Okay, okay. In response to this post, my inbox is full of angry brickbats from readers who liked the made-for-tv Shining movie. Apparently, King hated the Kubrick version — which I think was one of the few Kubrick movies that wasn’t overrated! — and he, and quite a few King fans, think the miniseries was a more faithful adaptation of the book.
Noted.
Perhaps my curmudgeonly attitude is attributable to the fact that I recently watched the remake of The Taking of Pelham 123 in a hotel and was appalled at how much of the charm of the original had been bled out of it. It was almost as if Michael Bay had directed it.
Update: A reader makes an excellent point:
“I had to look up something about The Shining and found out they made a remake with Steven Weber (the goofy ladies’ man from Wings) in the Jack Nicholson role and Rebecca De Mornay in the Shelley Duvall part. Melvin Van Peeples picks up the torch from Scatman Crothers.”
Still can’t top “The Sting II” with Jackie Gleason and Mac Davis in place of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Can’t remember who was supposed to be who, but who really cares?
Update II: Who knew? The original Shining movie was about the slaughter of the Indians.