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

Extreme performance brought out through repeated takes

Kubrick would repeat takes over and over again until he was satisfied with the performance and camera work. Dozens of retakes were common on the set of ``The Shining,'' and sometimes as many as 100 or more.

His uncompromising attitude remains unwavering, even when his opponent is the famous actor Jack Nicholson, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for ``One Flew One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest '' (1975). The filming period was much longer than originally planned, and Nicholson was beginning to feel tired by the time the shoot, which proceeded almost sequentially, was nearing its end. In the scene where Jack loses his mind and pursues his wife and child, Nicholson's physical and mental exhaustion adds to The Truth of his performance.

Kubrick continues to put pressure on Shelley Duvall, who plays Wendy, by complaining and scolding her. The aim was to make her really nervous. Looking back on those days, Duvall said in the documentary, ``Because I actually get angry (after clashing with the director), I feel better and I can concentrate.I'm able to bring out something different from myself than before, and he also gets angry.'' I knew that," he said (Reference 1).

“The Shining” (c)2007 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Scatman Crothers, who played Hallorann at the age of 69, was annoyed by Kubrick's endless retakes. One shot, where Danny and The Shining talk in the kitchen, took 148 takes. The scene in which Hallorann is slashed with an ax by Jack and falls to the floor took 40 takes before Nicholson, unable to watch it anymore, begged Kubrick not to continue. Crothers, who had overworked his old body, had to go to the hospital for rehabilitation after filming ended.

The behind-the-scenes themes of ``karma'' and ``reincarnation'' infuse an eternal charm. *Reference is made at the end of the movie.