Tony is introduced again, this time to Dick. This conversation was cut slightly in the European cut, as Danny suggests that he is scared of the Overlook. The conversation between the two has been described by some as dull, and repetitious, being without pacing. However, as earlier indicated, Kubrick tended to want to use a naturalist approach to his characters - they act in a very realistic fashion : it doesn�t even look like acting, but being.
A MONTH LATER
The opening of this scene has been cut for the European version. The use of long, expansive shots following Wendy and Danny as they explore the hotel are specifically placed to give a sense, not only of the vastness of the hotel, but also to allow the viewer to create a sense of what could be called �virtual memory�, whereby the viewer can create a mental image and map of the layout of a building they have never visited or of something they have never experienced. In fact, some people have made and drawn maps of the Overlook based upon the layout of the film, and whilst there are occasional errors in the continuity of the film and the design, this sense of the Overlook being a proper location and not as a film set is reinforced by these long shots.
The conversation between Jack and Wendy has been truncated. The use of mirrors and the symmetry of the framing is such as to suggest that everything has a dual personality and often as a precursor to a supernatural episode. However, it is not just the use of mirrors but also of symmetry that indicate the encoming reversal of an established order. For example -
- The opening shot of the film with the mountainscape vista
- Danny�s first vision occurs whilst staring in a mirror
- Wendy brings Jack breakfast in bed as Jack sleeps
- Danny talks with Jack in the bedroom
- The symmetry of Dick Hallorans bedroom and the patterning of his clothing
- The symmetry of the long rows of vegetation that enclose the road in/out of the Overlook
- The mirrored walls of Room 237
- The symmetry of the carpet pattern which also resembles a maze
- The symmetry of the maze (which can be mirrored or cut into quarters)
- The Grady Twins
- The use of a �mirror image� wall during the Elevator flooding sequence
- The row of mirrors that back the wall of the Gold Room
- The revelation of the seemingly innocuous phrase �redrum� into �murder� in the mirror
- The sudden inclusion of two fractured door panes during the Bathroom Axe Attack sequence
(This is also described in �Full Metal Jacket� by Private Joker as �The Jungian thing - The duality of man, sir!�)
