I really enjoyed this analysis, but of course I NEVER get tired of The Shining analysis videos 😏 (for my fine arts requirement at Xavier Univ in 2002? I took "The Horror Film." As political science major, apparently XU thought that one artsy farsty class would prevent me from becoming a clipboard carrying robot (it didn't. As a legislative aide, that's precisely what I became 🤣.) Anyway, disappointingly, the course never gave the Shining so much as a courtesy mention. I'd be willing to bet that wouldn't be the case if I took that class today.) I wish Kubrick was around to see that thanks to the internet- and yourself- that his amazing work and attention to detail in The Shining is finally getting the attention and appreciation it was denied for decades. Thank you for your work. I know it's easier to stage a scene of being kind to a homeless person while a piano plays in the background, or to film yourself eating an entire buffalo or something, and rack up millions of views and alot of money. Channels like yours are what I come to YT looking for. I'm normally not so sentimental, but thinking about how unappreciated much of Kubrick's work was- I know it's not much, but I just wanted to tell you I think the work you do is amazing and that your content stands alone in this "genre," for lack of a better term. My one course in cinema hardly makes me an expert 🤣, but I do know hard work and dedication to doing something right when I see it, and I just want to say thank you, because I'm guessing if you were paid by the hour, you'd probably be better off in a sweatshop in Bangladesh 😏. Seriously though- thank you for all you do. I'm sure it comes at a considerable sacrifice.
@@poutinedream5066 Thanks, that's much appreciated. Fortunately, there isn't a great deal of sacrifice on my part. I put about the same amount of hours in as anyone with a day job does, and I get paid more than any day job ever paid me ... plus, I choose my work hours and really enjoy the work. And no boss to answer to !!! :)
Kubrick pointing to the lighting differences in the moon landing films. We should be able to see a mile in any direction UN those moon films, yet we can only see maybe a 100 yards. Not to mention, it would be 10-20x brighter on the moon during the day due to lack of atmosphere.
watt about numerollogis in shining. i mean ´you will ´learn büy the #$. : ? eg blogspöttce johnny 42.53 ^??^ 12x2 doors windows ^ ^ aka pöd bäy döörs -:-
Was about to write a similar comment. Been watching his videos(a lot of the Shining ones) since 2013 and it amazes me that I’m still learning and seeing new things in 2022 from this channel.
I started watching him in 2009 when I was 14 and he was doing video nasties analysis. It was so interesting and got me thinking critically about movies.
As a carpenter, I’m struck by all the architectural details of the Overlook set. There’s so many time/ labor intensive details in the millwork alone that it’s hard to believe it’s not actually 80 years old.
I always loved the transition of them entering the maze. As an outdoorsman, when the bright sunny day of the exterior shifts to a completely blank gray sky, my first thought was "oh shit now they don't know which direction they're facing". Really awesome detail. Once you're in the thick of the maze there is absolutely no orienting yourself.
I noticed in Rosemary's Baby, 1968, she has a dream sequence which starts with her sitting on a boat with the sun shining on the water and switches to a gray sky and gray water as the dream gets more strange. Everyone would definitely notice the change and wonder why the director did that. Maybe just to make you wonder, "What's happening?"
@@jacedaniel Not meh at all. All symbolism in this movie, and anything that seems "off" was done on purpose. Kubrick did not make filming mistakes ever. This has been documented.
Stanley Kubrick was the absolute MASTER of Photography & lighting .He was a photographer before he was a moviemaker. His lenses on Barry Lyndon were built by Nasa ...I never knew Kubrick did the lighting on the Spy Who Loved Me.
More than that, Kubrick had to figure out how to mount the lenses on his camera. They were not made for movie cameras, they were made for satellites etc, so not only was using the lenses innovative, he had to innovate further to use them on his film.
@@davidlean1060 Stanley was a Wonderful perfectionist. No wonder his photography in his movies was so unforgettable. Did you hear that story when he was working on one of his early films ....He set up a complex dolly shot. With a specific lens. Then he gave the task to an assistant. But the assistant started to change the setup to cut corners. He put the dolly track at a greater distance & tried to use a different lens simply because it would save time & make things easier for him...But with Stanley's specialist knowledge he knew it would make a CHANGE to the shot that would make it inferior to what he originally wanted. And Stanley said - 'Do the set up like it was with the lens I wanted or leave the set please.' ....Stanley wasn't going to have corner cutters messing up his brilliant shots.
@@walterevans2118 There's a youtube channel called stanleyandus and it features short annecdotes like that from crew, a few actors and so on. I think it was his editor who said to a newbie on set (who argued with Kubrick over how many frames of silence there were between the rings of a telephone in the scene they were screening, of all things!) that you should never argue with Kubrick, because he only argued when he knew he was right. No one could do what he did, but he seemed to know everyone else's job as well, or better, than they did!
Just when I think I understand the film you throw another curveball that completely shifts my perspective. Thank you for your dedication to this series.
@@xocomaox I have 30+ credits in film. Its my life. Robs content consistently re-inspires my eye. Robs intellectual, technical and emotional attention to details makes me look deeper in my work and revisit films in a new way
I love when you can hear the wind howling in the hotel. Despite the premise of the film, I’d love to spend the night there listening to it! Edit: I didn’t realise whose comment I was commenting on, until I was editing a spelling mistake. Keep up the great work on your channel. 👍🏼
That your material has always been original is beyond reproach, but the Kubrickian wormholes you choose to travel through that are so unique. Not only do you successfully arrive at the end with at least food for thought, you also take more than a few of us along for the ride. Well done.
I suggest an alternate title for the video: "The Overlit Hotel" 😁 Very interesting analysis Rob, for some reason I've never noticed (not rationally) that the lighting of the twins gave them hollow eyes, like skulls.
He acts like we wouldn't sit through anything, even if we think maybe those lights don't make much difference except in the composition of the shot as a piece of art.
The lighting of the film also keeps in mind the position of the audience in the theater. It's basically from a theater goer's perspective. So it adds a kind of VR effect, almost like those motion simulator rides that became popular a short while after the release of this film. The opening shot when viewed in the theater is akin to being dangled outside the helicopter.
The Shining always reminds me of paintings of René Magritte visually, the doors and gardens etc. especially the one called The Empire of Light which has a daylight sky against a night landscape.
It's hard to comprehend the massive genius of Kubrick.... How he could be a practical expert on technical aspects of film making, but also a genius in conceptual, abstract stuff.
He mastered lighting for practical reasons is what is great about it. He probably treated it as a subtle nuisance that mastering would help him avoid bothering with.
Rob, yours are the only The Shining analysis videos I care about. This is another great example of your skills. I’ve never heard anyone bring up the lighting in the movie. Bravo!
It was obviously Danny who turned on all the lights since anyone with kids can attest to the fact that they love playing with light switches. That's probably what caused Jack to lose it! ;) Just kidding, of course. Excellent analysis as always Rob - really love your content!
13:38 This is the first time I noticed those tubes in the far background that offer some good horror in the book but aren't mentioned in the movie at all. Amazing that Kubrick would have them there even though he never "goes" to them or uses them. That's impressive.
It's probably been noted either here or somewhere else that when Wendy ascends the staircase with the knife in her hand, the scenes lighting replicates the famous scene in Nosferatu in which the vampire's shadow is cast upon the wall as he ascends the staircase. Please excuse me if this is common knowledge and that the point has been made numerous times, but I just now noticed it for the first time. Mr. Kubrick had to be paying homage to the silent film classic. Your presentations are great for getting me to see things in a different light.
Rob, I would never get sick of your analysis videos of the Shining. I am always learning more. I think I am an observant person but I miss so much with your analysis.
Stuart Ullman, who interviews Jack for the job near the start, has initials that are the 19th and 21st letters of the alphabet. 1921 is the year of the picture Jack is 'trapped' in at the end. Probably another non-coincidence.
Ah, I don't go in for calculus interpretations of that kind generally. The girls on the gameshow Countdown can reach a target number with random numbers nearly every time.
@@collativelearning Agreed, but given Kubrick's attention to detail, you wouldn't put it past him. I bet there are exactly the same number of stones on top of his grave as hairs in his left eyebrow or something.
@@collativelearning how do you know it's calculus and not kabalistic gematria. Ironically many would dismiss your stuff under the same logic that it's just random stuff being over thought.
@@tonywords6713 Because I seek evidence first and build my interpretations on that, instead of picking a theory out of a hat and then trying to force the evidence to fit. I've seen no evidence of kabalistic gematria so have no reason to assume it's there. Others have tried to dismiss my stuff as being random and over-thought, as you say, but they've failed because they lack plausible explanations for all the details I point out .. and several of my interpretations have been later strongly supported by further production info or statements by the film makers.
The lighting effects are great in this movie. The one thing that I would point is the number of lamps. It was fairly common in the 60s and 70s to not have ceiling lights but instead switch leg wiring. Meaning that 1 or more wall plugs are wired to the wall switch. The result was rooms that were very dark, so adding 2 or more lamps were common just to have enough light to read. My parents house is like this. As well as our house and our entire neighborhood. When we remodeled, I added ceiling lights everywhere. When do we get part 2!?!?👍👍👍
Films are being shot digitally so much nowadays that I feel like the talent of properly lighting sets has become somewhat of a lost art. Errors are fixed in post and it just rings out as lazy IMO. I think to someone like David Cronenberg... If you watch his work like Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers etc, those films are shot very traditionally. His films are loaded with great scares and effects but by doing it the way he does, it just feels more realistic. Kubrick did the same but was more cerebral with his lighting choices.
Houses without ceiling lights? Every house I ever saw had a ceiling light in the middle of every room, usually with a square bowl type glass covering below the light bulbs. And a light switch right inside the door. Except for the bathrooms, which had the light over the sink.
@@watermelonlalala Modern houses, absolutely. I live in an old single level ranch house, its almost entirely lit by lamps. The kitchen has the overhead though. Even my room has 2 lamps. I can say that i do think most houses i walk in nowadays have both though. Especially anything newer. My friend is a successful carpenter and has very big jobs. I actually asked him about this tonight and he was telling me about a recent job building an $8mil house and its all LED lights on the ceiling and walls and its obviously its very bright. But he said over his 20yrs of experience, anytime he's done a complete renovation of a house built in the 50s-70s(Where i live is loaded with California Style Ranches and Old Fashioned Ranches etc that were built for soldiers coming home from the Korean and Vietnam War, he said its not uncommon to see mostly lamps albeit every kitchen has the overhead and bathrooms usually have them too or have it from the mirrors. I'm not disagreeing with you but I do think there's some exceptions.
The mysterious maze shot looks like a usual cloudy day in England to me? I would guess it is an outside maze and clever Kubrick had it standing production ready and just waited out the time for the right lighting while shooting other stuff in the meantime. Classic chess move.
Never thought about it before, but in The Shining--with all the brightly-lit rooms and Steadicam tracking shots--the viewer doesn't have a choice; we're quietly being sucked into the horror that the characters experience and we *will* see what they see. That's why those zooms at the end (Halloran dead on the floor, etc.) are so jarring and effective--we've been lulled with the smooth ambiance of the film and suddenly the ambiance cracks a little bit. Great video!
We like to assume that Kubrick's motivation for switching lights around is to "mess with our minds", but perhaps the explanation is less dramatic and romantic. Kubrick obviously had a strong artistic eye and most likely he simply wanted a shot to look as good as it possibly could. If that sometimes required turning this light off, and that light on: so be it. As long as the shot was nailed.
It's 100% this, not the psychological effect of inconsistent lighting (that we barely pick up on subconsciously). All that is pointless if the shot doesn't have good lighting and composition
And there can never be enough analysis on this movie. It's odd; I enjoy analysis on the movie more than I've ever enjoyed the movie itself! So please, as long as you're willing, keep them coming! Especially because you actually clearly respect the work and talent Kubrick had and it makes all the difference. So thank you ✨
Your videos are always so insightful and concise. One of the few channels that I have consistently come back to and watched for over a decade. I knew since the first time I watched Kubrick films that there was far more depth than your average film. I had to look into it more and stumbled upon your channel. I had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went. Well done Rob.
As a huge Kubrick fan, no one can touch you when it comes to analyzing his films. I'm always learning new ways to interpret his art thanks to your commentary. 👍
I just can't help but feel that the bedroom in 237 has a connection to the 'bedroom' we see at the end of 2001. The pillows on the bed, and the colors of course, steer me towards that direction...
Great analysis, nobody's sick of the topic or you doing more than one episode on The Shining, Rob, please keep them coming, just tops. Lightswitches are clues in Eyes Wide Shut, including with Milich turning lights on at Rainbow Fashions and more. As Bill and Alice leave their bedroom, they are in front of a painting. On Alice's side of that painting is a portrayal of a dark path. As they walk toward us in the hallway, Alice's eyes get those shadows around them and the skull effec is cleart, very briefly, easy to miss. 9:09 - left, in the glass of the door, on an angle, a quick reflection of a white 'i'. Stair bannister shadows are seen behind Bill as he's hoping to meet Domino again but instead meets Sally. The lamps can form a sort of vertical cat eye pupil, more of a subliminal thing. 4 is a pattern in Eyes Wide Shut so in The Shining the 3 dresser drawer handles behind the bear costume man, then 4 lamps, not surprising in retrospect. 10:29 - some lens flare 'gem'? is on Jack's elbow then it moves right across the shot. Maze map sides look like subliminal 'eyes'. 25:42 - radiator heaters are also seen through various scenes in Eyes Wide Shut.th
As regards to the different lights being on during Halloran’s murder, etc., I interpret that to be the hotel making of itself something different for each person, kind-of like how the maze and floor plan changes around. So the hotel puts Jack into shadow for Halloran but illuminates Jack’s path and acts as a subconscious guide. In this way, we can see that the hotel itself really is a living entity, changing what it presents to people in order to manipulate, confuse, frighten, or guide.
Considering the fact that videos about this film concentrate only on ''symbolism and meaning and theories and conspiracies'' it's a breath of fresh air to see film essays like this. Thank you.
Very interesting as always. However, the overcast during the Maze sequence isn't such as mystery to me though. Probably just shot on a slightly overcast day as opposed to the running sequence before.
As a lifelong Kubrick fan, I'm mildly surprised that his most studied film ended up being The Shining. In the 700+ page book, Studies in the Horror Film: The Shining, different cast & crew would point discrepancies out to Kubrick and he'd chuckle, "It's just a ghost story." But so much lends itself to careful thought and study, I'm still wondering...was it just a ghost story?
the “switched on/off lights” always interested me and my family. we grew up in a haunted house and the lights “playing games” with us was a common spectral event. creepy. the thing i like about this movie are these scenes with Wendy running through the basement from a feeling…not some “appearance.” Very accurate to our daily lives.
I thought I knew everything there was to about this movie, but Rob has once again opened my eyes to see more. This movie is absolutely fascinating and Rob's analyses of this film are terrific. Thanks Rob!
Dude. I LOVE your stuff. I'm a total film geek, too. And, I have spent a ton of time studying certain films. Among them, this one and, The Exorcist. I thought I had exhausted everything with this one in particular. But, you always come up with something fascinating. Keep it coming!
I agree with the "traditional" lighting aspect of part of "The Shining". When this is mentioned between 9:00 and 10:00 I'm reminded of Count Orlock climbing the stairs in "Nosferatu" as we see Wending ascending the staircase in the Overlook. I must be really dense because there is so much in ths movie that I completely did NOT notice until being directed to these outstanding anaylyses! Thank you for these Collative Learning videos which have made this movie so much more for me. Even though it's the residence of evil, I'm a big fan of the Overlook Hotel simply as a building. I would love to spend the winter there. Another movie location of which I'm a big fan is the apartment of Rosemary and Guy in "Rosemary's Baby", both verisons of the apartment: before and after Rosemay redecorates. Not a residence but the dining room of the S.S. Poseidon in the 1972 version of "The Poseidon Adventure" is one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen. Please bring on the second part. I'm eager for more!
Funny you bring up Orlock and Overlook, because I have thought for awhile that Overlook might be a reference to Morlock in the original Time Machine, where these monstrous humans live underground and prey on the normal humans who live above them. The Morlock Hotel. And Morlock is thought to be a reference to Moloch, the Canaanite god of child sacrifice.
I think that Kubrick waited for a cloudy day to shoot the scenes from inside the maze. He would, of course, have exposed to get the greenery inside the maze bright enough so that it didn't all come out as black, which would have overexposed the gray sky, turning it into white. He seemed to have chosen a sunny day for that scene when they walk outside the maze so to convey that there is something weird going on inside the maze, with its different lighting.
the maze was shot on different days with different weather. for the interior he chose an overcast day to avoid jarring exposure differences and also like you say to create a uniform soft light that removes any clues of directionality provided by the position of the sun.
There can never be enough Kubrick and The Shining videos. The best director/artist of all time, and the most perfect film of all time. I can never get enough of Kubrick and Lynch. Sadly we lost Kubrick too early. So I'll pray Lynch will still bless us with Twin Peaks season 4.
I feel the lamp in the back when Hallorann is on the phone symbolizes Danny “shining” for help, though distant- it’s glaring, and unable to be ignored.
I always thought that the lamps were symbolic of sudden realizations, like the lamps behind Wendy as she sees the river of blood or the man in the bear costume. Much like in old cartoons, when a lightbuld goes on above a character's head. She now "sees", i.e realizes what Danny's been seeing all along.
Don't ever again entertain the notion that maybe there's been too many Shining analysis videos. Your Kubrick videos, especially the ones about The Shining, are some of my favorite things on the whole internet. I've been watching for ten years now and it's as great as ever. Thanks, Rob!
The whole maze analysis disappears into thin air as soon as you know how a camera works. Especially at different times of the day in different weather conditions.
There is literally a scene almost at the beginning of the movie where Ullman sits in front of a window that has sunlight shining through it, and yet it is strongly implied in a slightly later scene that his office is in the middle of the hotel, far away from the outer walls, and this is a genuine inconsistency that cannot be explained with camera functions. Also, it would be very typical of Stanley Kubrick to intentionally make the hotel confusing and strange; he _constantly_ added subtle psychological tricks like that, even so far as to having things randomly appear and disappear in several scenes for no reason (like the table behind Jack when he is bothered by Wendy while working), or the one single turned on light that warns if Jack's location when he is about to attack Dick Hallorann.
@@Peter_1986 I wasn't writing about the office, but about the maze. I know Kubrick (and his crew) hid a lot of of details in the production design. But spotting them and talking about them becomes incredibly harder when somebody cannot differentiate between film analysis and the kind of "auteur paranoia" that Rob Ager constantly shows. Kubrick doesn't control the sun. Even Kubrick could make mistakes. Interpreting everything as "intentional" often enough stands in the way of true analysis. And yes, even ten year olds know about the wrong window in Ullman's office by now. But instead of overinterpreting that it could also just be a simple aesthetic choice concerning the lighting situation in a closed room.
@@NOCTURNUSFILM Okay, I misinterpreted your original post then; for some reason I thought you were talking about the "maze" design of the hotel itself.
@@Peter_1986 No, the hotel is definitely built as a maze. You're right. I just got a little annoyed by the maze "analysis" starting at minute 15. You can explain the whole look and lighting effect by shooting in a dark and unlit maze during an overcast day. It would look exactly like it does in the film. But Rob tries so hard to make some kind of mystery out of "how this was achieved".
@NOCTURNUSFILM I can see what you mean; sometimes it is however quite fun to speculate about various details that could have worked in a movie like "The Shining", even if they aren't technically used. For example, I used to imagine that the mirrors that Jack passed by in some scenes didn't show his reflection, and while this of course can be explained by camera angles and mirror placements, it does feel like something that would be exactly Stanley Kubrick's style, since an apparent lack of mirror reflections for Jack would be a subtle detail that would make Jack seem like a ghost: something that would be noticeable, but not get that much direct attention.
Great video but I noticed an inconsistency (I think). At around 13 minutes in Rob says there's no benches seen elsewhere in the maze. However, around 18 minutes, there's a shot clearly showing several benches inside the maze (the center of the maze in fact).
Oh my… This level of ingenuity is unparalleled… I’m definitely sharing your work! If those are the simpler tricks…I can’t wait for the other parts! Bravo!
14:24 the narrator is talking about the change in lighting within the maze... what if Kubrik meant to imply that Jack's big head was blocking out the sun? ie. when he is looking at the model of the maze, that moment is manifested into the reality of Wendy and son running arround in the 'real-life' maze on the outside... so when they experience the change in lighting, it is actually ( supernaturally) Jack's noggin blocking out the sun...
I've watched this film several times and thought about it a lot. My tentative appraisal is that Kubrick was using the movie as a vehicle to deconstruct the American dream, piece by piece, icon by icon. An ambitious project, but not beyond a man like Kubrick to attempt. So many clues point to tearing down Americana, and undercutting the confidence of middle class family people (in particular) in the power of the dream... Maybe I will make a documentary about this one day if I ever get the chance.
One thing I want to add. The bench in the beginning of the maze is probably for photos. I could see weddings and other events using the maze as a prop. The bench just adds a little element to the scene or a place for photo takers to have their subjects take a seat.
You mentioned the bench that vanishes when Wendy and Danny enter the maze. I noticed that the completely white sky only appears when there are no benches. When they enter the maze, blue sky is visible and there is a bench. When they reach the center of the maze, you can see blue in the sky and there are several benches. I think Kubrick didn't include benches in the indoor version of the maze. The benches only exist in the outdoor version. If that is true, why would he do that? Just to create more disorientation for the viewer? (Note: Just in case there is any confusion, when I refer to the "indoor version" I am not referring to the little model in the Overlook that Jack hovers over).
Cause the maze was a hallucination and never existed..you can see it obviously when the hotel was shown from Heli view or far distanced. There was no maze Infront of the hotel
I'm loving this guys videos. He catches things most people "overlook" see what I did there? Lol all jokes aside this guy makes great content that's interesting and thought provoking
Great stuff. Between Kubrick, Roger Deakins and Janusz Kaminski, there's alot to unpack in just their approach to lighting, directional use and color temperature. I'm sure there's a whole gang of other DP's and directors who have their own ways they use lighting as a story teller.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I never realized the light changes in those scenes and I thought I was aware of a lot of this movie’s minutia. Great job and I will be on the lookout for the next parts.
I'm not really surprised at Kubrick's lighting skills. He was a photography major like myself, where understanding exposure and how to light is vital in photography. Taking studio and location lighting is a part of the major
You've given me such incredible insight on this movie, to the point where it is my favorite of all time; and you keep making my love for it deeper! Awesome stuff. At some point I realized that the lighting was done to deliberately show you all the horror, but I never realized all the different lighting changed happening from frame to frame. I heavily adds to the disorientation already present in the other aspects of the film
Changed skies above the maze? Crazy continuity issues all throughout the film? Maybe the weather changed because the scenes inside the maze were filmed at different times...
17:28...Rob, for the first time I noticed in this scene above the maze model that there are very obvious letter “z’s”! Given how meticulously Kubrick planned his shots, could there be a sleep-related or hypnosis-related subliminal here??
Those letter Z's are also seen on top of the columns in the rooms that Halloran was going through before getting the axe (so to speak). I thought the same theme was also at work in those scenes. Food catch!
Rob, great episode. Few thoughts regards white out light over maze. There is white out light behind Ullman in his office window. And white out light in the great lounge room outside the main windows. All of it meaning Kubrick is definitely up to his tricks with the white light. It is like he has manipulated the light into something artificial to communicate a message to the viewer of artificiality of reality. Which could be viewed as a cue to the viewer to consider the natural world outside of the Overlook in another way. To see it like it is its own fake system of light. Thereby extending the Overlook hotel metaphor outwards into the universe therefore raising the spectre of the possibility that the world itself is indeed an Overlook hotel.
Now this is an analysis, the average reviewer wouldn't even think to such depths. Love these videos. Y'know, Kubrick didn't make many films, but what he left behind was quite a lot, and those are usually the best artists. Twenty three years after he's passed and people are still discovering something new in his films, amazing.
I think there is definitely some visual foreshadowing happening in the scene where Halloran is making the phone call. I think it’s clear that Halloran was in the room with the lamp on, so this shows him going from the light to the dark, a place of safety to a place of danger.
I think it’s very possible the lights are always on because perhaps there’s a breaker box that controls all the lights in the hotel and it’s easier to just turn them all on and leave them on rather than having to go and turn an individual light on when you need it
There is no hole for a penis in that bear mask, so he must be doing something else.. What do bears like? Honey! What is the color of honey? Gold! What could be a disgusting term for what he is doing? "Deuteronomy 6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey" The grail is under that bed!
The table lamp lighting reminds me of Lynch's Eraserhead, where there are similarly creepy (but more noticable) lamp shots. In fact I read that Kubrick was partly inspired by Eraserhead when making this film, and even got the whole cast to watch it.
PART 2 is now up folks th-cam.com/video/IqytK3jFWc0/w-d-xo.html
I really enjoyed this analysis, but of course I NEVER get tired of The Shining analysis videos 😏 (for my fine arts requirement at Xavier Univ in 2002? I took "The Horror Film." As political science major, apparently XU thought that one artsy farsty class would prevent me from becoming a clipboard carrying robot (it didn't. As a legislative aide, that's precisely what I became 🤣.) Anyway, disappointingly, the course never gave the Shining so much as a courtesy mention. I'd be willing to bet that wouldn't be the case if I took that class today.) I wish Kubrick was around to see that thanks to the internet- and yourself- that his amazing work and attention to detail in The Shining is finally getting the attention and appreciation it was denied for decades.
Thank you for your work. I know it's easier to stage a scene of being kind to a homeless person while a piano plays in the background, or to film yourself eating an entire buffalo or something, and rack up millions of views and alot of money. Channels like yours are what I come to YT looking for.
I'm normally not so sentimental, but thinking about how unappreciated much of Kubrick's work was- I know it's not much, but I just wanted to tell you I think the work you do is amazing and that your content stands alone in this "genre," for lack of a better term. My one course in cinema hardly makes me an expert 🤣, but I do know hard work and dedication to doing something right when I see it, and I just want to say thank you, because I'm guessing if you were paid by the hour, you'd probably be better off in a sweatshop in Bangladesh 😏. Seriously though- thank you for all you do. I'm sure it comes at a considerable sacrifice.
@@poutinedream5066 Thanks, that's much appreciated. Fortunately, there isn't a great deal of sacrifice on my part. I put about the same amount of hours in as anyone with a day job does, and I get paid more than any day job ever paid me ... plus, I choose my work hours and really enjoy the work. And no boss to answer to !!! :)
I saw sunlight on top of the maze in the supposed inside shot of the maze or at least a fake light in one of the shots following Danny and his mother.
Kubrick pointing to the lighting differences in the moon landing films. We should be able to see a mile in any direction UN those moon films, yet we can only see maybe a 100 yards. Not to mention, it would be 10-20x brighter on the moon during the day due to lack of atmosphere.
watt about numerollogis in shining. i mean ´you will ´learn büy the #$. : ? eg blogspöttce johnny 42.53 ^??^
12x2 doors windows ^ ^ aka pöd bäy döörs -:-
I've been watching Rob's analysis videos of The Shining since I was 14 back in 2008. As interesting now as it was then!
Was about to write a similar comment. Been watching his videos(a lot of the Shining ones) since 2013 and it amazes me that I’m still learning and seeing new things in 2022 from this channel.
I started watching him in 2009 when I was 14 and he was doing video nasties analysis. It was so interesting and got me thinking critically about movies.
The genius of Rob and Kubrick are limitless
2011 for me!
no one cares.
I'm far from sick of watching analyses of The Shining, the more the better!
I'm sick. It's not even his best film.
@@thursoberwick1948 ....ok thanks! I'll alert the Kubrick family
@@melsteffano6189 2001 is my fave of his, but ... so many masterpieces.
@@thursoberwick1948 why are you here?
@@pinehawk9600Ask a philosopher!
Or because I watch some of his other videos, and thus it comes up on my recommendations.
It is unbelievable how much there is still to say about this film 40 years later
As a carpenter, I’m struck by all the architectural details of the Overlook set. There’s so many time/ labor intensive details in the millwork alone that it’s hard to believe it’s not actually 80 years old.
I always loved the transition of them entering the maze. As an outdoorsman, when the bright sunny day of the exterior shifts to a completely blank gray sky, my first thought was "oh shit now they don't know which direction they're facing". Really awesome detail. Once you're in the thick of the maze there is absolutely no orienting yourself.
I assume the external shoots in the maze were filmed in the UK . It could just be British weather
I noticed in Rosemary's Baby, 1968, she has a dream sequence which starts with her sitting on a boat with the sun shining on the water and switches to a gray sky and gray water as the dream gets more strange. Everyone would definitely notice the change and wonder why the director did that. Maybe just to make you wonder, "What's happening?"
@@johngriffiths118 Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England 🤗🌥
Meh. Maybe they were in the maze for 45 minutes before we see the second shot. Skies and shadows change.
@@jacedaniel Not meh at all. All symbolism in this movie, and anything that seems "off" was done on purpose. Kubrick did not make filming mistakes ever. This has been documented.
Stanley Kubrick was the absolute MASTER of Photography & lighting .He was a photographer before he was a moviemaker. His lenses on Barry Lyndon were built by Nasa ...I never knew Kubrick did the lighting on the Spy Who Loved Me.
More than that, Kubrick had to figure out how to mount the lenses on his camera. They were not made for movie cameras, they were made for satellites etc, so not only was using the lenses innovative, he had to innovate further to use them on his film.
@@davidlean1060 yes
@@davidlean1060 Stanley was a Wonderful perfectionist. No wonder his photography in his movies was so unforgettable. Did you hear that story when he was working on one of his early films ....He set up a complex dolly shot. With a specific lens. Then he gave the task to an assistant. But the assistant started to change the setup to cut corners. He put the dolly track at a greater distance & tried to use a different lens simply because it would save time & make things easier for him...But with Stanley's specialist knowledge he knew it would make a CHANGE to the shot that would make it inferior to what he originally wanted. And Stanley said - 'Do the set up like it was with the lens I wanted or leave the set please.' ....Stanley wasn't going to have corner cutters messing up his brilliant shots.
@@walterevans2118 There's a youtube channel called stanleyandus and it features short annecdotes like that from crew, a few actors and so on. I think it was his editor who said to a newbie on set (who argued with Kubrick over how many frames of silence there were between the rings of a telephone in the scene they were screening, of all things!) that you should never argue with Kubrick, because he only argued when he knew he was right. No one could do what he did, but he seemed to know everyone else's job as well, or better, than they did!
Yeah didn't know about the Bond set!
If anyone could fake the moon landing, it was him!
Your theories about The Shining are unique and articulated very well which keeps things interesting.
Just when I think I understand the film you throw another curveball that completely shifts my perspective. Thank you for your dedication to this series.
BAAAAA
Jack goes outside to chase Danny ... and flips on all the lights!
Underrated channel and true film theory. Many channels don't/can't break things down like this. Truly good work.
Rob's process is very well executed, and you can really see the amount of experience he has in film analysis when watching his videos.
@@xocomaox I have 30+ credits in film. Its my life. Robs content consistently re-inspires my eye. Robs intellectual, technical and emotional attention to details makes me look deeper in my work and revisit films in a new way
Love what you're doing man. Great stuff. Is it strange that The Shining is a comfort film for me?
I love when you can hear the wind howling in the hotel. Despite the premise of the film, I’d love to spend the night there listening to it!
Edit:
I didn’t realise whose comment I was commenting on, until I was editing a spelling mistake.
Keep up the great work on your channel. 👍🏼
That your material has always been original is beyond reproach, but the Kubrickian wormholes you choose to travel through that are so unique. Not only do you successfully arrive at the end with at least food for thought, you also take more than a few of us along for the ride. Well done.
I suggest an alternate title for the video: "The Overlit Hotel"
😁 Very interesting analysis Rob, for some reason I've never noticed (not rationally) that the lighting of the twins gave them hollow eyes, like skulls.
He acts like we don’t greatly enjoy his shining theories. We love ‘em!
He acts like we wouldn't sit through anything, even if we think maybe those lights don't make much difference except in the composition of the shot as a piece of art.
i don't care if you are "right" or "wrong" about any of this, your analysis of the shining is always fascinating
Your Shining videos are always super interesting and this one is no exception!
Best film analysis channel on You Tube. I've purchased this cat's materials before. Well worth it.
Funny how Rob thinks people could get sick of his videos. They are quite possibly the most engaging film analyses available anywhere.
It's great that a decent portion of you folks feel that way. I have my haters too :)
@@collativelearning no you don't
@@collativelearning who would hate these videos? 😑
Such a great movie, watched it so many times and it never gets boring… You can just see the care that went into the film ..
The lighting of the film also keeps in mind the position of the audience in the theater. It's basically from a theater goer's perspective. So it adds a kind of VR effect, almost like those motion simulator rides that became popular a short while after the release of this film. The opening shot when viewed in the theater is akin to being dangled outside the helicopter.
The Shining always reminds me of paintings of René Magritte visually, the doors and gardens etc. especially the one called The Empire of Light which has a daylight sky against a night landscape.
Those paintings also famously inspired the scene in "The Exorcist" when Father Lankester Merrin arrives at the McNeil house.
Been watching your channel for 12 years now. And your film theories will never get old in my opinion.
12 years. That's dedication. thanks :)
It's hard to comprehend the massive genius of Kubrick.... How he could be a practical expert on technical aspects of film making, but also a genius in conceptual, abstract stuff.
He mastered lighting for practical reasons is what is great about it. He probably treated it as a subtle nuisance that mastering would help him avoid bothering with.
Kubrick was and is the master of cinematic lighting. It's one of his greatest legacies
I will never get tired of your analysis on the Shining Rob keep em videos coming.
Rob, yours are the only The Shining analysis videos I care about.
This is another great example of your skills. I’ve never heard anyone bring up the lighting in the movie.
Bravo!
It was obviously Danny who turned on all the lights since anyone with kids can attest to the fact that they love playing with light switches. That's probably what caused Jack to lose it! ;)
Just kidding, of course. Excellent analysis as always Rob - really love your content!
13:38 This is the first time I noticed those tubes in the far background that offer some good horror in the book but aren't mentioned in the movie at all. Amazing that Kubrick would have them there even though he never "goes" to them or uses them. That's impressive.
It's probably been noted either here or somewhere else that when Wendy ascends the staircase with the knife in her hand, the scenes lighting replicates the famous scene in Nosferatu in which the vampire's shadow is cast upon the wall as he ascends the staircase.
Please excuse me if this is common knowledge and that the point has been made numerous times, but I just now noticed it for the first time. Mr. Kubrick had to be paying homage to the silent film classic. Your presentations are great for getting me to see things in a different light.
Rob, I would never get sick of your analysis videos of the Shining. I am always learning more. I think I am an observant person but I miss so much with your analysis.
Stuart Ullman, who interviews Jack for the job near the start, has initials that are the 19th and 21st letters of the alphabet.
1921 is the year of the picture Jack is 'trapped' in at the end.
Probably another non-coincidence.
Ah, I don't go in for calculus interpretations of that kind generally. The girls on the gameshow Countdown can reach a target number with random numbers nearly every time.
@@collativelearning Agreed, but given Kubrick's attention to detail, you wouldn't put it past him.
I bet there are exactly the same number of stones on top of his grave as hairs in his left eyebrow or something.
@@collativelearning how do you know it's calculus and not kabalistic gematria. Ironically many would dismiss your stuff under the same logic that it's just random stuff being over thought.
@@tonywords6713 Because I seek evidence first and build my interpretations on that, instead of picking a theory out of a hat and then trying to force the evidence to fit. I've seen no evidence of kabalistic gematria so have no reason to assume it's there. Others have tried to dismiss my stuff as being random and over-thought, as you say, but they've failed because they lack plausible explanations for all the details I point out .. and several of my interpretations have been later strongly supported by further production info or statements by the film makers.
I could watch these Shining analyses forever and ever and ever! Amazing stuff!
The lighting gives you the impression that there's nowhere to hide.
The lighting effects are great in this movie. The one thing that I would point is the number of lamps. It was fairly common in the 60s and 70s to not have ceiling lights but instead switch leg wiring. Meaning that 1 or more wall plugs are wired to the wall switch. The result was rooms that were very dark, so adding 2 or more lamps were common just to have enough light to read. My parents house is like this. As well as our house and our entire neighborhood. When we remodeled, I added ceiling lights everywhere. When do we get part 2!?!?👍👍👍
Films are being shot digitally so much nowadays that I feel like the talent of properly lighting sets has become somewhat of a lost art. Errors are fixed in post and it just rings out as lazy IMO. I think to someone like David Cronenberg... If you watch his work like Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers etc, those films are shot very traditionally. His films are loaded with great scares and effects but by doing it the way he does, it just feels more realistic. Kubrick did the same but was more cerebral with his lighting choices.
Houses without ceiling lights? Every house I ever saw had a ceiling light in the middle of every room, usually with a square bowl type glass covering below the light bulbs. And a light switch right inside the door. Except for the bathrooms, which had the light over the sink.
@@watermelonlalala Modern houses, absolutely. I live in an old single level ranch house, its almost entirely lit by lamps. The kitchen has the overhead though. Even my room has 2 lamps. I can say that i do think most houses i walk in nowadays have both though. Especially anything newer. My friend is a successful carpenter and has very big jobs. I actually asked him about this tonight and he was telling me about a recent job building an $8mil house and its all LED lights on the ceiling and walls and its obviously its very bright. But he said over his 20yrs of experience, anytime he's done a complete renovation of a house built in the 50s-70s(Where i live is loaded with California Style Ranches and Old Fashioned Ranches etc that were built for soldiers coming home from the Korean and Vietnam War, he said its not uncommon to see mostly lamps albeit every kitchen has the overhead and bathrooms usually have them too or have it from the mirrors. I'm not disagreeing with you but I do think there's some exceptions.
@@mk-ultramags1107 OK. To tell you the truth, I am not much of one to notice decor or light fixtures.
I have a new house here in Florida and it has both ceiling lights/fans and wall switches wired to a couple outlets in each room.
The mysterious maze shot looks like a usual cloudy day in England to me? I would guess it is an outside maze and clever Kubrick had it standing production ready and just waited out the time for the right lighting while shooting other stuff in the meantime. Classic chess move.
Never thought about it before, but in The Shining--with all the brightly-lit rooms and Steadicam tracking shots--the viewer doesn't have a choice; we're quietly being sucked into the horror that the characters experience and we *will* see what they see. That's why those zooms at the end (Halloran dead on the floor, etc.) are so jarring and effective--we've been lulled with the smooth ambiance of the film and suddenly the ambiance cracks a little bit. Great video!
We like to assume that Kubrick's motivation for switching lights around is to "mess with our minds", but perhaps the explanation is less dramatic and romantic. Kubrick obviously had a strong artistic eye and most likely he simply wanted a shot to look as good as it possibly could. If that sometimes required turning this light off, and that light on: so be it. As long as the shot was nailed.
It's 100% this, not the psychological effect of inconsistent lighting (that we barely pick up on subconsciously). All that is pointless if the shot doesn't have good lighting and composition
Gotta say. U sure do reach for the stars 🌟. I watched 3 movies in a row now where there were 4 lamps in a room 😑. Maybe he was just symmetrical
I love the thrill of noticing something like this in a movie youve seen hundreds of times. Well done!
And there can never be enough analysis on this movie. It's odd; I enjoy analysis on the movie more than I've ever enjoyed the movie itself! So please, as long as you're willing, keep them coming! Especially because you actually clearly respect the work and talent Kubrick had and it makes all the difference. So thank you ✨
Your videos are always so insightful and concise. One of the few channels that I have consistently come back to and watched for over a decade. I knew since the first time I watched Kubrick films that there was far more depth than your average film. I had to look into it more and stumbled upon your channel. I had no idea how deep the rabbit hole went. Well done Rob.
what a cool exploration, as a layman, ive always enjoyed kubriks lighting affect, but never heard it articulated. Well done Rob!
As a huge Kubrick fan, no one can touch you when it comes to analyzing his films. I'm always learning new ways to interpret his art thanks to your commentary. 👍
I just can't help but feel that the bedroom in 237 has a connection to the 'bedroom' we see at the end of 2001. The pillows on the bed, and the colors of course, steer me towards that direction...
This level of analysis could make The Room a masterpiece
Great analysis, nobody's sick of the topic or you doing more than one episode on The Shining, Rob, please keep them coming, just tops. Lightswitches are clues in Eyes Wide Shut, including with Milich turning lights on at Rainbow Fashions and more. As Bill and Alice leave their bedroom, they are in front of a painting. On Alice's side of that painting is a portrayal of a dark path. As they walk toward us in the hallway, Alice's eyes get those shadows around them and the skull effec is cleart, very briefly, easy to miss. 9:09 - left, in the glass of the door, on an angle, a quick reflection of a white 'i'. Stair bannister shadows are seen behind Bill as he's hoping to meet Domino again but instead meets Sally. The lamps can form a sort of vertical cat eye pupil, more of a subliminal thing. 4 is a pattern in Eyes Wide Shut so in The Shining the 3 dresser drawer handles behind the bear costume man, then 4 lamps, not surprising in retrospect. 10:29 - some lens flare 'gem'? is on Jack's elbow then it moves right across the shot. Maze map sides look like subliminal 'eyes'. 25:42 - radiator heaters are also seen through various scenes in Eyes Wide Shut.th
Just when you think interest in Kubrick was wavering Rob comes along , kicks in your front door and hands you this fucking gem 👍
Kubricks odyssey by Jay Weidner, now THATS a kick in the teeth!
As regards to the different lights being on during Halloran’s murder, etc., I interpret that to be the hotel making of itself something different for each person, kind-of like how the maze and floor plan changes around. So the hotel puts Jack into shadow for Halloran but illuminates Jack’s path and acts as a subconscious guide. In this way, we can see that the hotel itself really is a living entity, changing what it presents to people in order to manipulate, confuse, frighten, or guide.
Considering the fact that videos about this film concentrate only on ''symbolism and meaning and theories and conspiracies'' it's a breath of fresh air to see film essays like this. Thank you.
Very interesting as always. However, the overcast during the Maze sequence isn't such as mystery to me though. Probably just shot on a slightly overcast day as opposed to the running sequence before.
Can never get enough Rob Ager Shining videos! great work as always Rob
As a lifelong Kubrick fan, I'm mildly surprised that his most studied film ended up being The Shining.
In the 700+ page book, Studies in the Horror Film: The Shining, different cast & crew would point discrepancies out to Kubrick and he'd chuckle, "It's just a ghost story."
But so much lends itself to careful thought and study, I'm still wondering...was it just a ghost story?
Yeah, ironically, his answer is true.
Yes. Like the book. But the film is better. It’s a haunted hotel. The hotel is mentioned in Kings other book - Misery.
the “switched on/off lights” always interested me and my family. we grew up in a haunted house and the lights “playing games” with us was a common spectral event. creepy. the thing i like about this movie are these scenes with Wendy running through the basement from a feeling…not some “appearance.” Very accurate to our daily lives.
I thought I knew everything there was to about this movie, but Rob has once again opened my eyes to see more. This movie is absolutely fascinating and Rob's analyses of this film are terrific. Thanks Rob!
Dude. I LOVE your stuff. I'm a total film geek, too. And, I have spent a ton of time studying certain films. Among them, this one and, The Exorcist. I thought I had exhausted everything with this one in particular. But, you always come up with something fascinating. Keep it coming!
You were wrong about one thing. At @13:01 you said that we dont see any benches inside the maze, but at 18:07 we see theres like 6 benches
Rob, I absolutely live and breathe for your Kubrick videos.
I agree with the "traditional" lighting aspect of part of "The Shining". When this is mentioned between 9:00 and 10:00 I'm reminded of Count Orlock climbing the stairs in "Nosferatu" as we see Wending ascending the staircase in the Overlook.
I must be really dense because there is so much in ths movie that I completely did NOT notice until being directed to these outstanding anaylyses! Thank you for these Collative Learning videos which have made this movie so much more for me.
Even though it's the residence of evil, I'm a big fan of the Overlook Hotel simply as a building. I would love to spend the winter there. Another movie location of which I'm a big fan is the apartment of Rosemary and Guy in "Rosemary's Baby", both verisons of the apartment: before and after Rosemay redecorates. Not a residence but the dining room of the S.S. Poseidon in the 1972 version of "The Poseidon Adventure" is one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen.
Please bring on the second part. I'm eager for more!
Funny you bring up Orlock and Overlook, because I have thought for awhile that Overlook might be a reference to Morlock in the original Time Machine, where these monstrous humans live underground and prey on the normal humans who live above them. The Morlock Hotel. And Morlock is thought to be a reference to Moloch, the Canaanite god of child sacrifice.
@@watermelonlalala I think you may be on to something here!
Love your Shining videos. Thank you for introducing this GenZ/Millennial to better films.
I think that Kubrick waited for a cloudy day to shoot the scenes from inside the maze. He would, of course, have exposed to get the greenery inside the maze bright enough so that it didn't all come out as black, which would have overexposed the gray sky, turning it into white. He seemed to have chosen a sunny day for that scene when they walk outside the maze so to convey that there is something weird going on inside the maze, with its different lighting.
the maze was shot on different days with different weather. for the interior he chose an overcast day to avoid jarring exposure differences and also like you say to create a uniform soft light that removes any clues of directionality provided by the position of the sun.
I look forward to part 2. Your analysis makes an already incredible horror film even more unsettling.
There can never be enough Kubrick and The Shining videos. The best director/artist of all time, and the most perfect film of all time. I can never get enough of Kubrick and Lynch. Sadly we lost Kubrick too early. So I'll pray Lynch will still bless us with Twin Peaks season 4.
I feel the lamp in the back when Hallorann is on the phone symbolizes Danny “shining” for help, though distant- it’s glaring, and unable to be ignored.
you said "we don't see benches inside the maze anywhere else" at 13:07, I believe the middle of the maze has quite a few benches inside it.
I always thought that the lamps were symbolic of sudden realizations, like the lamps behind Wendy as she sees the river of blood or the man in the bear costume. Much like in old cartoons, when a lightbuld goes on above a character's head. She now "sees", i.e realizes what Danny's been seeing all along.
I spent so much time looking at the objects and colors around the characters' heads in The Shining - but I never noticed the lamps.
Don't ever again entertain the notion that maybe there's been too many Shining analysis videos. Your Kubrick videos, especially the ones about The Shining, are some of my favorite things on the whole internet. I've been watching for ten years now and it's as great as ever. Thanks, Rob!
The whole maze analysis disappears into thin air as soon as you know how a camera works. Especially at different times of the day in different weather conditions.
There is literally a scene almost at the beginning of the movie where Ullman sits in front of a window that has sunlight shining through it, and yet it is strongly implied in a slightly later scene that his office is in the middle of the hotel, far away from the outer walls, and this is a genuine inconsistency that cannot be explained with camera functions.
Also, it would be very typical of Stanley Kubrick to intentionally make the hotel confusing and strange;
he _constantly_ added subtle psychological tricks like that, even so far as to having things randomly appear and disappear in several scenes for no reason
(like the table behind Jack when he is bothered by Wendy while working),
or the one single turned on light that warns if Jack's location when he is about to attack Dick Hallorann.
@@Peter_1986 I wasn't writing about the office, but about the maze. I know Kubrick (and his crew) hid a lot of of details in the production design. But spotting them and talking about them becomes incredibly harder when somebody cannot differentiate between film analysis and the kind of "auteur paranoia" that Rob Ager constantly shows. Kubrick doesn't control the sun. Even Kubrick could make mistakes. Interpreting everything as "intentional" often enough stands in the way of true analysis.
And yes, even ten year olds know about the wrong window in Ullman's office by now. But instead of overinterpreting that it could also just be a simple aesthetic choice concerning the lighting situation in a closed room.
@@NOCTURNUSFILM
Okay, I misinterpreted your original post then;
for some reason I thought you were talking about the "maze" design of the hotel itself.
@@Peter_1986 No, the hotel is definitely built as a maze. You're right.
I just got a little annoyed by the maze "analysis" starting at minute 15. You can explain the whole look and lighting effect by shooting in a dark and unlit maze during an overcast day.
It would look exactly like it does in the film. But Rob tries so hard to make some kind of mystery out of "how this was achieved".
@NOCTURNUSFILM
I can see what you mean;
sometimes it is however quite fun to speculate about various details that could have worked in a movie like "The Shining", even if they aren't technically used.
For example, I used to imagine that the mirrors that Jack passed by in some scenes didn't show his reflection, and while this of course can be explained by camera angles and mirror placements, it does feel like something that would be exactly Stanley Kubrick's style, since an apparent lack of mirror reflections for Jack would be a subtle detail that would make Jack seem like a ghost:
something that would be noticeable, but not get that much direct attention.
Great video but I noticed an inconsistency (I think). At around 13 minutes in Rob says there's no benches seen elsewhere in the maze. However, around 18 minutes, there's a shot clearly showing several benches inside the maze (the center of the maze in fact).
Oh my…
This level of ingenuity is unparalleled…
I’m definitely sharing your work!
If those are the simpler tricks…I can’t wait for the other parts!
Bravo!
Rob, I absolutely love your Shining analyses videos.
Plus, I love how you signed off, STAY FREE
14:24 the narrator is talking about the change in lighting within the maze... what if Kubrik meant to imply that Jack's big head was blocking out the sun? ie. when he is looking at the model of the maze, that moment is manifested into the reality of Wendy and son running arround in the 'real-life' maze on the outside... so when they experience the change in lighting, it is actually ( supernaturally) Jack's noggin blocking out the sun...
pass the joint
Jack's noggin has a bleeding injury ... and so does the Great Party 'ghost'
Thank you Rob! Never get tired of your analyses on this film.
I've watched this film several times and thought about it a lot. My tentative appraisal is that Kubrick was using the movie as a vehicle to deconstruct the American dream, piece by piece, icon by icon. An ambitious project, but not beyond a man like Kubrick to attempt. So many clues point to tearing down Americana, and undercutting the confidence of middle class family people (in particular) in the power of the dream... Maybe I will make a documentary about this one day if I ever get the chance.
One thing I want to add. The bench in the beginning of the maze is probably for photos. I could see weddings and other events using the maze as a prop. The bench just adds a little element to the scene or a place for photo takers to have their subjects take a seat.
You mentioned the bench that vanishes when Wendy and Danny enter the maze. I noticed that the completely white sky only appears when there are no benches. When they enter the maze, blue sky is visible and there is a bench. When they reach the center of the maze, you can see blue in the sky and there are several benches. I think Kubrick didn't include benches in the indoor version of the maze. The benches only exist in the outdoor version. If that is true, why would he do that? Just to create more disorientation for the viewer? (Note: Just in case there is any confusion, when I refer to the "indoor version" I am not referring to the little model in the Overlook that Jack hovers over).
aside: didn't he state that no other benches are seen inside after the one just inside the entrance?
Cause the maze was a hallucination and never existed..you can see it obviously when the hotel was shown from Heli view or far distanced. There was no maze Infront of the hotel
Love your videos man. Could never be sick of them 👍 You've fundamentally changed the way I see many aspects of films.
I'm loving this guys videos. He catches things most people "overlook" see what I did there? Lol all jokes aside this guy makes great content that's interesting and thought provoking
Brilliant oration. Illuminating analysis. Lit channel! You're shining light in new places. Bright as always.
Great stuff. Between Kubrick, Roger Deakins and Janusz Kaminski, there's alot to unpack in just their approach to lighting, directional use and color temperature. I'm sure there's a whole gang of other DP's and directors who have their own ways they use lighting as a story teller.
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I never realized the light changes in those scenes and I thought I was aware of a lot of this movie’s minutia. Great job and I will be on the lookout for the next parts.
How on earth do you notice these details. This is genius.
My secret ;)
He has no life
@@vladislavno 😄
@@vladislavno I’d say a life analyzing art is a much more fulfilling life than one putting others down for their hobbies
@@Musicalto difference is my hobby takes 15 minutes a week. His takes 15 hours.
I'm not really surprised at Kubrick's lighting skills. He was a photography major like myself, where understanding exposure and how to light is vital in photography. Taking studio and location lighting is a part of the major
My favorite Kubrick film ever. For as many great films as he made, this and Eyes Wide Shut stand out
You've given me such incredible insight on this movie, to the point where it is my favorite of all time; and you keep making my love for it deeper!
Awesome stuff. At some point I realized that the lighting was done to deliberately show you all the horror, but I never realized all the different lighting changed happening from frame to frame. I heavily adds to the disorientation already present in the other aspects of the film
Brilliant video! I’m an aspiring filmmaker myself and your videos have been so very helpful!
Changed skies above the maze? Crazy continuity issues all throughout the film? Maybe the weather changed because the scenes inside the maze were filmed at different times...
17:28...Rob, for the first time I noticed in this scene above the maze model that there are very obvious letter “z’s”! Given how meticulously Kubrick planned his shots, could there be a sleep-related or hypnosis-related subliminal here??
Those letter Z's are also seen on top of the columns in the rooms that Halloran was going through before getting the axe (so to speak). I thought the same theme was also at work in those scenes. Food catch!
@15:35 I've never noticed the red triangle in the maze before. What does that mean?
"BEAR with me." Nice touch.
i never get tired listening to you talking about shining
Rob, great episode. Few thoughts regards white out light over maze. There is white out light behind Ullman in his office window. And white out light in the great lounge room outside the main windows. All of it meaning Kubrick is definitely up to his tricks with the white light. It is like he has manipulated the light into something artificial to communicate a message to the viewer of artificiality of reality. Which could be viewed as a cue to the viewer to consider the natural world outside of the Overlook in another way. To see it like it is its own fake system of light. Thereby extending the Overlook hotel metaphor outwards into the universe therefore raising the spectre of the possibility that the world itself is indeed an Overlook hotel.
Amazing that we can return to this movie so many times. I’m so great full for your wonderful intellect.
Now this is an analysis, the average reviewer wouldn't even think to such depths. Love these videos. Y'know, Kubrick didn't make many films, but what he left behind was quite a lot, and those are usually the best artists. Twenty three years after he's passed and people are still discovering something new in his films, amazing.
The hotel carpet designs are so beautiful.
I think there is definitely some visual foreshadowing happening in the scene where Halloran is making the phone call. I think it’s clear that Halloran was in the room with the lamp on, so this shows him going from the light to the dark, a place of safety to a place of danger.
I think it’s very possible the lights are always on because perhaps there’s a breaker box that controls all the lights in the hotel and it’s easier to just turn them all on and leave them on rather than having to go and turn an individual light on when you need it
I'm eagerly awaiting the inevitable video: "The Kubrick Code that Points Us to the Holy Grail." Love your stuff!
“ Kubrick and assassination of Kennedy …on the Moon “
There is no hole for a penis in that bear mask, so he must be doing something else.. What do bears like? Honey! What is the color of honey? Gold! What could be a disgusting term for what he is doing?
"Deuteronomy 6:3
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey"
The grail is under that bed!
love this video Rob! and it sounds like life is going well for you, can hear the enjoyment in your voice
Cheers, loving the work and lots of good things happening personally this past year. Some potential big announcements in future too.
The table lamp lighting reminds me of Lynch's Eraserhead, where there are similarly creepy (but more noticable) lamp shots. In fact I read that Kubrick was partly inspired by Eraserhead when making this film, and even got the whole cast to watch it.
Really 😳 I saw that movie 1 time and it's very creepy and disturbing.No wonder if Kubrick did like it he made his scary movie even better.
You should tell Rob about it and see what he thinks.