The Shining (Roman Polanski – 1980)

The Shining (Roman Polanski – 1980)
style and visual language
content
audience
technology

Style and visual language
The film is about a man called jack who takes his family to a hotel for a couple of months to give him time to write his book and to look after the hotel. Over time he develops a condition called cabin fever, in which he becomes isolated from the outside world and becomes insane. The exhibition of the film is where the hotel owner was telling jack about the incident that happened from previous years. This is where it all started. The complication is where the story begins to unfold, when jack starts getting frustrated with his wife whilst hes trying to work, but what she doesn't know is that he sits there day after day writing nothing but ' all work and no play, makes jack a dull boy ' whilst his wife looks after Danny and the complex. The climax of the film is where jack is being possessed by the caretaker Mr Gradey, telling him to sort out his family in the harshest possible way. Finally, the resolution is where everything is resolved, jack dies, and the family get away in the snow mobile.

Content
Within the narrative there are many twists and turns. Like when the Bear was giving a B*** J**. This has absolutely nothing to do with the story line and is called a McGuffin. Mcguffins are used to just throw you off course. The ellipsis of the film is very obvious, the important parts are always included, and all of the parts that are not important are cut out, and makes us want to see are small amounts of information that allow us to make interested judgements about what is going on, e.g there are many shots where danny is playing alone with his toys, this is very effective because it hints to the solitude and loneliness. Also, there are many shots featuring the snowy landscape, this just reminds the audience that there is no way to escape from jack unless rescue arrives. There are many ' Point Of View ' shots within the film. I think this is good because it makes you feel like your there watching whats happening. And draws you into the film. As well as the POV shots, there are also many long shots, i think they use long shots to show how spacious the hotel is and gives clues to people hiding. There is one point in the film where the plot device ' Deus ex machina ' is used, this is a device used to tie loose ends within the narrative, and example of this is where Danny meets his mum at the end of the maze, and escape from Jack. The camera is always moving, this makes you feel present within the film, or that there is a presence nearby. It also draws your attention to the narrative and improves the films aesthetics generally.
Stanley Kubrick has a very definite style of film making. He creates suspense very slowly yet powerfully. Throughout the movie, Stanley Kubrick used a steady-cam, at the time this had just been invented and allowed to do tracking shots without the use of a dolly track, this enabled to do tracking shots in smaller areas, this then made the audience, and me personally feel as if i was actually there witnessing what was happening. There is a specific example of how he creates power with his camera work. When jack is swinging his axe at the door, the camera is moving side to side as he is swinging the axe. The axe itself symbolizes horror, especially if he's using it to break down barriers to get to his victims. Kubrick also uses other things to help the horror genre express itself. There are many scenes where danny see's the two twin girls, then sees a flowing river of blood in the hallway coming his way. He also blends terror with calmness, the hotel room is very cosy and warm looking, which would suggest that its a safe place, however, because jack is smashing down the door with the hammer, which makes the audience feel unsafe.

The scene i have chosen is one of the most famous scenes in horror history. It is the scene where he is braking through the door with the axe. The scene starts with a medium shot of johnny himself chanting a well recognised nursery rhyme, ' little pigs, little pigs, let me come in..etc. The expression on his face looks scary, and shows that he is crazy. The scene then cuts to his wife locked in the bathroom, she reaches over to the knife in the sink that she bought with her, and grabbed it in a helpless manor as she goes over to the wall by the door. The scene then cuts to johnny, as he finishes off the nursery rhyme ' not by the hair on your chinny chin chin, and I'll huff, and I'll puff, and blow your house in'. As johnny finishes the nursery rhyme, he is already in the position to axe the door, which shows hes eager to kill his wife. He takes two swings at the door, then cuts back to his wife in the bathroom. The camera angle is good here because half of the screen is focused on the door, and you can just see his wife in the corner helplessly watching the door be smashed open, the loud screams and shouts she makes helps add tension to the scene.
The camera then changes to a medium shot of the door, you can just see johnny through the gap in the middle of the door as he takes his last couple of swings to clear the bits of wood blocking his way. the camera then cuts to a behind shot as he nears the door, then cuts back to a close up of his face peering through the large hole in the door as he says " heres johnny " with a very angry/eager expression on his face. He then reaches through the hole, towards the lock on the opposite side of the door, as his hand nears the lock his wife slashes his hand with the knife, this then gets rid of johnny for the time being. Music is played throughout the scene, it is very eary and is quite good because it adds suspense to the scene and makes you want to know whats going to happen next. The mise en scene is very common, like the hotel room looks like any other hotel room back in those days. Brown wallpaper, dim lighting etc.