Wasn't that an important aspect of his character? - He was a troubled man, which the ghosts (if that's the right term for them) in the hotel picked up on and used.

I have to agree with DoG. It's right there in the novel: Jack arrives for his job interview with a sack of cats in his head already in his head. He's an alcoholic, full of barely restrained resentments toward his wife, son, friends, coworkers. It takes the Overlook to let the cats out, but he's by no means stable from go. Film and book alike, Torrance can't hide his hostility towards his prospective new employer whom he's never even met before.

How you look at it depends whether you value what Kubrick crafted - a portrait of a dysfunctional family - or if you'd prefer a stricter adherence to the family as King wrote them. I love King's novel but personally feel that Kubrick did something more honest and more valuable.

It's a common complaint, and I get it but I think the problem is slightly different from what people are perceiving. We do see Nicholson's madness building. What is missing isn't his sani9ty slipping but any sign of love for his family. Was it ever there? What brought he and Wendy together? Kubrick doesn't let us see it. We don't see the bonds slipping because they seem to be absent already. I'm okay with that, it's realistic for a family this far gone, but it might have helped with fans wanting a more faithful adaptation.

On Nicholson being OTT? This is a subjective observation, but... last year I saw it at the cinema for the first time, and it was transformative to his performance. If jack Torrance is over the top on a TV screen I was afraid he would be ridiculous at the theater. The opposite happened. Jack stayed the same size but the Overlook grew bigger to fit him. Kubrick really was a genius for cinematography and the use of space, I didn't appreciate it nearly enough before seeing The Shining at a movie house. Instead of just watching him as you do on a TV screen at home, you get pulled right into the room with him, and when the camera is close you can feel a wave of sick, feverish heat rising off him right in your face. What looked comical on a small screen felt both spontaneous and absolutely authentic on the large.

Agreed. It's one of my complaints about this movie. Jack was already crazy. We see no semblance of a family man that Jack Torrence should have been. He was unhinged from the beginning of this. And yeah...it is often times funny watching that crazy look in his eyes.

I love Jack. And he's good at what he does. In this case I blame the writing and direction for this problem. It just wasn't right for Jack to be acting that way right from the start.

Really I thought it showed how stressed and out of shape he was it. My problem with the remake was He didn't pull off the craziness needed for the part. He seemed only grouchy.

Imo Nicholson has always been over rated. His over inflated ego has bled into his perfomances. Easy rider being an early example.

You guys make EXCELLENT and valid points. Rewatched it recently (due to Universal's announcement of them having a HAUNT for it for Halloween Horror Nights...wooohooooo!), this time with my teenage kids! Kids surprisingly LOVED it, the isolation, the creepiness, they felt it all. One thing they noted that I will agree with is Jack, his wife & kid having NO kind of bond...we didn't feel them attached from the getgo at all! Like he had mentally checked out of the family prior to the movie starting. But IMO a minor gripe, the movie is a classic...PERIOD!

@LastLion said:

Imo Nicholson has always been over rated. His over inflated ego has bled into his perfomances. Easy rider being an early example.

Have you seen The Crossing Guard?

@jorgito2001 said:

You guys make EXCELLENT and valid points. Rewatched it recently (due to Universal's announcement of them having a HAUNT for it for Halloween Horror Nights...wooohooooo!), this time with my teenage kids! Kids surprisingly LOVED it, the isolation, the creepiness, they felt it all. One thing they noted that I will agree with is Jack, his wife & kid having NO kind of bond...we didn't feel them attached from the getgo at all! Like he had mentally checked out of the family prior to the movie starting. But IMO a minor gripe, the movie is a classic...PERIOD!

It is a classic without a doubt. I love it!

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@LastLion said:

Imo Nicholson has always been over rated. His over inflated ego has bled into his perfomances. Easy rider being an early example.

Have you seen The Crossing Guard?

I have. Nicholson is a one trick pony. SAME CHARACTER. EVERY. SINGLE. MOVIE.

@LastLion said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@LastLion said:

Imo Nicholson has always been over rated. His over inflated ego has bled into his perfomances. Easy rider being an early example.

Have you seen The Crossing Guard?

I have. Nicholson is a one trick pony. SAME CHARACTER. EVERY. SINGLE. MOVIE.

Freddy Gale from The Crossing Guard is not Melvin Udall from As Good As It Gets. And that's just comparing two of his many movies.

Sure, he typically plays socially maladjusted types...but not in every movie.

Also, a very different character and performance in Chinatown...

I think it's fashionable criticise Nicholson's performance in The Shining... it's so idiosyncratic and the movie itself is such a departure from the source material with Kubrick's direction that it seems some people cant process it... certainly steven king zealots didnt want to try...

I think TV has something to do with how it's being seen by current audiences... there seems to be a taliban-esque need for movies to explain everything to te viewer, to leave no ambiguity or mystery, to conform to the audiences preconcieved notions... anything outside if this is forbidden...

the need to constantly despense information is a TV aesthetic... this requires talking heads, answers, familiar archetypes and plot beats... The Shining rejects this, Kubrick rejects this, Nicholson rejects this... they were making art and i'm thankfull for it...

You can keep your cookie cutter performances in your cookie cutter TV movies... they'll all be forgotten... The Shining, in good part because of Jack's performance, has stood the test of time ;)

Watching this right now...and I have to amend my previous post here, I think that's exactly how the director wanted Jack to be...already troubled by his demon (s)...mainly the alcoholism. He already had a few screws loose. I also think the director didn't really want to show any warmth between Jack and Wendy, that is to say there relationship was already on the rocks long before they ever entered the Overlook Hotel. This explains why there is so little romantic chemistry between the two of them.

@Deuteronomy of Gath said:

Wasn't that an important aspect of his character? - He was a troubled man, which the ghosts (if that's the right term for them) in the hotel picked up on and used.

this

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@LastLion said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@LastLion said:

Imo Nicholson has always been over rated. His over inflated ego has bled into his perfomances. Easy rider being an early example.

Have you seen The Crossing Guard?

I have. Nicholson is a one trick pony. SAME CHARACTER. EVERY. SINGLE. MOVIE.

Freddy Gale from The Crossing Guard is not Melvin Udall from As Good As It Gets. And that's just comparing two of his many movies.

Sure, he typically plays socially maladjusted types...but not in every movie.

About Schmidt is a good example of him playing a normal bloke.

Swear I have the most schizophrenic reaction to this movie.Sometimes I 'll flip it on and enjoy it and Jack's performance. Other times I'll watch and Jack just annoys and bugs the hell out of me, ruining any enjoyment I might feel. Don't know if I feel that way towards any other movie