Jack Torrance (Steven Weber) and his family (Rebecca De Mornay and Courtland Mead) move into the sprawling, vacant Overlook Hotel to get away from it all. Away from the alcoholism that derails Jack’s writing career. Away from the violent outbursts that mar Jack’s past. But Jack’s young son Danny knows better. He possesses a psychic gift called the shining — a gift the hotel’s vile spirits desperately want.
In the hands of Stephen King, the “dead” Overlook comes horrifyingly alive. Phantoms lurk, the message “redrum” appears with scary frequency, and even the garden topiary lurches into macabre existence in this atmospheric shocker scripted by King from his own novel and directed by ace King adaptor Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers, The Stand).
For thoughts on Stephen King’s The Shining, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Stephen King’s The Shining comes to Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer derived from a new 2K scan of the Interpositive – for the most part. As is noted with a text screen before each part, “To provide the most complete version of the film, a few scenes have been upgraded from the best available, non-Interpositive source.” While we do not have the exact minute breakdown of these moments of lesser quality, we would guess that around 90% of this film is from the Interpositive with the other 10% standing out as an obvious downturn in quality.
The good news is that Scream Factory has brought this long-requested adaptation to Blu-Ray with a presentation that looks quite gorgeous for the majority of the runtime. When things are going well, print damage has been cleaned up to almost nonexistent levels with any fleeting blemishes feeling unobtrusive. The sumptuous natural film grain of the source renders without any hints of digital manipulation to smooth over the details of the Overlook. Colors are favorably saturated with deep hues permeating the screen when it comes to production design and costumes. Black levels are fairly deep and hold up well with crush not serving as a significant issue. Clarity and detail are in top form when it comes to practical effects and background details in the setting.
With all this being said, the warning from the company should be taken to heart. When the transfer does wade into territory not taken from the Interpositive, it is typically easy to spot. What is otherwise crisp and detailed begins to look more like an upscaled DVD. We noticed this most when dealing with scenes containing digital effects or utilizing some type of optical transition. Anytime you see the silly-looking digital animal topiaries, you can expect a downturn in quality. There may be a handful of moments where it might not be obvious why the Interpositive was unable to be used, but by and large, you can guess why these choices had to be made in order to get this creation on Blu-Ray at all. Unless you are extremely sensitive to a bit of visual inconsistency, the execution is unlikely to ruin your experience. It is a wonder we got this update at all, and Scream Factory has delivered something very special for fans.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray presents the film with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio stereo track in its original English audio which comes to life effectively. While there are some consistency issues with the video side of things, we did not experience anything of concern with the audio. One of the more agreeable elements of this soundscape is the score from Nicholas Pike. The music showcases a strong fidelity while avoiding age-related wear and tear and distortion at the highest amplitudes. Dialogue also renders well without any signs of crackling or sibilance even during more chaotic moments. The environmental effects come through with nuance such as the weather effects and other creepy sounds. Even at its most intense, this does not put the low end to work in a notable manner, but it provides enough texture to help the scene along. Scream Factory has presented this one without a hiccup. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Author Stephen King, Director Mick Garris, cast members Steven Weber and Cynthia Garris, and select crew all provide a commentary track that is stitched together across the three parts in which they give background details about the production, discuss how it compares to the book, and more.
- Deleted Scenes: A 17-minute collection of unused material is provided here with optional audio commentary from Mick Garris. As the director explains in the commentary, most of these scenes were cut for a reason, but there are some interesting moments for fans.
- Trailer: A minute-and-a-half trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Stephen King’s The Shining is a premiere example of the fact that sometimes authors do not always know what is best for their story beyond the page. Most would probably agree that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a classic horror film, even if it might not be a great adaptation of the King source material. This Mick Garris adaptation written by King himself is way more faithful to the novel, but it is also a bit of a slog to get through. At four-and-a-half hours long, interesting moments are often buried by tedious wheel-spinning and very inconsistent performances. It is hard not to compare this to the Kubrick version, but even as a standalone piece of entertainment, it overstays its welcome. We are happy both versions exist for different reasons, but there is only one that feels like it needs to be watched again and again. Scream Factory has delivered a Blu-Ray featuring a mostly impressive A/V presentation and some nice archival special features. If you have been anxiously awaiting this one on Blu-Ray, you should be pleased.
Stephen King’s The Shining will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on March 12, 2024.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.