What is the hidden theme behind the perfectionist Kubrick's direction of ``The Shining''?

Kubrick's symmetrical composition and the dynamism of Steadicam footage

Kubrick is a filmmaker who likes to use symmetrical compositions, and symmetry often appears in shots of the interior of a hotel in the movie The Shining(1980). The great hall that Jack Nicholson (played by Jack) uses as his study, the hallway and geometric patterned carpet, room 237 where Jack sees the ghost of a naked woman, etc. The symmetry gives a sense of well-balanced beauty, but at the same time, the static perfection also evokes the image of death.

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The hotel has two "mazes". One is a huge maze made of garden hedges. The other thing is the internal structure of the hotel itself, where the corridors curve and go on and on. The maze is also a symbol of an existence that lures humans in, leads them astray, and tries to capture them.

In the original novel, there is a plant in the hotel garden that has been cut into the shape of an animal, which comes to life and attacks Danny and his mother Wendy at the end of the story. Kubrick felt it would be impossible to recreate this with the visual effects of the time, so he devised a chase scene through a hedge maze instead.

The Steadicam (a camera stabilization device) developed by camera engineer Garrett Brown in the 1970s made a major contribution to realizing Kubrick's vision. Kubrick became interested in the demo footage that Brown had shot with this equipment, and in 1977 met Brown himself, where he saw the then latest Steadicam and decided to install it. After confirming the capabilities of the Steadicam, he instructed us to design a hotel set that would allow for smooth movement from room to room through hallways and stairs. Brown also participated in the filming as a Steadicam operator. Brown also devised a way to operate the Steadicam while sitting in a modified wheelchair so he could follow Danny from a low angle as he rode his tricycle through the hallways.

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In this way, the snow piles up, including the aforementioned scene in which Danny rides a tricycle through the hallway, the scene in which Jack chases Wendy swinging a bat on the stairs of the saloon, and the scene in which Jack with an ax approaches the bedroom and bathroom where his wife and child are hidden. Smooth moving shots using a Steadicam, such as the sequence in which Danny flees and Jack chases him through a maze of hedges, became a defining feature of The Shining.

The footage moves smoothly into the hotel, where there is a sense of calm death, and at other times with a sense of urgency, showing the audience the mental state of Jack and his family as they are taken in by an evil presence. It also has a tangible effect.

Extreme performance brought out through repeated takes