Warning: Spoiler Alert

First things first, Stuart Ullman, the manager of the Overlook, was way different in the movie than he was in the book. In the book, he wasn't too pleased with the idea of hiring an alcoholic such as Jack and in the movie he thought that hiring Jack was a splendid idea.

Another big one was Tony. In the movie, Tony was Danny's finger, "The little boy that lives in his mouth" which showed him things. "It's like I go to sleep, but when I wake up I can't remember everything." but it was different in the book. In the book Tony was an imaginary friend, he would show up and show him things through signs, or through Danny's mind, and Danny could remember perfectly the images he saw. I enjoy seeing Tony in two completely different ways, and I can't decide which Tony I like better.

Jack was way different in the book than he was in the movie. In the book he was constantly in the basement, looking through the old newspapers to see if he can dig up a big piece of the Overlook's history, or he was working on his play, The Little School. In the movie, Jack was typing the line, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." repeatedly or throwing around a tennis ball. Jack in the book also had a 'descend into madness' effect, and, in the movie, you could tell Jack was always a bit wacko. In the movie, he was chasing Danny for most of it, when he wasn't trying to break through the bathroom door. Jack in the book was sort of similar. When he wasn't trying to break down the door, he was chasing Hallorann, and he sort of cornered Danny, instead of chasing him.

Wendy is another big difference between the movie and the book. In the movie, she talked to Jack, bringing a baseball bat for protection. In the book, she went looking for Jack to see if he was okay. Wendy and Jack also had a fight scene in the book that wasn't in the movie.

There is a really key difference in the character Hallorann. In the movie, he showed up near the end of the movie and died as soon as he arrived at the Overlook. Wendy and Danny used his snow truck to get back. In the book, he gives them more than just the snow truck, he helps Wendy and Danny outside because Wendy was badly injured. He drove them back. I think that I'm happy with Hallorann living rather than dying because it's sad to think that he died at the Overlook hotel and that his spirit might not be at rest.

Danny's connection with his parents is different in the movie than in the book. In the movie, Danny was playing with his mom in the maze. In the book, he plays with both his parents outside in the snow, and he was always closer to his father. Wendy was always jealous of that.

In the book, Stephen King had hedge animals. Stanley Kubrick had a hedge maze. That is a really key difference because there are some key parts in Stephen King's book that include the hedge animals, but the maze was really cool.

The endings are really different. In fact, they are the complete opposite. In the movie, Jack freezes and in the book he explodes. I think Stephen King's ending was sadder than Stanley Kubrick's because Danny missed his father in the book and never really wanted him dead. We could see the "old Jack" was trying to pull through. He exploded the hotel to save Danny, even if it meant sacrificing himself. Despite having gone crazy, he fought through it at the end for Danny, saving his son in his final act. It was heroic and sad, leaving the reader sympathetic for both Jack and Danny. However, in the movie, he had been chasing Danny through the maze and, due to his injured leg, he couldn't continue running and ended up freezing to death. While scary, it doesn't have quite the same effect as Jack's final redeeming act in the book.

I like both the movie and book equally despite their creative differences, and I couldn't choose which was better because both had a lot of time and effort put into them, and both were truly fascinating to read/watch.