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12 comments
13 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 7/31/2009
I think this would be easier if it was Empire...but it's not...so its much harder. Star Wars is a huge part of my childhood, but I am a horror fan at heart and The Shining is perfect horror. What to do?
on 8/3/2009
Tough choice, but I went with the shining.
on 5/12/2010
I'm one of the few people on the planet, apparently, who does not like The Shining. I really did not like the direction Kubrick took the story, nor the changes he made from the novel (my favorite Stephen King book), and Nicholson's outrageous mugging completely turned me off. And I love Star Wars. So there.
I liked them both but I loved Kubrick's take on Stephen King's best novel.
These are two movies that I grew up on, though Star Wars probably didn't make the transition into my adulthood as gracefully. I try to avoid using nostalgia as a justification for why I like movies, and so The Shining probably has the edge here. The kid in The Shining bugs me, but the mood that the movie creates overall is hard to forget. Sure, it drags a bit like some other Kubrick flicks, but The Shining is still quite a ride. Star Wars isn't as exciting or as cool as I once though it was, but I still like it. The Shining just holds up better.
@prospero: No, I have to agree with you. The Shining ranks extremely low on my list. (It was on the bottom for a while, until it finally came up against the right movies.) I hated it. I know nothing of the book, but it was just too long and too weird for me. (The finale, I thought, was okay, when Jack finally went completely bonkers; the hedge maze was a pretty good sequence. But it didn't justify all the weird crap the movie made me sit through.) So to stick The Shining up against one of the favorite movies of my childhood, well...I've wasted far to many characters ranting about this.
on 6/17/2010
The best thing about this site is that it makes you think about what makes a movie great, and how one forms one's own opinions. Nothing would normally make these 2 movies occupy my thoughts at the same time. Star Wars is technically sound, well paced with beautifully simple darkness v. light sensibility. It is a beacon of my childhood, the first movie I loved and felt was my own (my parents hated it) and probably has more to do with why I am film obsessed than any other film. But The Shining is a masterpiece of tone and pacing. Its haunting use of music, long takes, wide open shots and a creeping pace set one's nerves on edge and make you feel clustrophobic and exposed at the same time. I have only seen it 2-3 times from beginning to end but remember almost every shot. I really love both these movies but while Star Wars is great, light-hearted fun, The Shining is the trancendent work of a master at his peak and I can't stop smiling now as I think about it.
on 5/9/2011
Sorry Luke.
on 3/2/2012
Star Wars. Better entertainment, visuals, story and impact.
on 4/2/2012
Went with the Shining. In the end Kubrick's visual style and my love for horror movies made this choice a little easier. Still not that easy, I love Star Wars.
on 6/2/2013
Vader smokes Jack and Kubrick....
on 6/3/2013
Star Wars. Not even a moment's thoughts on this one. How well a movie is made means nothing to me if I do not like the story.
on 6/4/2013
Star Wars is much better because of its impact on cinema and also because it is my #2 after ESB and The Shining is my #80.
on 6/29/2014
if You didnt like The Shining You didnt understand it and only watched it once and dont understand or know the history or impact of Horror or Cult movies cause its genius and way better than the Book while Star Wars has an iconic following and is a giant sci-fi film wounder though with out the sequels if it still be as fond or great? but im taking Shining!
on 10/7/2014
I pick Star Wars
I'll break the tie by going for the Shining.
on 12/2/2014
I'd rather watch The Shining because it's more relatable. HAHA
on 2/16/2015
Shining by far, easily, all the way
on 5/8/2015
The Shining.
on 1/12/2016
The Shining. Story can be different with Empire...
on 3/17/2016
Tough, but the Shining takes this one.
on 12/2/2016
The Shining, its rewatches are more rewarding, only a few movies can beat it.
on 4/25/2017
The Shining for me its a perfect Horror film despite not being a great Translation from the Book.
I'll love The Shining for forever, but Star Wars is my pick.
on 7/19/2018
The Shining nails out Star Wars the original..
on 8/26/2018
In my opinion the shining much better horror classic story ever made, and I would say that the shining beats every crap of Star Wars sci-fi space battle motion baby kids stuff ever in my experience...
REDRUM > REDAV
on 10/27/2018
The Shining by miles.
on 6/5/2022
The shining though plodding is mad genius work
