The fraught creative conflict between Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King over the film adaptation of The Shining is one of cinema's most infamous, but there is a detail that the auteurist director made sure to put in the final cut that is hilariously snarky even after all these years. It's subtle, but keen-eyed audiences of both the movie and the novel can see that Kubrick changed the color of Jack Torrance's car -- then shows the destroyed wreckage of a car that is the same color as the one in the source material.
the Overlook Hotel merely accompanies his mental breakdown into psychopathy.
King's negative response to the changes has sparked a wave of debate over the meaning behind the changes Kubrick made to the film. The author, along with others, has examined the director's detachment from other people and inner intensity, while also acknowledging his incredible intelligence. Despite his mastery of the horror story, Stephen King is notable for his pathos and even, in some cases, heartfelt character moments. Perhaps Kubrick's cold and cerebral style is what led King to grumble that he is a man who "thinks too much and feels too little."
Stanley Kubrick Referenced the Changes to The Shining
For all of the numerous differences that fans of both the film and the novel have analyzed, one of the most telling of Kubrick's own artistic views is also one of the subtlest. Twitter Movie Details has pointed out that Kubrick changed the color of Jack Torrance's beetle car from red to yellow. To top it off, the filmmaker includes a red beetle in the background later in the film, but it's crushed under a truck, implying that The Shining is the director's own unique vision rather than a retread of the novel of the same name.
Stanley Kubrick has been far less vocal about his own thoughts and opinions on Stephen King's work, probably in part due to his well-known quietness and tendency to avoid interviews. This detail reveals a hint of what the director thought about his adaptation and perfectly encapsulates his bold style, yet also demonstrates his aloof attitude. It's Kubrick's way of stubbornly insisting on his personal artistic ideas in the way he was famous for, yet it's still a subtle background remark rather than a grand, obvious statement. Since there exist few recorded conversations with the visionary filmmaker, the brief scene is an invaluable source of his personal thoughts on adapting The Shining.
