THE SHINING (1980) – ‘Kubrick’s perfection’. Perhaps taking influence from an aforementioned, equally talented director, Stanley Kubrick subjected actress Shelley Duvall to an unprecedented shooting regime on ‘The Shining‘. In order to draw an authentically disturbed portrayal out of her, Kubrick kept her constantly on edge during the 500+ day shoot! He also convinced the rest of the cast and crew to persistently torment her, believing that this constant unbalance would cause Duvall to accurately depict the stress her character was under. This technique caused major friction between director and actress and the two regularly fought on set about lines, acting style and heaps of other issues. In fact, the stress of day-to-day life on set overwhelmed Duvall, who fell ill for many months and eventually began to lose her hair… Evidence of this constant unbalance is clear in the infamous ‘baseball bat’ scene, where Duvall discovers Nicholson’s writing. The actress looks and sounds genuinely terrified throughout the scene, as well as looking extremely ill. Kubrick notoriously forced the two stars to shoot the scene 127 times, breaking the world record for the most retakes of a single scene within a talking picture! Despite the rather sinister actions that it demanded, the director’s plan worked beautifully: Duvall simply gives an exceptionally realistic performance as the wife who goes from loving to fearing her husband in one swift swoop!
Posted on: Sun, 13 Apr 2014 13:08:00 +0000
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