One haunted hotel, two excellent movies. That’s the deal available at Amazon right now, as the 4K Blu-rays of The Shining and its sequel Doctor Sleep have just had their prices shattered like a wooden door trying to stop an axe-wielding fan of the Johnny Carson show. Normally $42, The Shining is available for just $15, while Doctor Sleep has been discounted from $25 to $13. Combined, that’s a pretty awesome deal on Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece and Mike Flanagan’s superb sequel.
The 4K Blu-ray version of The Shining comes with plenty of extra content, as well as the film on a standard Blu-ray disc and a digital streaming code. For the bonus materials, there’s a terrific selection of features and documentaries that go behind the camera of this legendary film:
- Commentary by Steadicam inventor and operator Garrett Brown and historian John Baxter
- The making of The Shining by Vivian Kubrick
- View from the Overlook Hotel
- Crafting The Shining
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick and Wendy Carlos
If you haven’t watched it, The Shining is a masterclass in psychological horror. Adapted from a Stephen King book and considered to be one of director Stanley Kubrick’s all-time best movies–and absolute hell for the late Shelley Duvall–the movie stars Jack Nicholson as a writer who takes a job as winter caretaker as a hotel, and he brings his wife and young son with him. The family is completely unaware that the hotel is haunted, and the resident ghosts have murderous plans in mind for the Torrances. throw in latent psychic powers, one of the most quotable quotes of all time, and an excellent parody done by The Simpsons, and you’ve got a work of unnerving art.
Doctor Sleep, the sequel directed by Mike Flanagan–best-known for several critically acclaimed Netflix shows that made you sleep with the lights on–was released back in 2019. Starring Ewan McGregor as Dan Torrance, the son of Jack Torrance, in his efforts to find closure and a semblance of peace. After Torrance encounters Abra, a teenager who also possesses psychic Shining gifts similar to his own, Torrance faces off against the merciless Rose the Hat and her followers, The True Knot, who feed off the Shining of innocents in their quest for immortality.
The Shining’s sequel was well-received when it was first released, and this director’s cut version on this Blu-ray expands on the movie with several extra scenes. It was already a good movie, but this version turns it into an even better film. For the extras, there are two documentaries chronicling the production process of the sequel, from start to finish.
Big fans of The Shining should also check out the 1997 TV miniseries, which received a Blu-ray release earlier this year and has received a nice discount. King never liked Kubrick’s take on his beloved 1977 novel, and this eventually led to the author writing and producing a three-episode TV special that aired on ABC. While it earned some positive reviews when it first aired almost two decades ago, time has been less kind to this adaptation. Still, if you’re looking for a different tour of the Overlook Hotel, the 4.5-hour miniseries is certainly worth a watch.
The Shining books
The Shining fans also have a new book box set to look forward to, and it sounds very cool. On November 26, Taschen is publishing a two-volume box set dubbed Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Written by J.W. Rinzler and edited by former Pixar director and The Shining expert Lee Unkrich, this 1,396-page hardcover set is billed as the definitive compendium for Kubrick’s film. It includes tons of never-before-seen photos and content and is based on hundreds of hours of interviews. It even has a foreword by Steven Spielberg. You can preorder Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining box set for $75 at Amazon, which is 40% off its $125 list price.
Though Kubrick’s adaptation is considered by many to be one of the best horror movies of all time, King’s original book also happens to be one of the best horror novels from the last 50 years. The book is quite different from the film in a lot of ways, so if you’ve never read it, you should do yourself a favor and pick it up alongside the 4K Blu-ray. King’s Doctor Sleep novel is also great, and the hardcover edition is currently available for a bargain price at Amazon.
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