Stanley Kubrick is one of the great enigmatic directors of the 20th century. Who was this genius that produced such masterfully realized works of art such as "2001: A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange," or "Barry Lyndon"? This rarely seen documentary, shot by Kubrick's daughter, Vivian, documents some of the events of shooting the uneven, controversial horror flick "The Shining." It may not shed much light on the legendary director, but it does offer a glimpse of what he was like behind the scenes.
The beginning of the documentary (now on the video and DVD re-released versions of "The Shining") plays like a home movie with Vivian following Jack Nicholson into the bathroom while he brushes his teeth. We see Jack prepping himself for a scene where, as Jack Torrance, he tears through a door with an axe, pursuing his family, and taunting them with quotes from "Three Little Pigs." Then there is Kubrick, wearing a winter jacket, yelling cut during a scene where Danny (Danny Lloyd) hides inside a compartment from maniacal Jack. To me, it was a pleasure to hear this man speak with an ever-so-slight English accent (hardly a trace of his Bronx roots).
There are strong revelations for what must have been an arduous, long shoot for a horror movie. There is the sense that Kubrick is tough-as-nails on Shelley Duvall, always taunting her and acting totally unsympathetic to her mood swings (at one point, she pulls out strands of hair, showing them to Stanley whose only response is, "I have no sympathy for Shelley.") There is one tense scene where Shelley misses her cue when they yell action during a faux snowstorm scene and Stanley races frantically and argues with her vehemently.
Kubrick is apparently respectful of Jack and only suggests he acts wilder and meaner (I have heard reports of Jack being used for lighting tests when in fact a stand-in is ordinarily used). A scene shows Kubrick's mother seated at a table with Stanley and Jack as they discuss the constant script revisions from day to day. Naturally, Shelley is nowhere to be found. She does freely admit that she admired him for his tenacity and perfectionism, claiming to have learned more from him than from any other prior film production. Meanwhile, Jack concludes that working with Stanley is exciting for him as an actor because the director has his own agenda for making personal films, even if Jack does not always agree with him.
There are also brief, pointed interviews with Scatman Crothers (who of course played Halloran, the cook), shown weeping for joy as he mentions how beautiful the crew was to work with and how he saw Danny as his own child, and the tyke Danny Lloyd who mentions how he is smart and likes to make home movies with his less-than-receptive friends. Kubrick himself is not interviewed but it is fun to see him at work, especially when he devises a low-angle shot of Jack to enhance the tension of the scene where Jack tries to con Shelley into letting him out of a storage room.
"Making 'The Shining'" could have been longer and shed more light on the master director at work, but it is a fitting, exemplary documentary of a man whose impeccable sense of craft and direction exemplified his status as one of America's leading cinematic artists. Essential viewing for any film buff or aficionado of Kubrick.
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