Top 10 Differences Between The Shining Book and Movie
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They’re both terrifying, but often in their own way. Stephen King’s book The Shining and Stanley Kubrick’s corresponding adaptation are both staples of the horror genre, but they’re also very different beasts. WatchMojo ranks the top differences between The Shining book and movie.

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Special thanks to our user nathansharp28 for suggesting this idea!

List rank and entries:
#10. Book Jack’s Weapon of Choice Roque Mallet
#9. No Hedge Maze in the Book, But There Are Hedge Animals (& They Move!)
#8. Sexy Bathtub Lady Lives in Room 217 in the Book
#7. Many of the Movie’s Most Iconic Lines & Scenes Are Not in the Book
#6. Danny’s Invisible Friend Tony Is More Involved in the Book
#5. Movie Wendy Is a Wuss
#4. The Overlook in the Book Is More… Alive
#3, #2, #1???

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10 COMMENTS

  1. If you want a good version without reading the book (which you should do btw), watch the mini-series. Even King liked it.

  2. Would love to see this movie properly made and followed up by the sequel, which I thought was just as good as the first, although a wholly different tone.

  3. They could have made for an interesting 3 way dissection between the film, minisieries, and book. Rather than use clips from the miniseries without elaborating on them…Just a thought haha.

  4. Just when Warner Bros. already green lit a movie adaptation of DOCTOR SLEEP, starring Ewan McGregor as Adult Danny

  5. Apparently I don’t remember anything from the book. It has been over 20 years since I read it. Only differences I remembered where Jack’s choice of weapon and the hedge animals. I should read it again. The sequel Dr Sleep is good too.

    I really think that Kubrick did amazing job. His movie is a visual masterpiece. Maybe people weren’t Kubrick’s main focus but visuals.

  6. U read the book for the story, And the movie for Jack’s performance

  7. I love The Shining. It’s probably my all time favorite Stephen King book. But I’m probably one of the few people who hates the movie. Lol. Here’s how I feel about it. For what he was told to do, Jack Nicholson did a great job. There’s no doubt about that. But like you guys said, Jack seemed crazy from the get-go in the movie, whereas in the book, he’s a caring, loving, devoted father who’s battling his demons on his own. I understand that when you do a book to screen adaptation, there are gonna be some changes. It’s inevitable. But Kubrick changed the story so much, it’s downright painful. Lol. In my opinion, if you’re gonna make a change to the story, at least go with one that makes sense.

    I didn’t like how Shelley Duvall portrayed Wendy either. But at the same time, I feel so sorry for her, considering Kubrick treated her like absolute shit on set. Especially in the “Give me the bat” scene. But Wendy is a very headstrong character in the book, but in the movie, she’s a doormat. And because of South Park, I can’t take the last scene in the movie seriously anymore. LOL!! 😛

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