The Shining
This past summer, I watched the classic horror flick "The Shining" for the very first time (I know, I know). What immediately grabbed me about the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece is the music from the opening scene. Nothing sinister is going on, just shots of a car driving through the mountains, but it's the score that the scene is paired with that makes the viewer feel as though something bad is about to happen and that is the magic of music.
So, as it's now October, I'm bringing back Movie Mondays and will be discussing spooky films all month long! Let's get started with "The Shining".
Here are some fun facts and trivia you might not know...
1. Composer Wendy Carlos previously worked with Kubrick on "A Clockwork Orange"
Kubrick had enlisted Carlos and Rachel Elkind for the film's music with the former previously working with Kubrick on "A Clockwork Orange", notably arranging a special electronic version of Beethoven's 'Ninth Symphony'.
2. However...Kubrick wiped most of the tracks
Carlos recorded a complete electronic score for the film, but Kubrick ended up using mostly existing recordings by several avant-garde composers. Carlos and Elkind did not know about the switch until they were invited to a screening of the film in May 1980. They were reportedly furious about Kubrick's decision.
"The Shining (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)", was released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records, and featured only two tracks credited to Carlos and Elkind: the main title theme and 'Rocky Mountains'.
3. He would go on to do this again to another composer
Carlos and Elkind's experience closely mirrored that of composer Alex North, who had written and recorded a complete orchestral soundtrack for Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". He discovered at the film's world premiere that Kubrick had jettisoned the entire score in favour of the guide tracks he had used while editing the movie. Yikes!
4. The opening song 'Rocky Mountains' is the 'Dies irae'
Translating to “Day of Wrath,”, the Dies irae is a medieval chant from the 13th century, which has been a favorite of composers for a long time. But it was Berlioz’s take on it in his 'Symphonie fantastique' that inspired composers Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind to include it in the opening moments of the film. “Without that,” says musicologist Neil Lerner, “it’s a shot of a car driving. It doesn’t necessarily read as scary or happy...but it shows how effective this one little bit of music totally sets the mood.”
5. Stephen King did not like the film and made his own version
The creation of 'The Shining' as a miniseries is in fact attributed to author Stephen King's dissatisfaction with director Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film. Kubrick even rejected King's screenplay for the film. King was especially critical of Jack Nicholson's performance. The series premiere in 1997 in three parts and went on to win two Emmy awards.
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