I remember the first time that I saw this movie. I think I was in middle
school. I was on vacation in Galena with my extended family, and we were, for
some reason, all really excited about this made-for-TV-remake that was airing
while we were out there. We made sure to be in and gathered around the TV every
night to watch it. It was so terrible. The acting was awful and you could barely
understand what anyone was saying. There was some point where the kid was
mumbling about something and my cousins and I were convinced he was telling his
parents that the voices told him "about dumber croquet." In any case, the TV
version was so bad that it was decided to needed to rent the Kubrick version, so us stupid kids didn't grow up thinking The Shining is was a 3-part TV special. I
don't think everyone remembered the amount of swearing, occasional nudity, and
creepiness that was in the movie, and much complaining ensued since it was not
appropriate for children (you know, like it's realistic to expect drunken abusive
husbands to be all "shoot!" and "darn!" the whole movie)...but I loved it. I'm
always happy to watch it, for the funny memories of the horrible TV version and
because it was one of those movies that really made a big impression on me.
