#3
THE SHINING (1980)
DANNY RIDES HIS
BIG WHEEL DOWN THE HALL
Of all
the scenes on my list, this is my personal favorite. Danny is busy
passing the time by riding his Big Wheel through the hallways of The
Overlook hotel that his family is caretaking for the winter. The
sound work is incredibly eerie, as the noise of the wheels alternate
as quiet then noisy as he passes over the carpeted, then hard wood
floor sections of the floor.
As he
reaches the end of the hallway, he's confronted by two girls wearing
pretty blue dresses.
The
boy's "Shining" powers kick in, and he sees a brutal murder scene in
the hallway, that's far beyond his comprehension.
The
fact this scene works so well is a testament to the genius of the
late Stanley Kubrick. Danny Lloyd, who played Danny, was protected
by Kubrick throughout production of The Shining so that he wouldn't
be exposed to the horrific images in the film, through clever
editing. I recall reading somewhere that he got Danny to give such a
fearful reaction for this scene by telling him he was going to spend
the night at Michael Jackson's house.
