The Shining (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 250 #59 | 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Nicholson	...	Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall	...	Wendy Torrance
Danny Lloyd	...	Danny Torrance
Scatman Crothers	...	Dick Hallorann
Barry Nelson	...	Stuart Ullman
Philip Stone	...	Delbert Grady
Joe Turkel	...	Lloyd the Bartender
Anne Jackson	...	Doctor
Tony Burton	...	Larry Durkin
Lia Beldam	...	Young Woman in Bath
Billie Gibson	...	Old Woman in Bath
Barry Dennen	...	Bill 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 | twin sisters | magical negro stereotype | identical twins | breaking down a door | 

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Taglines:

He came as the caretaker, but this hotel had its own guardians - who'd been there a long time

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'enfant lumière

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 6,140,088 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Hawk Films, Peregrine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min (cut) 119 min (cut) (European) 144 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anjelica Huston lived with Jack Nicholson during the time of the shooting. She recalled that, due to the long hours on the set and Stanley Kubrick's trademark style of repetitive takes, Nicholson would often return from a day's shooting, walk straight to the bed, collapse onto it and would immediately fall asleep.

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Goofs

When "Larry" is walking into Durkin's garage and the phone is ringing. Larry tosses his gloves on the desk next to a small box and answers the phone, and it is Dick Hallorann on the other end. The scene cuts to Dick Hallorann talking on a pay phone at an airport, then back to Larry who turns to his right and the gloves are still visible on the desk next to Larry's left elbow. The scene then cuts back to Dick Hallorann at the airport for a brief moment then back to Larry and the gloves have mysteriously disappeared and the box has slightly moved.

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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 Alan Wake (2010)

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Soundtracks

Kanon for 52 string orchestra and tape
(uncredited)
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki

User Reviews

timeless terror

Even though The Shining is over a quarter of a century old, I challenge anyone to not get freaked out by Jack Nicholson's descent into madness. This is a rare example of something so unique that no one has been able to rip it off; instead it has been referenced time and again in pop culture. The twins, the elevator of blood, RedRum, the crazy nonsense "writing"... this should be seen, if for nothing else, to understand all the allusions to it in daily life. The film is simultaneously scary, suspenseful, beautiful, and psychologically intriguing. It has the classic mystery of Hitchcock and the terror of a modern thriller. And it has what horror movies usually lack: a great script.