There are a dozen reasons why this miniseries is awful, including the flat acting, ultra-cheapie production, comically baggy pacing, badly dated visual effects, and tacked-on attempt at a happy ending. (If Stephen King hated Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his film so much because it wasn't true to the original, why did he script this version to have a series of ultra-sentimental, overextended endings?) But the real issue is that it's painfully literal. It opens (spoiler ahead!) with a clumsy scene explaining exactly how it's going to end. The characters speak in huge hunks of undigested exposition. Steven Webber as John Torrence explains what's going on inside his head over and over and over. Most criminally, Danny Torrence's psychic friend Tony…

Well, I've been snowed in my house for two days now, so at some point I had to rewatch The Shining. Both of them. I decided to go with the Mick Garris/Stephen King miniseries first.

For anyone who doesn't know, Stephen King has always been vocal about his disdain for the Stanley Kubrick film. He didn't agree with the casting of Jack Nicholson among other things, so he decided to work on a miniseries adaptation with director Mick Garris, who by this point had already directed Sleepwalkers and The Stand.

I know it's not the popular opinion, but I've always really liked this miniseries. I understand why people prefer the Kubrick version, as it's obviously a better made film. The dialogue is better. It's…

Yep. I’m one of those people. No regrets, no apologies. 

First time I’ve watched this in about 18 years. I even still remember watching it as it aired on TV when I was 14. I expected to view it this time with a more mature critical eye. And I think I did just that. 

It’s even better than I remember. 

I watch it and I do not see poorly made melodrama. I do not see weak performance or poor pacing. Yeah the CGI hedges aren’t hot but I really thought they would look worse than they actually do. 

Rebecca De Mornay is good as Wendy. It’s a very different approach than Shelley Duvall but she nails that approach. The kid…

I know what I’m about to write is considered blasphemy to a lot of my fellow mutuals and Letterboxd friends but I prefer Mick Garis’ version of The Shining to Kubrick’s. I just didn’t like Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall as the Torrences and Kubrick is just not one of my favorite directors. That being said, there are a slew of other reasons why the original just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I think Mick Garris did a fine job with his version considering it is a TV movie. Stephen King adapted the script from his own book and was also the producer. I also enjoyed Stephen Webber and Rebecca De Mornay in the lead roles. This was shot at the…