The Shining (1980)

• Year: 1980
• Released: 13 Jun 1980
• Country: United Kingdom, United States
• Adwords: 4 wins & 8 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/The_Shining
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-shining
• Available in: 720p, 1080p, 2160p
• Language: English
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Drama, Horror
• Runtime: 146 min
• Writer: Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
• Keywords: based on novel or book, cult film, hotel, writer, alcoholic,

	8.4/10
	66/100

The Shining Storyline

Built in 1907, the posh, grand and secluded Overlook Hotel, located in the mountains of Colorado, closes for the winter months as it was never designed as a ski resort, that seclusion and isolation which has always been its attraction for its upscale guests and which makes it largely inaccessible in the snowy winter. Having recently moved from Vermont to Boulder with his wife Wendy and their adolescent son Danny, former schoolteacher Jack Torrance has just accepted the five month job as the Overlook’s winter caretaker in wanting uninterrupted solitude to start his new career as a writer. In accepting the job, Jack was not deterred in knowing of the incident ten years ago when the then hotel GM Charles Grady, acting as that season’s winter caretaker, developed a severe case of cabin fever and ended up gruesomely killing his wife and two daughters before killing himself. Beyond a recent undiagnosed collapse experienced by Danny which may be an issue if it happens again at the hotel, Wendy is looking forward to this five month getaway. While Danny indirectly states he doesn’t want to go, Wendy is not concerned about his emotional well being in this new situation as he, out of circumstance, has often been on his own without other children around, which has long ago led to him creating an imaginary friend named Tony who lives in Danny’s mouth. When the Torrances arrive at the Overlook on October 30th, its last day of operation before they take over for the winter, Danny learns that there is someone at the hotel who knows his secret abilities in association to Tony’s true nature. After the regular staff leaves for the winter and as winter truly sets in, the isolation of the resort begins to show itself. The question becomes which of the often battling powers in this isolation will ultimately come out on top: Wendy’s mortal fortitude, Danny’s secret ability which he learns is called the shining, or the hotel’s associated secrets which are slowly overtaking Jack.

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The Shining Movie Reviews

Considering there are already a bazillion reviews of this film on IMDb, why not add one more?!

This film is currently the 48th highest rated movie on IMDb and there are something like a bazillion reviews for it already on this site, so it’s not like my review is going to matter very much. Still, I decided to finally see this film for the first time and thought I’d toss my impressions into the HUGE pool of information.

Jack Nicholson, like the story’s author Stephen King, is a school teacher who has quit in order to become a writer. He arranges an unusual job that will give him LOTS of spare time–he and his wife and son will move to a resort in the mountains and be the caretakers during the off-season. This is problematic for several reasons. First, they are all alone and the snow will keep them alone for months on end. So, if there are any problems, they are screwed. Second, Nicholson plays an alcoholic in recovery–and there’s no booze in the place. Third, and probably the biggest one of all, is that the place is evil and begins screwing with the family–particularly their weirdo kid and the father. For the most part, the wife (Shelley Duvall) is there to look scared and be preyed upon! I could tell you more about the film….but won’t. I don’t want to spoil the suspense.

I should also note that this is a very adult film. I am not talking about the violence–though it is violent and scary. But the language and very explicit nude scenes make it something you might want to think about before you watch it or let your kids see it.

So what did I like about the film? Well the music was great–and REALLY pulled off the scare-factor!! And, the film is quite tense and exciting. I also liked the cinematography. It’s odd, though, that the opening scenes shot by helicopter were GORGEOUS but the VERY Obsessive-Compulsive Kubrick (who was known to make a bazillion retakes of scenes) didn’t catch or care that you can actually see a shadow of the ‘copter in the opening. Look carefully at the bottom right of the screen and you’ll see it.

My complaints about the film are few. But, I do think that Nicholson’s characterization is something you’ll either love or hate. I thought he seriously over-acted and agreed with King’s assertion that he ALREADY seemed crazed when the film began. King’s notion of the problem being related to alcohol are pretty much minimized in the Kubrick treatment—it’s much more a film about insanity and evil spirits.

I understand that Stephen King hated this particular adaptation of his novel and later he produced his own mini-series more in line with his vision for the film. But, considering he was not yet a big-name author and the god-like Stanley Kubrick was at the helm (and NO ONE tells him how to make a movie), it was a losing battle from the start. Kubrick helped write the screenplay, produced and directed the film. And, whatever King thought of it, the film WAS immensely successful–at least today when you ask people what they thought about the movie. I’ll have to make it a point to see the mini-series as well—even if it currently has a mediocre score of 6.0.

So, considering my score of 9, I liked it. Sure, there was some overacting but the basic story is very, very tense and I am sure a lot of viewers were scared half to death watching it. I am not a huge fan of horror films but can sure respect what was accomplished here.

By the way, it’s interesting that this film is an awful lot like King’s later film “1408”–an awful lot. In “The Shining” you have an evil resort and in “1408” you have an evil hotel room–both which screw with people and cause death and mayhem–at least in the film versions.

A chilling Stephen King adaptation, with Kubrick trying to be different

Very loosely based on the book, which is very chilling and shocking, this is a great film. Having seen The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me and It and liking all three of them, I knew I should check out the Shining. I did feel that Jack Torrence’s hallucinations, apparitions and time-warps were introduced a little too quickly and the build up to the ending was rushed too. But it is very stylishly filmed, making perfect use of an amazing set built at Elstree and a gliding Steadicam, and the music is atmospheric. The story is also effective, and there are really nice touches in the script. Kubrick here tries to be different, and I think he does a superb job at it. The Shining is more chilling rather than shocking, the blood flowing from the doors and the old woman in the bathtub made my hairs stand up on the back of my neck, and is constantly discomforting in an eerie sort of way. Jack Nicolson gives a barnstorming performance as Jack, a performance that is both hammy and disturbing, and Shelley Duvall does decently in a somewhat thankless role. Young Danny Lloyd is superb as Danny, his chanting of Redrum especially became increasingly hypnotic and distorted. The film concludes with a fairly suspenseful ending, and is overall a film with one or two problems and a very loose adaptation but it is a chilling adaptation with Kubrick succeeding at being different. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Better than the novel, by far

Probably the most popular and easily accessible Kubrick film in existence, THE SHINING is a film I’ve seen plenty of times over the years and yet it’s a movie that never gets old. Part of the reason for that is the professionalism of the director; his cinematography is exceptional, really bringing the Overlook Hotel to life so that it becomes a character in itself.

As well as being superb-looking, THE SHINING is both a creepy and exceptionally entertaining movie. It’s far more effective than the Stephen King novel on which it was based, purely because it takes a more realistic approach to the material: you can argue perfectly correctly that this is a psychological tale of terror in which all of the events take place in the minds of the protagonists. Gone are the living hedges of the King novels, elements which Kubrick rightly realised wouldn’t translate to the screen very well (check out the ’90s THE SHINING TV miniseries to see how they did).

Kubrick’s main beef with the film is that the Jack Nicholson character seems psychotic from the outset, a contrast to his rational character in the book. But Nicholson is what makes this film a real delight to watch; he’s a fantastic psycho and probably the most entertaining cinematic psychopath, better even than Anthony Perkins’s Norman Bates. Duvall and Lloyd are fine, of course, but it’s Nicholson who makes this such a compelling production. Finally, Kubrick throws in plenty of creepy stylistic techniques, like the subliminal images and some truly grotesque imagery, which makes this a chilly, frightening classic and one of the best ‘haunted house’ flicks in existence.