Stephen King made it very well known that he wasn’t a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 adaptation of his book The Shining, so seventeen years later he took the chance to bring the story to the screen himself. He wrote the script for a three-part mini-series that was directed by Mick Garris and aired on ABC back in 1997 – and tomorrow, March 12th, Scream Factory is giving the mini-series version of The Shining a Blu-ray release! Copies are available for purchase at THIS LINK.
The mini-series version of The Shining has the following synopsis: Jack Torrance and his family move into the sprawling, vacant Overlook Hotel to get away from it all. Away from the alcoholism that derails Jack’s writing career. Away from the violent outbursts that mar Jack’s past. But Jack’s young son Danny knows better. He possesses a psychic gift called the shining — a gift the hotel’s vile spirits desperately want. In the hands of Stephen King, the “dead” Overlook comes horrifyingly alive. Phantoms lurk, the message “redrum” appears with scary frequency, and even garden topiary lurches into macabre existence in this atmospheric shocker.
The cast includes Steven Weber, Rebecca De Mornay, Courtland Mead, Wil Horneff, Melvin Van Peebles, Pat Hingle, Elliott Gould, John Durbin, Stanley Anderson, Cynthia Garris, and Miguel Ferrer, with appearances by Shawnee Smith, Sam Raimi, Frank Darabont, and King himself.
Here are the specs for Scream Factory’s The Shining Blu-ray release:
NEW 2K RESTORATION FROM AN INTERPOSITIVE
Audio Commentary by Author Stephen King, Director Mick Garris, Cast Members Steven Weber and Cynthia Garris, and Select Crew
11 Additional Scenes
1080p High Definition (1.33:1)
DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
English SDH Subtitles
What do you think of the 1997 mini-series version of The Shining? Will you be buying a copy of this Scream Factory Blu-ray release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The mini-series has its merits, but I can’t say I’m a fan of it… mainly because I feel that choosing Courtland Mead to play Danny Torrance was one of the worst casting decisions ever made. Apologies for criticizing a kid, but his acting is painful to watch.
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