The Shining (1980)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stephen King (novel)
Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 May 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The tide of terror that swept America IS HERE[UK Poster]

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.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Caretaker | Ghost | Insanity | Colorado

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

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 Twin Daughter

Also Known As:

Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'
El resplandor (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Shining (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
яХЪЧЫХИ (Soviet Union: Russian title) [ru]
Isijavanje (Serbia) [sr]
L'enfant lumière (Canada: French title) [fr]
La resplendor (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Lsnienie (Poland) [pl]
O Iluminado (Brazil) [pt]
Ondskabens hotel (Denmark) [da]
Ondskapens hotell (Norway) [no]
Ragyogás (Hungary) [hu]
Shining (Italy) [it]
Shining (France) [fr]
Shining (Hungary) [hu]
Shining: L'enfant lumière (Canada: French title) [fr]
Surmahotell (Estonia) [et]
The shining - hohto (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

142 min (cut) | 119 min (cut) (European version) | 146 min (original version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:R16 | Spain:13 | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Finland:K-15 (DVD rating) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:14A (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) (re-rating) (2007) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) (original rating) | Brazil:14 | Ireland:15 (re-rating) (2007) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2007) | Denmark:15 (DVD rating) | Denmark:16 (video rating) | Malaysia:U | USA:R (Rated R for intense sequences of violence and terror, language, and graphic nudity) | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA (DVD rating) | Australia:M | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) (2004) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:16 | Philippines:X | Japan:R-15 | USA:R | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Colorado, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

During the making of the movie, Stanley Kubrick would occasionally call Stephen King at 3:00 a.m. and ask him questions like "Do you believe in God?"

Goofs:

Continuity: During Hallorann's phone conversation with Larry, his scarf changes positions from being inside his coat to outside, and then back inside.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jack Torrance: Hi, I've got an appointment with Mr. Ullman. My name is Jack Torrance.

Movie Connections:

References Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Soundtrack:

Polymorphia

Best Horror Film I've Ever Seen

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