
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
In the movie we’re seeing a mirror image (reversal) of many major plot points from the novel. Just like the obvious color reversal Stanley Kubrick chose for the VW and Sno-Cat, what’s red is yellow and what’s yellow is red. But in typical Kubrick fashion he doesn’t make this obvious. In the novel Jack’s possessed by The Overlook, and in the movie we’re led to believe, that it’s possessing him again. What’s actually happening may be a complete reversal of this. I believe the cast members who “Shine” are controlling everything that happens in the movie. The visions and ghosts are all in their own minds (at least up to the last scene)! Jack’s ability to “Shine” coupled with his decent into insanity is what’s causing many of the spooky goings on in the movie and not The Overlook itself. In fact I believe Stanley Kubrick put an almost unbelievable twist to his version of The Shining; He’s totally reversed what was in Stephen King’s novel and The Overlook isn’t possessed or even haunted, and doesn’t have the special ability to “Shine” like it’s visitors. I can’t think of one other director that could (or would even try to) pull something like this off, and the proof is this. If The Overlook were able to “Shine” Dick Hallorann would have immediately picked it up when he was working there, just like he immediately picked up Danny’s ability when they first met and he warned him not to go into room 237. If you find this a little hard to believe just think about this; everything we’re told about “Shining” comes from one source, the lips of Dick Hallorann. Whether we’re reading the novel or looking at the movie, he’s the only one that knows anything or says anything about it. He’s a board certified expert on the subject, and when he says “the Overlook Hotel here has somethin' almost like 'shining'." we have to take this as coming from someone that knows exactly what they’re talking about. “Somethin' almost like 'shining” is not the same thing as “Shining”, it’s almost like it. If you look at what he and Danny are talking about over ice cream you’ll see he’s trying to convince him not to go into room 237. The reason is not that he’ll find anyone in there or that it’s even dangerous (which he would have told him if it was) but because Danny, with his very special ability, will see the echo of something that was there in the past, exactly like what he knew the maid in the novel saw, a suicide. All these years everyone’s thought that The Overlook was in control, because it’s that way in the novel. And now it may be that the exact opposite is true.
Again the proof is in the treatment he gave to Stephen King's novel. The inversions I’ve pointed out from the source novel cannot be ignored; where do they stop? Does anyone think a perfectionist like Stanley Kubrick would stop right at the end in his alteration of the source material? If you think about it there's not one shred of evidence anyone can point to that the movie Overlook, as evil as it may be, has done anything to, or affected it’s inhabitants in any way. There’s just as much evidence that they did it all to themselves, and that’s the beauty of it; the ambiguity. What I’m saying is very controversial but why would he make this point so ambiguous if The Overlook were actually (as everyone believes) haunted?
Click here and go back to my blog with almost 400 interesting pictures from the movie, and read more.
Does Jack also have the ability to “Shine”?
In this movie Stanley Kubric put the proof of who has the ability to “Shine” on the screen in front of us, but one of the most baffling questions that anyone asks after watching is; Who let Jack out of the storeroom? A similar question that ends up having the same answer is; who rolls the yellow ball to Danny as he plays on the carpet?
If you look closely at the movie, people who “Shine” have the ability to move things and change the color of surroundings and personal items. Stanley Kubrick masterfully hides this, along with the fact that Jack has this very same ability. The pictures don’t lie. It’s quite obvious if you look closely that Jack “Shines” and lets himself out of the storeroom. He also rolls his yellow ball toward Danny, luring him to room 237. And the proof is in the pictures. This is after all what this movie is about, people with the special ability to “Shine”. There’s no law that says Stanley Kubrick can’t change, or hide from the audience, which cast members have this special ability. Just look at the unmistakable similarities in these two pictures.
It’s obvious, they're both "Shining" and the Red Indian moves each time. We know that Dick Hallorann has this ability and a red Calumet can appears out of nowhere right next to his head when he telepathically talks to Danny, and disappears in the very next shot when he stops. When Jack “Shines” and unlatches the storeroom door there are now six (even more unseen) red Calumet cans near his head, and they weren’t there when Wendy dragged him in. The increase in the number of cans may indicate how much more of this power he has over that of Dick Hallorann. I believe Jack not only rolls the ball to Danny luring him to room 237 but also is the cause of the other items that move in The Overlook. The “ghosts” of Grady and Lloyd that Jack sees and talks to are from his own imagination alone and not a product of the hotel as is commonly believed by some. Looking at these 2 pictures (along with the others shown) it’s obvious that Stanley Kubrick is purposely moving things between shots in the movie. Please remember that the red Calumet cans appear out of nowhere. They weren’t there in previous shots, and this is very important.
Many use this quote from Stanley Kubrick’s interview with Michel Ciment as proof that Grady, a ghost, let Jack out of the storeroom. But if you read closely you’ll see he’s talking about what happened in the novel and not the movie.
"…What I found so particularly clever about the way the novel was written. As the supernatural events occurred you searched for an explanation, and the most likely one seemed to be that the strange things that were happening would finally be explained as the products of Jack's imagination. It's not until Grady, the ghost of the former caretaker who axed to death his family, slides open the bolt of the larder door, allowing Jack to escape, that you are left with no other explanation but the supernatural."
He cleverly keeps his secret as he tells Michel Ciment exactly what everyone expects to hear; a ghost lets Jack out of the storeroom.
The problem is that if you read the novel there is undeniable proof that Stanley Kubrick has reversed and altered every major aspect of it except the names of the characters and the hotel, and there’s no proof that he stopped doing it in the storeroom scene. Stanley Kubrick simply reverses the novel here. “The strange things that were happening would finally be explained as the products of Jack's imagination” and that’s exactly what he did. In the novel there is no question that a ghost opens the door. In the movie the ghosts are all in Jack’s head. If you have preconceived ideas the reversals I’ve noted that he made to the novel are shocking. Especially when you think of how he was able to hide all this in plain site. But if you “go check it out” what I’ve noted is quite correct. It’s not only correct but it can’t be debated, discussed, altered or most importantly dismissed. It is what it is. Red is yellow and yellow is red, and it’s also quite obvious that in the movie Jack “Shines.”
It’s a very controversial statement to say that cast members in “The Shining” are able to move things telepathically but not only is this obvious to anyone that looks, the proof of this statement can be found if you read Stephen King’s novel. As I showed you before in the movie there’s not one major aspect of the novel that has been left out. Some things just have to be searched for then you’ll say ‘I never noticed that’ when they’re pointed out to you. For me one of the best parts of the novel was when The Overlook animates certain objects for its guests. It’s absurd to think that Stanley Kubrick would leave out such a great plot point from the novel, and if you look closely; he doesn’t. Even though it’s impossible to prove which movements in the movie are deliberate and which aren’t, the proof that there are deliberate movements, is in the novel itself. The three items I’m referring to from the novel were all out in the open and obvious. The Hedge Animals, the fire hose, and the elevators all moved on their own, but what Stanley Kubrick did to these three items in the movie just cannot be ignored and should be explained by anyone who thinks there’s no such thing as a deliberate continuity error. Stanley Kubrick has totally reversed what happens in Stephen King’s novel again, and no one can dispute that these three items that were animated by The Overlook in the novel, glaringly, remain motionless throughout the entire movie.
None of them budges an inch and not only do they not move but the elevators don’t even change floors. It appears that what The Overlook moves in the novel doesn’t move in the movie, it’s obvious and it’s been reversed. What’s not so obvious is that reversing this leaves it open for Stanley Kubrick to move any other object that’s not one of the three from the novel; and as unbelievable as this sounds, it’s precisely what he did. The power that moves the objects has also been reversed and The Overlook does none of it in the movie. Just like the numbers Stanley Kubrick wants us to notice, the movements I’m speaking about are pretty obvious when someone points them out.
Noticed the sheet of paper that Jack pulls out of the typewriter. After he finishes scolding Wendy he “Shines” and another sheet appears right out of thin air, back in the typewriter again, without him touching it and without the audience hearing a thing.
Look at how Stanley Kubrick hides this in the drive up to The Overlook. Here Jack "Shines" as he constantly looks in the rear view mirror of his yellow VW,
and an unnaturally large pile of luggage, that couldn't fit in a VW if the engine and passengers were removed, appears at the end of the journey (without any indication of any outside help, or luggage on the car).
Stanley Kubrick hid this brilliantly in the film. All cast members that have the “Shine” are able to move items and change the color of their possessions. The pictures can’t be denied.
As Danny "Shines" watch the yellow and red dwarf from Snow White (Dopey) as it disappears from his bedroom door.
Dick Hallorann "Shines" and the red painting above his headboard in Florida just disappears between shots.
Watch as Dick Hallorann’s pile of change at the airport payphone moves constantly without him touching it with either hand.
Wendy also has some ability to “Shine” as she has four visions of her own. When Danny had his vision of the bloody elevators it’s never questioned that he’s “Shining”, so why should it be any different when we watch Wendy have the exact same vision, frame for frame, at the end of the movie? Her ability is well hidden but nonetheless obvious when she telepathically moves the direction the knives are facing after dragging Jack into the storeroom.
Later in the bathroom, she telepathically moves the same knife again. She throws it in the sink with the handle to the right, yet watch as later when picking it back up she reverses the handle’s position to the left without ever touching it.
Magazines, mirrors and other items also move or disappear when she’s around. Wendy’s special power to “Shine” means she also has the ability to see visions of things that have happened in the past in The Overlook, just like Jack and Danny’s vision of the old woman that committed suicide in room 237. It explains what this shot is all about, that many believe is Horace Derwent with Dog Man who are both mentioned in the novel as people who were at The Overlook years before.
If you look closely in the end of the movie, Danny "Shines" and actually moves the entrance of the hedge maze closer to him before Jack chases him into it. Early on when we see this area there’s no entrance on the wall facing the hotel, later the entrance moves from it's original position to the wall 90 degrees to the left, now facing The Overlook. This can be seen best just before they escape the hotel as Danny walks straight into Wendy’s arms at the end of the movie. She’s standing right in front of the rear entrance of The Overlook where Dick Hallorann parked the Sno-cat. Earlier we see this same spot and there’s no entrance there.
We are witnessing the work of a craftsmen who is the best in the world at what he does, but what places Stanley Kubrick apart from other directors is the sheer magnitude of his deception and he must have chuckled till the day he died knowing that no one ever noticed all this. No one ever put it together and figured out what he was actually doing.
The Overlook may be a place that attracts people who posses this special power. Cast members who “Shine” have the ability to change what they’re wearing as Mr. Ullman and Bill Watson both have personal articles of clothing that change between shots. If you think these are mistakes, you’re wrong. A perfectionist like Stanley Kubrick would never let this happen by accident in a million years.
Watch as Mr. Ullman’s tie changes right before our eyes.
Watch as Bill Watson’s pants do the same thing changing from solid color to plaid between shots.
Not only do cast members who “Shine” have the ability to change the color of possessions and move things. Stanley Kubrick gave them something else in common; click here to find out.
Again, Jack is also able to “Shine” and it’s obvious that his ability to supernaturally move things is what unlatches the storeroom door, and not that of a ghost. In the novel people who “Shine” don’t have the ability to telekinetically move things but there’s no law that says Stanley Kubrick can’t change this in his version, and this is exactly what he did.
Pictures don’t lie.
Click here and go back to my blog with over 450 interesting pictures from the movie, and check out this section " Things That Move Around or Just Don’t Seem Right" for more on this subject.
If you look closely at the movie, people who “Shine” have the ability to move things and change the color of surroundings and personal items. Stanley Kubrick masterfully hides this, along with the fact that Jack has this very same ability. The pictures don’t lie. It’s quite obvious if you look closely that Jack “Shines” and lets himself out of the storeroom. He also rolls his yellow ball toward Danny, luring him to room 237. And the proof is in the pictures. This is after all what this movie is about, people with the special ability to “Shine”. There’s no law that says Stanley Kubrick can’t change, or hide from the audience, which cast members have this special ability. Just look at the unmistakable similarities in these two pictures.
It’s obvious, they're both "Shining" and the Red Indian moves each time. We know that Dick Hallorann has this ability and a red Calumet can appears out of nowhere right next to his head when he telepathically talks to Danny, and disappears in the very next shot when he stops. When Jack “Shines” and unlatches the storeroom door there are now six (even more unseen) red Calumet cans near his head, and they weren’t there when Wendy dragged him in. The increase in the number of cans may indicate how much more of this power he has over that of Dick Hallorann. I believe Jack not only rolls the ball to Danny luring him to room 237 but also is the cause of the other items that move in The Overlook. The “ghosts” of Grady and Lloyd that Jack sees and talks to are from his own imagination alone and not a product of the hotel as is commonly believed by some. Looking at these 2 pictures (along with the others shown) it’s obvious that Stanley Kubrick is purposely moving things between shots in the movie. Please remember that the red Calumet cans appear out of nowhere. They weren’t there in previous shots, and this is very important.
Many use this quote from Stanley Kubrick’s interview with Michel Ciment as proof that Grady, a ghost, let Jack out of the storeroom. But if you read closely you’ll see he’s talking about what happened in the novel and not the movie.
"…What I found so particularly clever about the way the novel was written. As the supernatural events occurred you searched for an explanation, and the most likely one seemed to be that the strange things that were happening would finally be explained as the products of Jack's imagination. It's not until Grady, the ghost of the former caretaker who axed to death his family, slides open the bolt of the larder door, allowing Jack to escape, that you are left with no other explanation but the supernatural."
He cleverly keeps his secret as he tells Michel Ciment exactly what everyone expects to hear; a ghost lets Jack out of the storeroom.
The problem is that if you read the novel there is undeniable proof that Stanley Kubrick has reversed and altered every major aspect of it except the names of the characters and the hotel, and there’s no proof that he stopped doing it in the storeroom scene. Stanley Kubrick simply reverses the novel here. “The strange things that were happening would finally be explained as the products of Jack's imagination” and that’s exactly what he did. In the novel there is no question that a ghost opens the door. In the movie the ghosts are all in Jack’s head. If you have preconceived ideas the reversals I’ve noted that he made to the novel are shocking. Especially when you think of how he was able to hide all this in plain site. But if you “go check it out” what I’ve noted is quite correct. It’s not only correct but it can’t be debated, discussed, altered or most importantly dismissed. It is what it is. Red is yellow and yellow is red, and it’s also quite obvious that in the movie Jack “Shines.”
It’s a very controversial statement to say that cast members in “The Shining” are able to move things telepathically but not only is this obvious to anyone that looks, the proof of this statement can be found if you read Stephen King’s novel. As I showed you before in the movie there’s not one major aspect of the novel that has been left out. Some things just have to be searched for then you’ll say ‘I never noticed that’ when they’re pointed out to you. For me one of the best parts of the novel was when The Overlook animates certain objects for its guests. It’s absurd to think that Stanley Kubrick would leave out such a great plot point from the novel, and if you look closely; he doesn’t. Even though it’s impossible to prove which movements in the movie are deliberate and which aren’t, the proof that there are deliberate movements, is in the novel itself. The three items I’m referring to from the novel were all out in the open and obvious. The Hedge Animals, the fire hose, and the elevators all moved on their own, but what Stanley Kubrick did to these three items in the movie just cannot be ignored and should be explained by anyone who thinks there’s no such thing as a deliberate continuity error. Stanley Kubrick has totally reversed what happens in Stephen King’s novel again, and no one can dispute that these three items that were animated by The Overlook in the novel, glaringly, remain motionless throughout the entire movie.
None of them budges an inch and not only do they not move but the elevators don’t even change floors. It appears that what The Overlook moves in the novel doesn’t move in the movie, it’s obvious and it’s been reversed. What’s not so obvious is that reversing this leaves it open for Stanley Kubrick to move any other object that’s not one of the three from the novel; and as unbelievable as this sounds, it’s precisely what he did. The power that moves the objects has also been reversed and The Overlook does none of it in the movie. Just like the numbers Stanley Kubrick wants us to notice, the movements I’m speaking about are pretty obvious when someone points them out.
Noticed the sheet of paper that Jack pulls out of the typewriter. After he finishes scolding Wendy he “Shines” and another sheet appears right out of thin air, back in the typewriter again, without him touching it and without the audience hearing a thing.
Look at how Stanley Kubrick hides this in the drive up to The Overlook. Here Jack "Shines" as he constantly looks in the rear view mirror of his yellow VW,
and an unnaturally large pile of luggage, that couldn't fit in a VW if the engine and passengers were removed, appears at the end of the journey (without any indication of any outside help, or luggage on the car).
Stanley Kubrick hid this brilliantly in the film. All cast members that have the “Shine” are able to move items and change the color of their possessions. The pictures can’t be denied.
As Danny "Shines" watch the yellow and red dwarf from Snow White (Dopey) as it disappears from his bedroom door.
Dick Hallorann "Shines" and the red painting above his headboard in Florida just disappears between shots.
Watch as Dick Hallorann’s pile of change at the airport payphone moves constantly without him touching it with either hand.
Wendy also has some ability to “Shine” as she has four visions of her own. When Danny had his vision of the bloody elevators it’s never questioned that he’s “Shining”, so why should it be any different when we watch Wendy have the exact same vision, frame for frame, at the end of the movie? Her ability is well hidden but nonetheless obvious when she telepathically moves the direction the knives are facing after dragging Jack into the storeroom.
Later in the bathroom, she telepathically moves the same knife again. She throws it in the sink with the handle to the right, yet watch as later when picking it back up she reverses the handle’s position to the left without ever touching it.
Magazines, mirrors and other items also move or disappear when she’s around. Wendy’s special power to “Shine” means she also has the ability to see visions of things that have happened in the past in The Overlook, just like Jack and Danny’s vision of the old woman that committed suicide in room 237. It explains what this shot is all about, that many believe is Horace Derwent with Dog Man who are both mentioned in the novel as people who were at The Overlook years before.
If you look closely in the end of the movie, Danny "Shines" and actually moves the entrance of the hedge maze closer to him before Jack chases him into it. Early on when we see this area there’s no entrance on the wall facing the hotel, later the entrance moves from it's original position to the wall 90 degrees to the left, now facing The Overlook. This can be seen best just before they escape the hotel as Danny walks straight into Wendy’s arms at the end of the movie. She’s standing right in front of the rear entrance of The Overlook where Dick Hallorann parked the Sno-cat. Earlier we see this same spot and there’s no entrance there.
We are witnessing the work of a craftsmen who is the best in the world at what he does, but what places Stanley Kubrick apart from other directors is the sheer magnitude of his deception and he must have chuckled till the day he died knowing that no one ever noticed all this. No one ever put it together and figured out what he was actually doing.
The Overlook may be a place that attracts people who posses this special power. Cast members who “Shine” have the ability to change what they’re wearing as Mr. Ullman and Bill Watson both have personal articles of clothing that change between shots. If you think these are mistakes, you’re wrong. A perfectionist like Stanley Kubrick would never let this happen by accident in a million years.
Watch as Mr. Ullman’s tie changes right before our eyes.
Watch as Bill Watson’s pants do the same thing changing from solid color to plaid between shots.
Not only do cast members who “Shine” have the ability to change the color of possessions and move things. Stanley Kubrick gave them something else in common; click here to find out.
Again, Jack is also able to “Shine” and it’s obvious that his ability to supernaturally move things is what unlatches the storeroom door, and not that of a ghost. In the novel people who “Shine” don’t have the ability to telekinetically move things but there’s no law that says Stanley Kubrick can’t change this in his version, and this is exactly what he did.
Pictures don’t lie.
Click here and go back to my blog with over 450 interesting pictures from the movie, and check out this section " Things That Move Around or Just Don’t Seem Right" for more on this subject.
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