Redrum Vs. Kubrick Still Life

10/24/2014

You know it's not possible to go a single October without watching The Shining. I've never before thought to put into words what I love about it, but I'll give it a shot. Jack Nicholson's performance as Jack Torrance, an on-the-wagon family man who just wants some peace to write his novel, but who instead turns rather cuckoo bananas, is giddily terrifying. Over the years, I've grown to appreciate Shelley Duvall as the meek mother, Wendy, concerned for both of her boys' mental states, emotionally drained as she watches her husband devolve, then convincingly shaken and panicked as she realizes nearly too late that she needs to get her son Danny far away. Even though I know he outruns his father and outsmarts him in the hedge maze, I'm still always on edge for Danny. And The Overlook is a character itself, revealing something unnatural around any random corner.

Of course, this was a change in direction from the original novel, and Stephen King hates what Kubrick did. He has every right to since it was his story. Jack Torrance was a better man in the novel, eventually released from the hold the hotel had over him and allowing his family to escape. But I saw the movie long before I read the book. I was a kid when I started reading Stephen King novels, but the first book I got from the library was actually Firestarter. It wasn't until years later that I read The Shining and by then I already loved the film. And I always will.

Both Redrum Kubrick Still Life #3 are available today at TeeFury for $11. Tomorrow they'll be a bit more expensive and after that they will be gone.

[UPDATE, 8/24/15]  Neither of these designs are yet available on other sites on t-shirts. So why am I updating? Because I did find Redrum and Kubrick Still Life #3 available as prints from Etsy and Society6, respectively. Sizes differ on each site, but range from 8" x 8" to 27" x 40".