Plot
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.
Release Year: 1980
Rating: 8.5/10 (252,850 voted)
Critic's Score: 61/100
Director:
Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
Storyline A man, his son and wife become the winter caretakers of an isolated hotel where Danny, the son, sees disturbing visions of the hotel's past using a telepathic gift known as "The Shining". The father, Jack Torrance, is underway in a writing project when he slowly slips into insanity as a result of cabin fever and former guests of the hotel's ghosts. After being convinced by a waiter's ghost to "correct" the family, Jack goes completely insane. The only thing that can save Danny and his mother is "The Shining".
Writers: Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick
Cast: 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
Taglines:
He Came As The Caretaker, But This Hotel Had Its Own Guardians - Who'd Been There A Long Time
Release Date: 23 May 1980
Filming Locations: Colorado, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $22,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $622,337
(USA)
(26 May 1980)
(10 Screens)
Trivia:
There was no air conditioning on the sets, meaning it would often become very hot. The hedge maze set was stifling; actors and crew would often strip off as much of the heavy clothing they were wearing as quickly as they could once a shot was finished.
Goofs:
Continuity:
When Danny is writing "REDRUM" on the wall, the knife's cable is turned to him. When he approaches Wendy, the knife's cable is turned to her.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Jack Torrance:
Hi, I've got an appointment with Mr. Ullman. My name is Jack Torrance.
User Review
Best Horror Film I've Ever Seen
Rating:
When this film first came out in 1980, I remember going to see it on
opening
night. The sheer terror that I experienced in viewing "The Shining" was
enough to make me go to bed with the lights turned ON every night for an
entire summer. This movie just scared the life out of me, which is what
still happens every time I rent the video for a re-watch. I have seen The
Shining at least six or seven times, and I still believe it to be
simultaneously and paradoxically one of the most frightening and yet
funniest films I've ever seen. Frightening because of the extraordinarily
effective use of long shots to create feelings of isolation, convex lens
shots to enhance surrealism, and meticulously scored music to bring tension
levels to virtually unbearable levels. And "funny" because of Jack
Nicholson's outrageous and in many cases ad-libbed onscreen antics. It
never
ceases to amaze me how The Shining is actually two films in one, both a
comedy AND a horror flick. Ghostly apparitions of a strikingly menacing
nature haunt much of the first half of the film, which gradually evolve
into
ever more serious physical threats as time progresses. Be that as it may,
there is surprisingly little violence given the apparent intensity, but
that
is little comfort for the feint of heart as much of the terror is more
implied than manifest. The Shining is a truly frightening movie that works
symbolically on many levels, but is basically about human shortcomings and
the way they can be exploited by unconscious forces combined with weakness
of will. This film scares the most just by using suggestion to turn your
own
imagination against you. The Shining is a brilliant cinematic masterpiece,
the likes of which have never been seen before or since. Highly, highly
recommended. - Paul
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