Professor Elam

We emphasize good writing at Texas A & M San Antonio. One of the most popular fiction writers of our time is Stephen King. The novels tend to be long, he weaves the story slowly drawing the reader into what is usually a macabre world of science fiction. But he makes the reader believe that indeed these things can happen, a hallmark of great science fiction.

The result is that the stories usually do not transition well to the screen. Two exceptions, Christine and The Shining stand alone, and the latter is on Sunday night. The script was written with Jack Nicholson in mind, Kubrick (2001) directs.  I found this review at http://www.imdb.com, and it is oh so correct.

Even though The Shining is over a quarter of a century old, I challenge anyone to not get freaked out by Jack Nicholson's descent into madness. This is a rare example of something so unique that no one has been able to rip it off; instead it has been referenced time and again in pop culture. The twins, the elevator of blood, RedRum, the crazy nonsense "writing"… this should be seen, if for nothing else, to understand all the allusions to it in daily life. The film is simultaneously scary, suspenseful, beautiful, and psychologically intriguing. It has the classic mystery of Hitchcock and the terror of a modern thriller. And it has what horror movies usually lack: a great script.

It wold be much better to see without interruptions as the suspense builds, Nicholson's descent into madness is quite believable which is what makes the horror story.

Note this is a 1980 film.  The markets were finishing off their descent into madness after an eight year down sideways move from the 1972 top. America had just experienced a second oil embargo, and the embarassment of our diplomats taken hostage in Iran. Socionomicaly the timing was perfect, the markets and the country were lost and unable to come to grips with reality, as you will see, neither is Jack.

Shelley Duvall plays what I believe was her last movie role before embarking on the highly successful Fairy Tale Theater which ran from 1982-87 on television. It featured Hollywood big name stars appearing for modest pay in classic fairy tales for kids. That series worked as the markets bottomed in 1982 and the mood improved throughout the 1980s. Indeed Shelley caught the entire Wave One of the stock market as mood improved taking the Dow from 800 to 2700.