The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stephen King (novel), Stanley Kubrick (screenplay)
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" - or, rather, a homicidal boy in Stanley Kubrick's eerie 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel. With wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and psychic son Danny (Danny Lloyd) in tow, frustrated writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes a job as the winter caretaker at the opulently ominous, mountain-locked Overlook Hotel so that he can write in peace. Before the Overlook is vacated for the Torrances, the manager (Barry Nelson) informs Jack that a previous caretaker went crazy and slaughtered his family; Jack thinks it's no problem, but Danny's "shining" hints otherwise. Settling into their routine, Danny cruises through the empty corridors on his Big Wheel and plays in the topiary maze with Wendy, while Jack sets up shop in a cavernous lounge with strict orders not to be disturbed. Danny's alter ego, "Tony," however, starts warning of "redrum" as Danny is plagued by more blood-soaked visions of the past, and a blocked Jack starts visiting the hotel bar for a few visions of his own. Frightened by her husband's behavior and Danny's visit to the forbidding Room 237, Wendy soon discovers what Jack has really been doing in his study all day, and what the hotel has done to Jack.

IMDB 8.5/10 (199,974 votes) Top 250 #48

Eliminating most of the supernatural episodes from the original Stephen King novel, Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining is at once a coolly ironic near-parody (with a Jack Nicholson performance that defines "over the top") and a genuinely chilling dissection of how a family breaks down when the father cannot (or does not want to) perform his duties as provider and protector. Making the most of the then-new Steadicam technology for intricate camera movements, Kubrick renders the hotel and maze palpable as Danny moves through them, while turning the Overlook itself into an eerily threatening entity, punctuated by Danny's vividly disturbing shinings. It isn't just Jack who is psychotic: it is the hotel and all it represents about the American system. Positioned to be a summer hit, The Shining was released to decidedly mixed reviews (including from King, who vocally objected to Kubrick's alterations of his novel); although it was the most successful movie Kubrick had made, it did not become the blockbuster that he had hoped. Despite this checkered reception, Kubrick's ability to combine icy detachment with visceral dread makes The Shining a profoundly creepy interrogation of madness, memory, and familial disintegration.

Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

King's book "The Shining" deals with, in his own words, "just a little story about writer's block". With collaboration by novelist Diane Johnson, Kubrick struck heavily upon themes of both communication and miscommunication as well as isolation. As was his penchant he used rich symbolic motifs. They repeat throughout the film as psychic ability or "Shining" as well as the major characters stymied authorship and spiral into madness. In a very poignant moment Jack destroys their only means of outside communication; a 2-way radio.

The film starts to prepare the viewer for isolation with gliding aerial shots of a deserted winding highway (shots critic Pauline Kael described as "like a caterpillar seen by God"), leading to the Overlook Hotel, Colorado where Jack Torrance ( played by Jack Nicholson ) has taken his wife Wendy ( Shelley Duvall ) and child to become the winter caretaker in the cavernous, vacant resort for the next 5 months. The child is named Danny ( played by Danny Lloyd… and chosen for the part by Leon Vitali from over 5000 applicants! ) Danny displays his clairvoyance with a premonition of his Father's job offer and introduces us to his imaginary friend "Tony" who communicates through his wiggling finger.
––––––––
Stanley Kubrick is said to be an obsessive perfectionist in his field. This film holds the Guinness Book of World Records for requiring Shelley Duvall to do 127 takes for one scene. On another occasion he required Jack Nicholson to do over 100 takes, stating "the longer we do it, the better he gets". The score (changed again by Kubrick) was originally supposed to have been done by John Williams. It was replaced by Kubricks own collection with music by Béla Bartók (from "Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta") Hector Berlioz, György Ligeti and Krzysztof Penderecki. This is how Kubrick crafts his films… he must conquer/control the idea/project/novel completely to transmogrify them into his own masterpiece. He has done so again with startling brilliance. Like almost all Kubrick works, this is a film that one appreciates more the more one sees it. It's a shame more horror films are not all this good.

Excerpt from Gary Tooze's review

This could well be the greatest horror film ever made: chilling, visually stunning and featuring some excellent acting, it can hardly fail to scare. The Shining is a rare event in horror, it doesn't follow the usual format of b-grade acting, poor effects and predictable plot. Instead we are treated to a masterpiece with superb direction from Kubrick, incredible acting (especially from Nicholson) and a strangely original plot which is thankfully not too closely based on the Stephen King novel of the same name.

Excerpt from Simon Hill's review

Extras:
- Audio commentary with Steadicam inventor/operator Garrett Brown and film historian John Baxter
- The Making Of The Shining -vintage documentary, with optional audio commentary by Vivian Kubrick (34:58)
- View From The Overlook: Crafting The Shining featurette (30:12)
- The Visions Of Stanley Kubrick featurette (17:15)
- Wendy Carlos, Composer featurette (7:30)
- Theatrical trailer