My Crosstown Christmas vacation has come to an end and I’m back in my cozy hotel room preparing for Christmas Eve. I like to watch a seasonal movie on Christmas Eve to get in the proper spirit. There are many to choose from but this year being alone in an empty hotel I’m going with the Christmas classic, The Shining. It was that or the other hotel Christmas favorite White Christmas and let’s just say I’m a big Kubrick fan.
My favorite parts in the Shining are the shots of young Danny riding his Big Wheel trike through the hotel corridors. I have an affinity for hallways. The passages project a sense of mystery with their lines of closed doors. These utilitarian lengths of space, though often stark and unassuming, are the architectural realization of potential. Potential for comfort, threat, warmth, love, violence, safety—
Their space exists as a benign entity—it’s our choices that determine the potential.
Merry Christmas!
'eyes wide shut' is a pretty good creepy christmas movie. the exteriors, particularly in the village, are utterly surreal in that the viewer already knows its all shot inside a soundstage in england. when visiting and walking around the west village, i'm reminded of something that never even existed before, besides pure fiction.
ReplyDeleteAnother excellent seasonal choice!
ReplyDeleteBoth films were made in England--"Eyes Wide Shut" at Pinewood Studios and the interior of the hotel in "The Shining" was built at Elstree Studios.
Kubrick didn't mess around when he wanted to create a mood.
Hallway in Venezuela
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/01/06/inside_davids_tower#10
Those photos are amazing--thanks Dennis
ReplyDelete