Topic: Stephen King

[The Omen]

Quote
think the point is, is that Jack Nicholson played him as a creep and a bit of a nut from the get go. That really has nothing to do with the time but just Jack's performance. Even in the movie he does get progressively worse, but you could already tell he was a nut from the very beginning of the film.

I don't agree with that entirely.  He always looked crazy, but he wasn't really a kook until he begins typing his pages, and she interrupts him.  Its also one of the most effective scenes in the whole movie.  I think even in that scene, if you knew nothing about The Shining, book or movie, you would think he was a little pissed, but maybe not crazed.  The bar scene in which the bartender appears is also imperitive to the story.  It shows he had a problem, and hes going off the wagon so to speak.  He is slowly losing his mind, and it shows throughout the movie.  I think we know hes crazy from the get go, because we've all heard about it , or watched it already, and he [Jack Nicholson] is a kook, even when playing a normal character.. But i think the buildup is quite nice for somebody who has never heard about it or seen it.  But that person is rare.