Rachel DeChiara: My Movie Bucket List: Jack Nicholson Goes Crazy

Hello Movie-Watchers,

Jack Nicholson certainly knows how to play psycho. In fact, he has been the subject of approximately six of my nightmares over the past several days. Why? The Shining and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. These two films both feature a crazed Nicholson that will, literally, haunt you for days.

The beautiful thing about One Flew Over is its supporting cast. Chief, played by Will Sampson, was my personal favorite. When he finally spoke... I admit I had some tears in my eyes. The film's mystery really made it standout. I never knew whether Nicholson's character was actually crazy or if he was just clever. Never knowing was the key factor that kept me hooked the whole time.

As for The Shining... I have less-than-positive feelings about Nicholson's counterpart, Shelley Duvall. Her aloof face got old after only a few short minutes onscreen. I don't completely blame the actress though -- Kubrick didn't give her a lot to work with. This is the classic case of Hollywood making a character too dumb. It was beyond frustrating how clueless she was, not to mention her poor planning. If she were going to lock him up somewhere, why not lock him in the walk-in freezer instead of the pantry?! The usual qualm with The Shining seems to be its confusing, perhaps otherworldly, conclusion. I, on the other hand, enjoy such cliffhangers. A neat bow is never as fun as trying to tie it up myself.



I was disappointed with The Shining. I was mostly disappointed because I felt like I didn't "get it." For so long people have told me that The Shining will scare me silly and that it's the best Horror film ever. I did not walk away with that impression. It saddens me because I feel like I am too jaded by the scary movies that plague the cinemas today. It's difficult for a film made in 1980 to measure up to present-day movies due to special effects, editing, etc. Despite my best efforts, I just wasn't that scared.



It's incredible that these two films with the same lead actor playing relatively similar roles could render such disparate reactions. It was easier to look at One Flew Over through more of an ageless lens. Perhaps I am just too far removed from a time when The Shining would be such a revolutionary horror film. Does anyone have any tips for getting the most out of older films?



If you have no idea what this blog is about, check out my first post here. To follow my progress in real-time, follow me on twitter @RDeChiara. As always, thanks for reading and keep watching movies!

Adaptation

Almost Famous

American Beauty

American Graffiti

American Psycho

An Education

As Good as It Gets

Blood Diamond

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Bringing Up Baby

Burn After Reading

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Casablanca

Cast Away

Crash

Crimes and Misdemeanor

Dazed and Confused

Deer Hunter

District 9

Driving Miss Daisy

Fargo

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Fight Club

Forrest Gump

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Frost/Nixon

Gangs of New York

Garden State

Gone with the Wind

Good Will Hunting

Goodfellas

Hotel Rwanda

Into the Wild

Kramer vs. Kramer

LA Confidential

Leaving Las Vegas

Letters from Iwo Jima

Lost in Translation

Man on Wire

Memento

Michael Clayton

Million Dollar Baby

Mystic River

No Country for Old Men

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Panic Room

Philadelphia

Pulp Fiction

Rain Man

Ransom

Ray

Rebel Without a Cause

Risky Business

Rocky

Saint Elmo's Fire

Scarface

Schindler's List

Shakespeare in Love

Sideways

Star Wars

Terms of Endearment

The Birdcage

The Departed

The Fighter

The Godfather Trilogy

The Hours

The Hurt Locker

The Lincoln Lawyer

The Outsiders

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shining

The Silence of the Lambs

The Sting

The Usual Suspects

The Wrestler

True Grit

Up in the Air

Winter's Bone

Witness

Working Girl