Lśnienie (1980)

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stephen King (novel), Stanley Kubrick (screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd

Top Rated Movies #61 | 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall	...	Wendy Torrance
Danny Lloyd	...	Danny
Scatman Crothers	...	Hallorann
Barry Nelson	...	Ullman
Philip Stone	...	Grady
Joe Turkel	...	Lloyd
Anne Jackson	...	Doctor
Tony Burton	...	Durkin
Lia Beldam	...	Young woman in bath
Billie Gibson	...	Old woman in bath
Barry Dennen	...	Watson
David Baxt	...	Forest Ranger 1
Manning Redwood	...	Forest Ranger 2
Lisa Burns	...	Grady Daughter

Storyline

Signing a contract, Jack Torrance, a normal writer and former teacher agrees to take care of a hotel which has a long, violent past that puts everyone in the hotel in a nervous situation. While Jack slowly gets more violent and angry of his life, his son, Danny, tries to use a special talent, the "Shining", to inform the people outside about whatever that is going on in the hotel.

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Plot Keywords:

haunted hotel | identical twins | labyrinth | twin sisters | breaking down a door | 

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Taglines:

Iconic terror from the No 1 bestselling writer.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lśnienie

Filming Locations:

Stansted Airport, Essex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Hawk Films, Peregrine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min (cut) 119 min (cut) (European) 146 min (original) 142 min (US dvd release: B002VWNIDG)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Torrance's imaginary friend, Tony, isn't given much of an explanation in the 1980 film, however, in the book, Tony is actually Danny's adult self speaking to him from the future (in the book, Danny's middle name is Anthony, or "Tony" for short). Furthermore, in the book, Tony is a benevolent imaginary friend who acts as a sort of conscience as well as a sixth sense, and a companion for Danny since he doesn't have many friends at school. Tony is also fully visible to Danny as a person. In the film, Tony is invisible and is only a high-pitched voice, which speaks to Danny's parents through Danny himself. In the film, Tony also appears almost evil or a sign that Danny is mentally disturbed, often making Danny pass out or scaring his mother, showing him graphic images and eventually full-on possessing Danny and making him write "REDRUM" on the hotel wall with Wendy Torrance's lipstick.

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Goofs

When Jack leans over the model of the hedge maze in the hotel lobby, the size and configuration of the hedges differ dramatically from the design used in next overhead shot of Wendy and Danny actually moving through the maze.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Torrance: Hi, I've got an appointment with Mr. Ullman. My name is Jack Torrance.

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Crazy Credits

After the 146 minute version of the film was met with poor reviews and weak box office in the US, Stanley Kubrick re-edited the film for European release, removing 24 minutes of footage. Included in the removed footage were the entire performances of Anne Jackson as the Doctor and Tony Burton as Larry. However, both Jackson and Burton's names were still listed in the opening credits despite them no longer appearing in the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Teza (1996)

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Soundtracks

De Natura Sonoris No. 1
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach (uncredited)
Conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki (uncredited)

User Reviews

One of the scariest movies ever---8/10

I was never a big fan of horror movies. They usually try cheap tricks to scare their audiences like loud noises and creepy children. They usually lack originality and contain overacting galore. The only horror movie i like was Stir of Echoes with Kevin Bacon. It was well-acted, and had a great story. But it has been joined and maybe even surpassed by Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, quite possibly the scariest movie ever.

The movie follows a writer (Jack Nicholson) and his family who agree to watch over a hotel while it is closed for the winter. There were rumors of the place being haunted and the last resident went crazy and murdered his family. But Jack is convinced it will be OK and he can use the quiet to overcome his writer's block. After months of solitude and silence however, Jack becomes a grumpy and later violent. Is it cabin fever or is there something in the hotel that is driving him mad?

One of the creepiest parts about the movie is the feeling of isolation that Kubrick makes. The hotel is very silent, and the rooms are huge, yet always empty. It is also eerily calm when Jack's son is riding his bike through the barren hallways. Jack Nicholson's performance is also one of his very best, scaring the hell out of me and making me sure to get out once in awhile. My favorite scene is when he is talking to a ghost from inside a walk-in refrigerator.

The Shining is tops for horror movies in my opinion, beating the snot out of crap like the Ring and The Blair Witch Project. It may be a oldie, but is definitely a goodie. 8/10