A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Check out our gallery of the 2021 Golden Globe nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life
Haunted by a persistent writer's block, the aspiring author and recovering alcoholic, Jack Torrance, drags his wife, Wendy, and his gifted son, Danny, up snow-capped Colorado's secluded Overlook Hotel after taking up a job as an off-season caretaker. As the cavernous hotel shuts down for the season, the manager gives Jack a grand tour, and the facility's chef, the ageing Mr Hallorann, has a fascinating chat with Danny about a rare psychic gift called "The Shining", making sure to warn him about the hotel's abandoned rooms, and, in particular, the off-limits Room 237. However, instead of overcoming the dismal creative rut, little by little, Jack starts losing his mind, trapped in an unforgiving environment of seemingly endless snowstorms, and a gargantuan silent prison riddled with strange occurrences and eerie visions. Now, the incessant voices inside Jack's head demand sacrifice. Is Jack capable of murder?Written by
Nick Riganas
Approximately 4,000 people auditioned for the role of Danny Torrance over a six-month period. The interviews were carried out in Chicago, Denver, and Cincinnati by Stanley Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali, and his wife, Kersti Vitali. Aspiring actors were asked to send in photographs of themselves, and from the photographs, a list was made of the boys who looked right, who were then called in to interview. Vitali would then have the boys do some minor improvisation on-camera, and Kubrick would review the footage, gradually narrowing the list down. See more »
Goofs
After Wendy has locked Jack in the pantry, we hear him slamming against the door repeatedly in an attempt to escape. The door doesn't move an inch, yet, in the interior shot, we see the door giving when he's saying "go check it out" and slamming his hands against it. See more »
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
The movie's opening titles are also the only instance in any Kubrick film where scrolling credits, rather than title cards, are used. See more »
Alternate Versions
In all previous video versions of The Shining, (prior to the 2001 DVD re-release), each title card failed to change in synchronization with the music. Upon being released on DVD, each title card does in fact change in sync with the music, the way it was originally intended. See more »
This is the classic horror! Stanley Kubrick's Finest! The scariest of the "Kubrick Stares" has to be Jack Nicholson looking through the door in the classic horror scene. The camera, music, acting, and scares are top notch! I highly recommend this movie to: Horror fans, Kubrick fans, psychological thriller fans, and even Nicholson fans. You will love this movie to death! Four out of four stars. A definative classic! SEE IT!
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This is the classic horror! Stanley Kubrick's Finest! The scariest of the "Kubrick Stares" has to be Jack Nicholson looking through the door in the classic horror scene. The camera, music, acting, and scares are top notch! I highly recommend this movie to: Horror fans, Kubrick fans, psychological thriller fans, and even Nicholson fans. You will love this movie to death! Four out of four stars. A definative classic! SEE IT!