A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director:
Jonathan Demme
Stars:
Jodie Foster,
Anthony Hopkins,
Lawrence A. Bonney
Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. 9000, sets off on a quest.
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
Keir Dullea,
Gary Lockwood,
William Sylvester
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars:
Matthew Modine,
R. Lee Ermey,
Vincent D'Onofrio
After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
A criminal pleads insanity after getting into trouble again and once in the mental institution rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients.
Director:
Milos Forman
Stars:
Jack Nicholson,
Louise Fletcher,
Michael Berryman
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action, while attempting to liberate a twelve-year-old prostitute.
Director:
Martin Scorsese
Stars:
Robert De Niro,
Jodie Foster,
Cybill Shepherd
An insomniac office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care soapmaker, forming an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.
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. Written by
J. S. Golden
The film shows an upbeat relationship between Stuart Ullman and Jack Torrance, in contrast to the novel, which describes it as being very stilted and sour. Torrance views Ullman as a pompous official, and Ullman tells Torrance he is not fit for the caretaker position, due to his history of abuse. He only gives Torrance the job because his own employer is Torrance's old friend Al Shockley, who overrides Ullman's refusal. Later, Torrance phones Ullman in retaliation, and threatens to write a book detailing the hotel's sordid past. Ullman attempts to fire him, but Shockley intervenes and saves Torrance's job after admonishing him over the phone. See more »
Goofs
When Jack enters Mr. Ullman's office for the interview, you can see Kubrick's head and a crew member reflected in the window. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Jack Torrance:
Hi, I've got an appointment with Mr. Ullman. My name is Jack Torrance.
See more »
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. See more »
The Shining is a masterclass in film-making and a staple of popular culture. I, personally, cannot stand horror films. I don't like to feel scared, and I don't like to have my emotions manipulated by scary monsters, scary music, scary lighting, etc. I feel like horror is an easy genre - it's easy to scare some people, and people go to movies hoping to feel something, so why not fear?
But, I had heard a lot about The Shining. I decided I would look up the plot and watch some clips so I wouldn't be caught off-guard by anything, and I could just appreciate the characters, directing, cinematography, etc.
Despite knowing everything that would happen, the film was unbelievably engaging. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Jack Nicholson, of course, steals the show with one of the most iconic performances ever, and the other actors were decent, but the real star was Kubrick himself. Every shot, every set, the sound design, and everything has his fingerprints all over it, and it is such a delight to watch. When Jack advances up the stairs demanding the bat from Shelley Duval, I grinned from ear to ear because everything in that moment was just perfect in film.
The movie, like all others, has problems. In my opinion, the Grady girls and the bloody elevator do not hold up. I knew they were coming from the summaries I had read, so I knew what to expect, so the only reason I could see them as being scary or unsettling is if the viewer was caught off-guard. If you're pretty feminist, you're not going to like Shelley Duval's character, as she is a pretty weak character.
All in all, this film is fantastically-made, a cinematic and acting delight, and a gripping horror film that is considered a classic for a reason.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
The Shining is a masterclass in film-making and a staple of popular culture. I, personally, cannot stand horror films. I don't like to feel scared, and I don't like to have my emotions manipulated by scary monsters, scary music, scary lighting, etc. I feel like horror is an easy genre - it's easy to scare some people, and people go to movies hoping to feel something, so why not fear?
But, I had heard a lot about The Shining. I decided I would look up the plot and watch some clips so I wouldn't be caught off-guard by anything, and I could just appreciate the characters, directing, cinematography, etc.
Despite knowing everything that would happen, the film was unbelievably engaging. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Jack Nicholson, of course, steals the show with one of the most iconic performances ever, and the other actors were decent, but the real star was Kubrick himself. Every shot, every set, the sound design, and everything has his fingerprints all over it, and it is such a delight to watch. When Jack advances up the stairs demanding the bat from Shelley Duval, I grinned from ear to ear because everything in that moment was just perfect in film.
The movie, like all others, has problems. In my opinion, the Grady girls and the bloody elevator do not hold up. I knew they were coming from the summaries I had read, so I knew what to expect, so the only reason I could see them as being scary or unsettling is if the viewer was caught off-guard. If you're pretty feminist, you're not going to like Shelley Duval's character, as she is a pretty weak character.
All in all, this film is fantastically-made, a cinematic and acting delight, and a gripping horror film that is considered a classic for a reason.