Sometimes a Cigar Is Just a Cigar

Nice piece by John August regarding Rob Ager’s detailed analysis of Kubrick’s Overlook Hotel sets:

The fact is, Kubrick doesn’t have to do either. Audiences easily accept that the two locations are the same, not because Kubrick has perfected some form of cinematic spatial disorientation, but because that’s how movies work.

When Shelley Duvall is crawling out the window, what matters is that we believe it’s the same window inside and outside — not whether it’s a corner apartment. Kubrick isn’t performing some amazing psychological trick here.

★ Wednesday, 27 July 2011