“Hey, have you seen this movie? What did you think about THAT SCENE?!” We have all used that phrase at one point during our discussions of movies with the other person’s eyebrows raising, “Oh yea, THAT SCENE!” You go on to pick that memorable scene apart by listing what you loved or didn’t like, how it made you feel and the impression it left on you.
In this series, we will do just that. We will take a scene from a movie and discuss its impact on us. Some of these scenes may be frightening, weird, iconic, controversial, hilarious, and everything in between. Let us know your impression of the scene and the impact it left on you the first time you watched it down below in the comments. Enjoy!
*Warning: May Contain Spoilers*
Movie: The Shining (1980)
Scene: Man in Bear Suit
THE PLAYERS
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Characters: Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall), Horace Derwent (Brian V. Towns) and Roger aka Bear Man (Eddie O’Dea).
THE SETUP
Wendy’s wandering around the Overlook Hotel with a knife trying to stay away from he homicidal husband Jack, when she suddenly sees this crazy shit. I mean the dude is getting a god damn blowjob from another dude in a bear suit. What the actual fuck?!?! Imagine explaining that one to Duvall when she’s getting ready to film the scene.
THAT SCENE
THE EXECUTION
Seriously, Stanley Kubrick knew how to frame things in a way no other director has been able to really pull off in a long time. Everything is just so damn deliberate. He manages to take a two page scene from the original Stephen King novel and successfully portray it in under one minute. It’s disturbing as hell, but absolutely brilliant at the same time. The first time I saw this as a kid I had NO idea what it implied. But as I got older I realized what was going on and it made things even more disturbing while watching the film. Between this and the lady in the tub, I’m surprised I managed to grow up fairly normal. FAIRLY.
I don’t care what Stephen King thinks, this version is superior to the TV miniseries by a country mile. That version may be a little more faithful to the book, but its also very watered down in comparison.
What do you think of this scene? Did you find it intense and well done?
