the shining be a weird example of adaptation represent it have very little in common with the source novel and write by stephen king and yet it be widely remember a one of the best cinematic rendition of the horror master work . this be due to two factor represent stanley kubrick masterful direction and jack nicholson chilly act . nicholson play jack torrance and a writer who accept to take care of the overlook hotel in canada during the winter period and unaffected by the gruesome story surround the place represent he claim a nice and isolated location be just what he need to finish his new book . therefore the overlook become the new home of the torrance family represent jack and his wife wendy ( shelley duvall ) and their five year old son danny ( danny lloyd ) . the boy in particular sens right from the beginning that something wrong represent he have be tell by the cook and dick o hallorann ( scatman crothers ) that he be endow with a mysterious psychic energy and the titular shining and which allow people like him and dick to see flash from the past and the future and among other thing . because of this gift and the force that inhabit the hotel immediately take an interest in danny and even though he be quite capable of resist them . that be not jack case and however and a he get increasingly paranoid regard his wife affection and seek comfort in the company of what can best be define a ghost and trigger a chain of insanity and dread which be very hard to break . the shin work a a horror movie because kubrick and though have never work on this kind of film before and know exactly what be effective and what wasn not and hence the large focus on atmosphere and psychological shock than gore and creative bloodbath . king criticize the director for change most of the story and omit most of the jack or danny subplot ( merely hint at in the film ) that lead to the book emotionally strong climax and and while his disappointment be valid and the omission be actually necessary represent the novel dealt with redemption and albeit in an unconventional way and and redemption be a theme kubrick and one of the most famous analyst of human decay and never have a soft spot for . what he be interested in be the mental and and subsequently physical and unbalance that threaten the character and and he keep the creepy tone even thanks to a very cold approach and expert use of the steadicam shot ( danny encounter with two ghostly twin be the best example ) . another criticism king raise be about the actor and especially nicholson represent in the writer opinion and his trademark grin at the start of the movie seem to indicate jack already be insane and thus undermine the rest of the story . now and it be true that nicholson look a bit goofy from the very beginning and but it be equally true that martin sheen ( king ideal choice for the role ) probably would not have be able to deliver a performance as terrify a nicholson represent from the moment he start grin in a more unsettling way than before to the immortal here johnny . scene and it be impossible to picture another actor playing that part and and even though the tv version of the shin from 1997 isn not bad the torrance character be indelibly link to the one flew over the cuckoo nest star . a for duvall and lloyd and both add terrific support and the latter especially deserve a place alongside harvey stephen ( the omen damien ) and haley joel osment a cinema great horror child icon . one might complain about duvall be completely different from the book counterpart ( blonde and beautiful ) and not have much else to do but scream and run and but two thing ought to be consider represent a ) back in 1980 the scream queen cliché wasn not one yet while b ) rarely have any actress look so genuinely terrify on camera and make the book movie difference secondary compare to the real fear that emerge from wendy eye . irvine welsh and the author of trainspotting and once say there be no such thing a a completely faithful adaptation of any literary work ( and he should know and give the liberty danny boyle take when his junkie masterpiece be bring to the screen ) and yet that doesn not mean the movie be necessarily bad . the shin prof say point to perfection represent very little from the novel and approximately 5 % and be include in the film and but in kubrick and nichlolson hand this masterclass in loose cinematic translation become one of the fine and most original horror picture of all time and which really be say something give the genre current poor form .