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Just wanted to pop in to say I think she is a terribly underrated actor. Truly a gem. For my money, the only reason that The Shining has any stakes at all is be
by eludwig 2y ago
Just wanted to pop in to say I think she is a terribly underrated actor. Truly a gem. For my money, the only reason that The Shining has any stakes at all is because of her incredible performance! RIP, Shelley.
- technothrasher 2y agoThe Shining has so many reasons why it "has stakes". While Duvall was definitely an amazing part of that, it seems unfair to deprecate the rest of the creative folks involved in the film.
- temporarely 2y agoEven the opening long shot "has stakes". That's an amazing film packed with talent in all departments.
- shiroiushi 2y agoJust don't ask Stephen King for his opinion on it.
- LtWorf 2y agoI tried to read the book and it sucked. They did him a favour really.
- shiroiushi 2y agoI never read the book, but I saw the TV mini-series remake that King was personally involved with and approved, and it was awful. Personally, I think King's stories just don't translate very well to movies, unless (as with Kubrick's "The Shining") huge liberties are taken with the source material. Most adaptations I've seen of his stories were just bad.
- kbos87 2y agoI agree with you with one exception, Dolores Claiborne is a gem of a film.
- batch12 2y agoThanks! One of my favorite books of his. I didn't know that it was made into a movie too. Somehow I've missed it for the last 27 years.
- shiroiushi 2y agoI think there's several exceptions. The Shawshank Redemption was fantastic for instance.
- darby_nine 2y ago> The Shawshank Redemption was fantastic for instance. Eh it comes off as a corny and flat depiction of people who might otherwise be interesting. Romantic, but not a depiction of believable humans. And the problem certainly ain't the actors.
- sph 2y agoI get that it's cool to dislike what's popular, but I don't think we've seen the same Shawshank Redemption film.
- darby_nine 2y agoMy criticism of Shawshank redemption is indeed particularly in response to it being placed number one on the IMDB list of greatest movies of all time. I believe people ranked it there as a result of emotional catharsis rather than ranking based on whether a movie best realized its potential, and I think my response is validated: the script for Shawshank redemption could have portrayed the characters as more three-dimensional than as recorded. I've never read the book, but perhaps this criticism applies to the book as well. King certainly has a tendency to push fetishized characteristics that take the place of earnest characterization. This is certainly true of the Stand, the Dark Tower series, the Shining, Insomnia, Green Mile, and probably many others of his works. This is not an original take. See one popular opinion here: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/stephen-kings-super-duper-magical-negroes/ http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/stephen-king...
- 486sx33 2y agoI agree. All of Stephen kings’ drivel runs together in his books.
- darby_nine 2y agoI don't think it sucked but it was told, not sold.
- temporarely 2y agoThis always cracks me up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98qcNZ8Fz0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98qcNZ8Fz0
- lagniappe 2y agoShe also made a great Bo-Peep from what I remember, from this movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvh56wPstKo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvh56wPstKo
- hodgesrm 2y agoShe was also great in Nashville.
- brandall10 2y agoKeep in mind that performance was controversial and possibly contributed to her mental decline, in particular because of the subject matter and Kubrick's penchant for perfectionism. She had clumps of hair coming out of her head from the stress. The baseball scene alone is famous for taking 127 takes.
- maroonblazer 2y agoThere's a documentary that gives the lie to the rumor that Kubrick was abusive to SD. I believe that she recalls fondly that the project was challenging but ultimately rewarding.
- brandall10 2y agoIt's caution using words "rumor" and "lie" as if a viewpoint espoused by some documentary is fact. What I noted above did in fact happen. Someone can decide for themself if that is abusive. I did not use that word. My take on Kubrick is he did what he felt was necessary to achieve his vision and little more. It didn't come from malice or poor character. He wasn't an Aronofsky. The life of an actor on a challenging shoot can definitely have an impact on their physical and mental health and Kubrick was notably one of the most demanding and meticulous directors. It's just a thing, similar to Elon Musk in business. The results are wildly successful and most involved were likely aware of what they were signing up for, the sacrifices that had to be made to work with one of the most revered in the business and to create high and lasting art. Unfortunately for Shelley I don't believe she had the mental constitution for it. Also keep in mind that people in the public eye are going to want to craft a narrative when it comes to their own legacy. At the end of the day most would want to be remembered more for their accomplishments than the difficulties that went into achieving them, esp. when it comes to their most culturally significant work.
- hinkley 2y agoTime Bandits. The cruise ship.
- JohnFen 2y agoShe was one of the true greats. Among my top 10 favorite actors. Rest well.