While I don’t think the film completely succeeds in explaining all the story elements from Stephen King’s novel, Stanley Kubrick‘s version of The Shining is something to behold. A master visual storyteller, Kubrick brings the empty hotel to life in vivid hues as Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the caretaker for the Overlook Hotel during the winter months along with his wife (Shelley Duvall) and son (Danny Lloyd).
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I don’t know if 1974’s Chinatown is without doubt the best film for everyone involved, both in front and behind the camera, but one could certainly make the case. Director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne come together with a neo-noir staple which provided Jack Nicholson one of his most famous roles as private investigator J. J. Gittes who struggles to find the truth surrounding the death of chief engineer at the Department of Water and Power (Darrell Zwerling), who Gittes was hired to surveil by a woman (Diane Ladd) pretending to be his wife (Faye Dunaway), and uncover how that death plays into a larger conspiracy of the Los Angeles draught and a land scheme which allows 30s Los Angeles to become a major character in the film.
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Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown. Read More »
