The Shining - How Jack Nicholson Perfected Acting Crazy

[@dorkbrandon4422]

WENDY...........DARLIN'.......LIGHT OF MY LIFE

[@AimlessTrek]

I said i’m not gonna hurt you, you didn’t let me finish my sentence

[@Epic_C]

He probably had to say that over a hundred times with the multiple, multiple takes of that scene

[@dorkbrandon4422]

@Epic_C The one line I would love to see the multiple takes of is jack at the bar responding to Wendy ......."Are you outta your fucking Mind!!!!!!"

[@rujekonyamande469]

😂😂😂😂😂😂 tht scene iis hilarious to me

[@dorkbrandon4422]

​@rujekonyamande469 Scary the first few times watching movie but somehow transforms into the greatest comedy that ever graced cinema.

[@MysticCowboy-ef2yi]

The Shining is a movie I can always rewatch and pick up on something I never noticed before

[@BALAAABOYYYY222]

Like what?

[@gonasjoss]

Whike lat?

[@richarddecredico6098]

Condolences it's a not a good film

[@VladislavBabbitt]

Did you read the book?

[@vandercomics]

@@richarddecredico6098look at this guy trying to be diffrent

[@Delta_Aves]

Another video should be made about Shelly Duvall's performance, and how her razzie nomination was one of the biggest injustices in cinema history.

[@r4h4al]

Yep, she somehow outacted Jack Nicholson in the film. I don't know who one Best Actress that year but I doubt it was a better performance than Shelley's.

[@br4524]

Totally agree.

[@AFMMD-q8]

100% in agreement Deltae, poor Shelley was completely undermined. A very talented player indeed.

[@an-animal-lover]

May she Rest In Peace

[@dathorndike4908]

I never even thought of the whole blinking thing. That is amazing

[@Iron-Van]

I can't believe I am about to admit this as I clam to be a Shining nerd..... I didn't notice the non blinking thing till today, other then the long stare when hes in the grey sweater. Great piece, I just subbed

[@dckaroldc]

same!!

[@darrynaustin6379]

The way his face changes as the movies goes on is incredible

[@bev9708]

With SO many analyses of The Shining out there, you still manage to say something absolutely fascinating … BRAVO!!!!👏🏻👏🏻

[@gideon11]

Your analysis is always innovative and interesting. Thank you.

[@JustanObservation]

Thank you so much, really appreciate it!!

[@WayTooClose]

I think this is THE iconic Nicholson performance, even more than Chinatown, Cuckoo's Nest or Batman.

[@ajtaylor8750]

One of Nicholson's greatest performances. With Jack Torrance already being steeped in madness due to his struggles with alcohol, it only grows scarier once he gets off the wagon and Nicholson really sells the terror of a man gone insane by the Overlook Hotel.

[@TristenNew]

This should have millions of views. Will be sending to friends. Wonderful analysis my friend, thank you.

[@RipperCyclotron]

Another aspect is that Shelley played off so well with Jack who was a frenetic chimpanzee and she came across so delicate and wholesome you couldn't bare the thought of him getting to her. Such a well cast movie.

[@VladislavBabbitt]

Yes, in the novel, Wendy is very attractive, but Shelly Duvall is more real.

[@unfiltered8682]

Awesome analysis, there’s nothing like this performance it’s so intense

[@pink99644]

I love the analysis 🤩 It made me realise things, like Jack never takes his eyes off his victim that he couldn’t even blink and he always seem to smile when he’s mad 👀

[@Matissesolitude]

He wasn’t acting

[@starryeye6511]

You can't truly play something (master an acting role) if it's not in you to some degree...or you bring it into your personality

[@redefinitive]

That's just what he wants you to think, which is a testament to how good of an actor he really is.

[@starryeye6511]

@redefinitive have you seen him at Lakers games...same person when he's mad 😆

[@Puxi]

Your dady man all so 😂

[@haret0n]

he never acts. he just (like many so called movie stars) is relaxed as himself on screen. actors that actually act are often not movie stars, with the occasional exception. tom hardy and nicole kidman spring to mind.

[@MatthiaGryffine]

Given that he had done One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest before, it felt like a natural role for Jack Nicholson.

[@AlessandroPioltelli]

That movie is criminally underrated, glad someone finally mentions it!

[@andrasszabo1570]

@@AlessandroPioltelli "The film released to critical acclaim, and is considered by critics and audiences to be one of the greatest films ever made. It is the second to win all five major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Director, and Screenplay) following It Happened One Night (1934), and preceding 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. It won numerous Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards. In 1993, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Additionally, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was ranked No. 33 on the American Film Institute's updated 100 Years... 100 Movies list in 2007." Indeed, the very definition of underrated!

[@AlessandroPioltelli]

@@andrasszabo1570 oh ffs you know what I mean general audiences don’t really know it 🤓

[@andrasszabo1570]

@@AlessandroPioltelli oh ffs how many 50 year old movies do general audiences know? 🤓

[@AlessandroPioltelli]

@@andrasszabo1570 that’s what I’m saying Honestly, do you really think most people who aren’t cinephiles have seen Cuckoos nest?

[@twerps1]

Great stuff as always just like the ‘Art of Anger’ essay on him. Nicholson is my personal GOAT when it comes to actors. Picking up details like these, cements that case even more for me. I hear so many times that he’s one note and just playing himself in every movie.

[@JustanObservation]

Thank you, although I’ve never made a video on Jack before

[@twerps1]

@@JustanObservationSorry, my mistake. I’ve edited my comment.

[@phosphorusmusick]

I've always cherished this movie and Nicholson's performance as some of the greatest in movie history. And I've always been amazed by the brutal lunacy in his acting... but this video, showing all the small details in his expressions made me appreciate it even more. To some degree I was all the more creeped out by what I've discovered through this video. Like the snarling tongue thing. It looks truelly demonic and I've never consciously noticed it before! Terrific analysis!

[@Goddessvenom]

Critics: “it wasn’t exciting and overly long” Yeah pretty much sums up Steven Kings novels 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@bacht4799]

Can’t disagree on that…😄

[@r4h4al]

I've read the book & watched the film & the film is far more exciting & fascinating.

[@RightNowMan]

Fun fact. Jack was a volunteer sexman, so during the scene with the naked lady he knew exactly how to act. There are so many flourishes like this throughout the film. Amazing performance.

[@an-animal-lover]

A volunteer...*what*

[@AverageWaterDrinker]

What. The hell. Is a volunteer. Sexman?

[@an-animal-lover]

@@AverageWaterDrinker that's what I'm wondering

[@Rook818]

Just watched the Stanley Kubrick documentary. So this couldn’t have released at a better time.

[@T2theG123]

Another masterpiece of an observation

[@Jennx7080]

I've found my people...just found this channel...I'm not the only one who goes layers deep in my mind about these things

[@redefinitive]

It's debatable whether or not this is Kubrick's "masterpiece", but it is undeniably a classic.

[@Dunderslag]

In my opinion "2001" is his masterpiece, but you don't do justice to Kubrick's genius if you put one movie above all others. They are also very different.

[@alexandren5131]

I would argue Kubrick had several masterpieces!

[@AbhishekKumar-db5om]

I think Barry Lyndon was Kubricks real masterpiece.

[@r4h4al]

@@Dunderslag Yeah 2001 I'd go with as the masterpiece that tops, as someone said below, several masterpieces.

[@robertwhough]

And now, a note on Shelley Duvall. When I first saw the movie, I thought her acting was poor, with Wendy a depth-less nitwit. But after more than a dozen viewings, I see what Kubric had in mind. Wendy, in order to spend an isolated winter with her alcoholic, child-abusing failure of a husband, operates in a state of complete denial, and at first comes across as a vapid polly-anna. Yet when it gets to the point in which she can no longer deny what's happening, man-oh-man does she look scared. Yet another way in which, once you 'get' this movie, it won't go away anytime soon.

[@happyclam1266]

Her acting is perfect. You were just reacting to her intrinsic weirdness.

[@robertwhough]

@@happyclam1266 yes I do now think she was great in The Shining

[@a-nus]

I personally think Shelley is the worst part of the film, she just doesnt fit. That "Hiya Danny!" at the beginning, and at the end when she's comically running around, both arms raised with a knife in her hand making this face :0 the entire time just don't work.

[@robertwhough]

@@a-nus a lot of people feel the way you do, but as I say, I grew to really like what she did with the role

[@Wilson.katie815]

It’s interesting watching the making of documentary and the abuse Shelly took from Stanley. However, that abuse brought out the performance she needed to give. And what her character never gets credit for in these analysis is that she was the stronger one. She got her and her son out, fought back and protected her son.

[@studioseppuku9454]

I would love to see you do an analysis of Mads Mikkelsen's Hannibal Lector. Incredible performance and perfect for a breakdown of small facial hints and movements not to mention the character manipluation is off the charts.

[@JustanObservation]

It’s on my list but tv shows take ages for me to research as I have to make notes on each episode

[@studioseppuku9454]

@@JustanObservation totally understandable if starting from the beginning with it. There is a lot there that reveals itself on repeated viewings with the manipulations and counter manipulations especially in seasons 2 & 3.

[@Joe-qq8ox]

You’ve been cooking recently! Keep up good work 🎉

[@ericfurst6091]

Some observations i didnt see in a Rob Ager Shining Video yet. 👏👏👏

[@thejoker0123]

you've covered Annie now you've covered Jack hope to see you cover Carrie

[@GemR38]

I really hope this channel is doing a Stephen King month 😃🙏

[@HoopsAndDinoMan]

Anthony Perkins in Psycho

[@r4h4al]

Maybe Gregory Peck in The Omen.

[@lukapetrovic412]

I watched this movie about three days ago, finally got to watching this video. Great timing!

[@beccabrosser473]

Really nice essay as always!

[@thuurmichels763]

Jack was a volunteer fireman, so chopping through a door was peanuts. The original thin wooden doors were gone in a second. Eventually they decided to use real doors, which 'delayed' the action long enough. It would also explain why he focuses on the doors so much.

[@grumpyoldwizard]

Your analysis of the movie is interesting. Jack is such an experienced actor I think he does it subconsciously.

[@happyclam1266]

This video pointed out that Nicholson is not concerned with how he looks on screen but on giving a raw and authentic performance (paraphrasing). There seems to be a direct thread between what the director asks for and Jack's internalizing of it--where his talent is off the charts is how easily he seems to channel this externally. It seems subconscious because it is such a seamless process for him.

[@Pikminiman]

I love this movie. It's one of the more straightforward Kubrick films, so I find it easier to rewatch than the others.

[@mlsaulnier]

Excellent video with some new insights

[@BodyOpt]

Fantastic video. Despite countless viewings of the movie, you've opened my eyes to more depths of what makes it magnificent. Is that Tchaikovsky at the end of the recording?

[@Dunderslag]

Very few critics are able to correctly assess or evaluate things they have never seen before.

[@frankisfrank69]

Wow, excellent film acting analysis. Thank you! PS. Jack also breaks the 4th wall by staring straight in the camera a few times...Creepy.

[@shoddyworkmanship4934]

I love this movie, and love Jack's acting. No matter how much you study this performance I don't think anyone but Jack Nicholson could pull it off. When people said the Doctor Sleep film matched this one in terms of quality I was flabbergasted. But then again it's also difficult to imagine critics and the public shunning the film when it was first released.

[@foose49]

My dad always says Jack Nicholson isn't acting he's just being himself in the Shinning

[@vkdee44]

So much for the usefulness of critics. They didn't like Carpenter's The Thing way back when and that's another movie that is recognized as great nowadays.

[@Jimbo.jack47]

Brilliant, moving your actor breakdowns

[@derekroberts6654]

i read somewhere that Tim Burton saw this movie and because of Jack’s performance, that was first choice as the Joker. So, in a way, “The Shining” led Jack to play the Joker in 1989s “Batman”… I would love to see a video that compares the 2 performances.

[@Joe_Kerr_9797]

The Shining is one of my favorite films and Jack Nicholson is one of my favorite actors.

[@passycon]

Excellent thanks a lot for sharing your good work

[@anotherpeasant]

He does the same no blink intensity as Colonel Jessop in A Few Good Men during the famous truth scene

[@kc6401]

Ilike these type of videos thanks 👍

[@Face2East]

I always wondered why I preferred The Shining to other horrors. And I think it is because the antagonist is believable in his descendance into insanity and how it manifests in his path as we witness it. Character slashers or monsters (the Krugers, Jasons, Saw etc) none of that worked for me because they had cartoon believability. But Jack Torrance works, mesmerizingly so, because of Nicholson. His stuff in the 70's was awesome.

[@jn7339]

No one could do crazy like Jack Nicholson

[@michellechartier4124]

I was wondering when you'd do this one 🙌. Hope you do a take on The Penguin, there's good stuff happening over there. Especially episode 4.

[@Tolstoy111]

Great work!

[@MrSpt67]

Thanks for more insight into the warped mind of Jack Nicholson! Did you know Jack discovered that his older sister was in fact his true mother?! A reporter confronted Jack about it! Jack was freaked out to discover that his parents were actually his grandparents! I think stuff like this is part of where Jack can channel his demons from!

[@boogeyman8926]

1 minute ago is sexually pleasing

[@subnormality5854]

Thats what she said

[@syntaxerorr]

Great video!

[@Alanna-s7f]

I miss Jack Nicholson an unhealthy amount. The man has a presence.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

8:45 Now that you've said. I really want a Jack in the Box t-shirt, with Nicklsons head replacing the clown.

[@callumcourtney13]

Fantastic video 👏🏻

[@br4524]

I consider Kubrick to be the most constipated director, full stop. I love the shining. I know Nicholsons jack wasnt Kings Jack but he created someone wholey new deranged and terrifying. Brilliant. And ultimately hes lost to the Overlook forever.

[@bettedavismydears1521]

Hilariously psychotic and yet somehow still terrifying....brilliant

[@lesscotford1419]

Jack's Jack. Him an Dennis Hopper. Brilliant stuff.

[@nicholasd3990]

Woah I had no idea this movie got two razz awards. That's crazy. I'm 29 and I've always thought of this movie as a masterpiece

[@gilesa.4052]

Love the film and it has fantastic performances but...I never brought Jack and Wendy as a couple, just seem too mismatched. Also, and this pretty much undermines Nicholson casting choice but by the time Jack finishes the custodian interview I thought he was crazy and could kill, I was twelve when I first saw it and thought that. That's what took away from the film, that he seems crazy immediately instead of watching him slowly lose control as the forces start to corrupt him.

[@mouloude35]

Thank you for your work! I would love to see a similar analysis of Jodie Comer as Villanelle in "Killing Eve", seems like a stand out performance to me as well :)

[@aresmoriendi9449]

I wonder if Hopkins took notes from Nicholsons performance? ...Sorry, I came here straight from your Silence of the Lambs video. I haven't watched either of these movies for a very long time. No excuse now.

[@juanmanuelbaccino]

This piece anticipated.... The Simpsons, He-Man and Thundercats. Its the biggest and most amazing picture evermade. Stanley Kubrick, himself... his work, all his art is and will be taken as an encyclopedia of the 7th art and its political-social and scientific connections

[@juanmanuelbaccino]

ouch! sorry South Park too

[@dathorndike4908]

I cannot even imagine how anyone could go 43 seconds without blinking.

[@Andrew-Antioch-Kim]

"HERE'S JOHNNY!"

[@iHaveTheDocuments]

The fact it got any push back, especially in the form of a razzie reminds us that "professional" critics and award companies are clowns, and you don't despise them nearly enough. The gap between games / movie journalists and real fans has only gotten much larger since this. I wonder why 🤔

[@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ]

You should probably analyse Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne in Gone Girl or Shelly Duval in this very movie.

[@okaywow3486]

THANK YOU FOR THE BRILLIANCE!!

[@jmp01a24]

You should check out his best friend's performance in Blue Velvet. Dennis Hopper gives a chilling performance of an evil, unstoppable force, but with mostly facial expressions. Tell me who of the two you would least liked to have cornered you down a dark alley.

[@rabidrabbitshuggers]

Entertainment Weekly still gave this movie a bad review right after Kubrick died. They also gave an F to Family Guy and an A- to The Oogieloves and the Big Balloon Adventure. Entertainment magazines are garbage.

[@81stCommander]

Maybe it's because It's a crap film. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Tolstoy111]

@@81stCommanderthat’s why it’s constantly memed and referenced…

[@StevieFQ]

I struggle to imagine why it would earn a razzie. I saw it multiple times yet I still get the chills if I watch it in a silent dark room.

[@happyclam1266]

I think some SK fans were put off by it for the same reason that SK himself despised the movie. It was a different vision than what they were comfortable with or prepared for.

[@olliesmith2890]

The horror movie i have watched the most, the greatest ever IMO. Jack should of been Oscar nominated for it no doubt.

[@reneetmp]

So good

[@SaucyTUX]

YES! I JUST RECENTLY WATCHED THE SHINNING AND THE SEQUEL DR. SLEEP PHENOMENALLY MOVIES!!! Fun fact the sequel Dr. Sleep did bad at the box office, same as the shining and now Dr. Sleep is growing in popularity.

[@happyclam1266]

Doctor Sleep is classic King--focus on heroic children. But Mike Flanagan is a legend in his own right.

[@dereksupernaut]

IT AINT HARD TO TELL... the true identity of his mother was hidden from him because she was too young, Jack was raised by his grandmother as his mother or perhaps an older aunt... once he found out the truth it probably wasn't to hard to "act" crazy... fax!!!

[@jakejoseph5534]

The most vile tongue lick in this film is when they’re driving up to the overlook, and Jack licks his lips after discussing the need for cannibalism in order to stay alive “see? He saw it on the television.”

[@cappy2282]

I thought Jack was a good guy. His wife and son just wouldn't leave the poor guy alone

[@trol68419]

Great video! One small item, Wendy locked Jack in a pantry, not a freezer.

[@JustanObservation]

Yeah I didn’t know what to call it. The door is a freezer door but it’s not freezing inside

[@pthef.c.8218]

My favourite Jack Nicholson movie. Easily.

[@christiansenator]

I love watching Simpsons DVD Commentaries where they always mention this as one of the funniest performances of all time

[@owenpape4042]

Just watched this last night epic

[@Anon-cp6bm]

It’s that type of crazed you become when you experience such an immense amount of anger you can’t help but act in a goofy way to mock the world around you

[@gonasjoss]

Great video

[@AlecMcDowellX5494]

Because he is a Sailor who was in the Navy.💯

[@MJR_ATX]

Listen to Matt Damon’s story of what JN told him on the set of The Departed about his writing abilities informing his acting and the film overall

[@dorkbrandon4422]

"You've had your whole FUCKING LIFE to think things over!!!"

[@skylineXpert]

You can compare it to when heath ledger had to out-do his 89' joker...

[@GravityJWST]

14:18 the best, my god🎉❤

[@darylvanhorne_]

GOAT

[@JonasEllehauge]

I must watch this movie

[@dathorndike4908]

In all the times I have seen this I never noticed the tongue thing

[@ajbianchi85]

Personally i’d rate 2001 and Dr Strangelove over The Shining, but Jack’s acting might be the most impressive and iconic

[@AdamJones381]

Will you do a 400 k Q & A?

[@JustanObservation]

500k… but I tend to answer questions in the comments anyway

[@eduziggy]

Best movie of all time

[@Endemion01]

I'm Gen X and been a film buff my whole life. Kubrick in particular has been a staple foir me in my passion for film. However, J.N. in this film has never been very compelling to me. I am much aware I am a minority in this.

[@BIGwillTHEGAME]

I watched The Shining with Pop Pop and the sequel with my mom.

[@HarukoJisan]

6:40 I'd argue that "Tongue Action" might not be the best words to use but cooking regardless 9:01 I really love this scene, but I also always hear Homer Simpson from the Treehouse of Horror parody when I watch it. "NO BEER AND NO TV MAKE HOMER SOMETHING SOMETHING....." "Go crazy?" "Don't mind if I do!"

[@happyclam1266]

The tongue is very serpent like. Perhaps it's a sign that some demon/ghost has possessed him.

[@puckfigs9902]

Nuts to think this film was trashed when it was released