The Shining
| release date | May 23 1980 |
| studio | Warner Bros. |
| director | Stanley Kubrick |
| writer | Stephen King |
| starring | Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd |
| rating | R |
| tagline | A Masterpiece Of Modern Horror |
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the best haunted house movie ever. just imagine christopher walken as jack torrence though. “wendy…. you didn’t let me…..finish. i said, i’m not gonna….. hurt you, i’m just gonna bash your brains in”
If ever there were an overrated movie, this one would be it. Having heard all sorts of praise and hype for this, I watched it all alone late at night, expecting to be scared. (Similar to my experience with ‘Inside’, and to the same result). I absolutely hated it.
There was not one scary thing in this movie. Despite a two hour build-up, I still didn’t give a shit what happened to these boring characters, and even the climas was uninteresting. For shame, Stanley Kubrick. For shame.
I see why Stephen King hates this so much.
For shame, PromNight2008 for shame…
Put 10/10 for the Descent, 8/10 for the Hitcher and then 1/10 at this movie and 2/10 for the Birds, it’s you and your shitty test that is a Shame.
A Masterpiece, P.E.R.I.O.D.
Dear PromNight2008,
since you’re 15 I’ll excuse you complete ignorance to the horror film genre but PLEASE GOD stop saying movies are overrated because it seems you have no idea what that really means.
The Shinning next to the Exorcist is one of the most brilliant films ever made and has change the genre since it’s release. The acting, the story, the cinematography, everything about it is genius.
I sincerely feel if anyone doesn’t like The Shinning then they don’t really understand or enjoy horror films.
p.s. Both prom nights are garbage
“Chilling, majestic piece of cinematic fright, this film combines all the great elements of an intellectual thriller, with the grand vision of a director who has the instinctual capacity to pace a moody horror flick within the realm of his filmmaking genius that includes an eye for the original shot, an ice-cold soundtrack and an overall sense of dehumanization. This movie cuts through all the typical horror movies like a red-poker through a human eye, as it allows the viewer to not only feel the violence and psychosis of its protagonist, but appreciate the seed from which the derangement stems. One of the scariest things for people to face is the unknown and this film presents its plotting with just that thought in mind. The setting is perfect, in a desolate winter hideaway. The quietness of the moment is a character in itself, as the fermenting aggressor in Jack Torrance’s mind wallows in this idle time, and breeds the devil’s new playground. I always felt like the presence of evil was dormant in all of our minds, with only the circumstances of the moment, and the reasons given therein, needed to wake its violent ass and pounce over its unsuspecting victims. This film is a perfect example of this very thought.
And it is within this film’s subtle touches of the canvas, the clackity-clacks of the young boy’s big wheel riding along the empty hallways of the hotel, the labyrinthian garden representing the mind’s fine line between sane and insane, Kubrick’s purposely transfixed editing inconsistencies, continuity errors and set mis-arrangements, that we discover a world guided by the righteous and tangible, but coaxed away by the powerful and unknown. I have never read the book upon which the film is based, but without that as a comparison point, I am proud to say that this is one of the most terrifying films that I have ever seen. I thought that the runtime of the film could’ve been cut by a little bit, but then again, I am not one of the most acclaimed directors in the history of film, so maybe I should keep my two-cent criticisms over a superb film, to myself. All in all, this movie captures your attention with its grand form and vision, ropes you in with some terror and eccentric direction, and ties you down and stabs you in the heart with its cold-eyed view of the man’s mind gone overboard, creepy atmosphere and the loss of humanity.” –FlickJunkie, imdb.com
Stanley Kubrick staples down his perception of what fear is supposed to represent. In my opinion, this is the holy grail of horror films. There is nothing better. From disturbing imagery, malicious tension, and a brooding score to boot that emphasizes the ever-growing madness in the Overlook Hotel. (One of the most complimentary and provocative scores ever written for film in my opinion.) The Shining is not only ahead of it’s time, but it is inspiration and vision are timeless. Genre films and extreme horror made today borrow immensly from this epic masterpiece. As far as pacing, characterization, plot development and gore go, The Shining lays it all out masterfully on display for the viewer to eat up in captivity. We all learn something from this film when we watch it. And it has proven still to this day that it can inspire and evoke horror in an individual that was, prior to viewing, unbenounced.
I fail to see why so many people glorify this film, because it just didnt have anything interesting to me, the performance of jack nicholson was the only reason i was even interested in watching it, i saw nothing really scary about the film, besides his transition into crazyness. shelly duvall is annoying and the little boy is too.
Oh “The Shining”. Where do I begin my praises for this masterpiece of horror cinema?
Stanley Kubrick achieves perfection as he uses his camera like Picaso used his paintbrush. The lighting seamlessly works with the long, wide shots and linear angles, along with one of the most effective soundtracks in horror movie history, to create an atmosphere unlike anything seen before or since. I felt claustrophobic the whole time at the Overlook Hotel.
The tension is comparable to nails slowly dragging across a chalkboard, thanks in part to the terrific acting on Jack Nicholson’s part. He has created the best crazy character ever. Shelly Duvall doesnnt get enough credit for her performance I believe. She really does play the scared role exceptionally well (the expression on her face in the poster above is one of pure terror). Danny just gave me the chills with his “REDRUM” scene and his “Tony” voice.
Some scenes don’t really make any sense, and I don’t think they have to. It is a Kubrick film after all, and trippy, disturbing images are prevailent in all his work. I particularly like the quick cuts that you have to rewind to see clearly, like the dead twins in the bloody hallway. Like I said, very trippy stuff.
Psychadelics aside, this movie still rules. A definite must in any fans horror collection. I don’t see how someone can’t get scared at least once during this film. Truly an epic masterpiece.
Brilliant movie!
I didn’t get to see it until this year (which was indeed awesome cos I got to see it in theatres).
Was pretty wicked,a few dull scenes but still really good. Though I recommend Stephen Kings,this one is still good.
This movie is amazing! Jack does an absolutely brillian outstanding performance and makes the show his insaness is terrifying! This film also carrys the best line in cinema history “HEEEEERES JOHNNY!” If you can think of a better line then i’d like to know! The whole film is amazing and follows a man slowly going crazy and trys to kill his family and about his son who has a physic talent called “shining” I would reccomend this movie to everybody!
*****
Out Of
*****
Good movie, I just didnt think it was as amazing as everyone says.
one word-masterpiece
The shining is my favorite movie of all time. The acting is just great and you like everybody. Just the isolation, and the scenes of just the hotel make me feel uncomfortable. The whole atmosphere is so dark and quiet it’s perfect. This movie is just so random. That’s what makes it good. This movie builds up terror and suspense, and also with some buckets of blood along the way. The shining is the best movie ever and it deserves to be mentioned. Should you rent it? Of course. Should you buy it? Definitely. This is the best movie I’ve seen.
Over hyped and over glorified are the words I’d use to explain The Shining…I’ve tried watching this film on two different occasions and still it doesn’t make sense……Don’t get me wrong the acting is very good…but the film doesn’t make much sense. It cuts a lot out of the Original Stephen King novel (note a few artistic changes to the ending).. So then on day someone introduced me to “The Shining” the TV Series..”Oh God” I moaned…and tried to put it off. But I had to watch it, and to my surprise it made sense it explained what the hell was going on…..unlike the original film…..In my view the TV Series of “The Shining” is a more complete version of the great novel…..baring the “Made for TV effects”.
Fiday the 13th killed this movie in the box office. But This surely came out to being better. A True Classic. Jack Nicholson at his best.
Watch the movie without trying to think of the book. You’ll have more appreciation for it. The mini-series was more faithful to the book, but Kubrick’s version was way more creepier. Duvall SUCKED!!! almost ruined the whole movie.
Duvall was good because sometimes you need a pathetic charter in a movie this was a good job and I would rather watch movie again….the newer movies that are made from Stephen King books suck to me…I loved the blood scene coming down the hall that is the best scene.
Classic. One of the few films to truly achieve a frightening atmosphere.
I love this movie! I’ve watched it, at least, 25 times. Nicholson is the man!!! He IS the best leading actors of our time!
Some great performances and unforgettable scenes in this one. The bathtub scene still freaks me out. Some parts of the movie are kind of slow, but in the end it still delivers.
creepy,atmospheric and even a bit scary,the dog suit sceen still gives me the creeps just a great movie!
anything with nicholson gets 5 stars/skulls and cmon the fuckin shining!!!!!!!!! the scene when the cook realizes that he’s going in the forbidden room? his face? CLASSIC HORROR
Kubrick did a masterful job. Great performance by Nicholson. It definitely gives you the vibe of being isolated. The scenes with Danny & those damn twins were great. The staircase scene!!! Need I say more. A lot of folks knocked Duvall in this flick, but I thought she did a tremendous job. One of the best King novels to make it to the big screen. You’ll wanna “bash some brains in” after you see this one. Terrific film!!!
This movie is AMAZING! It is one of the few old(And good as all old horror films are)horror movies that still scares the shit out of me. Jack Nicholson is totally amazing in the role of Jack Torrence. No one who sees this movie can forget the gamouse line “HEEEEEEEERES JOHNNY!”. This movie deserves 5 skulls absolutely since it is one of the best horror films in cinematic history.
Imagine… slowly, slowly completely losing your mind. The descent into madness is sometimes much more horrifying than someone weilding a weapon. This movie is just… eerie. It sticks with you. The music.. the score is amazing, and ridiculously effective in creating a maddening atmospere.
This is a great movie of a insanity, with great visionary style and directing. This is a movie to think about, not to just watch sitting down and say, “hm… that was good.”
There comes a movie from directors like Stanley Kubrick, who is a brilliant director of such movies as A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket, and others who don’t do much in the horror genre but when they do they bring all their brilliant talents and cinematography to the screen and it is pure bliss. This is that movie!
Although alittle long, which is not a problem, this movie offers many creepy mind bending, is it real or not, situations that drive the characters insane, especially Jack Nicholson. As it goes on you find out about this little thing called The Shining which is a mind ability only some people have and it turns out the little hcild of Jack’s has it. But im not going to get into detail with the movie like that.
Most definitely check this movie out, it is a classic of its time and to this day. And with the classic twins in the hallway and the line “Here’s Johnny” you cannot go wrong. This is a masterpiece upon works and must be seen by not only horror fans but movie fans in general. 10/10!
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a great movie; just bugs me how it loses focus. Kubrick focuses so much more on Jack Torrence’s slowly deteriorating sanity instead of the actual story. What about the boiler room, goddammit?!
Though it’s not as cool or as scary, I prefer the story of the ABC version that came out 17 years later.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a classic and it’s creepy as hell. Just can’t get over my gripes.
My favorite horror film of all time! Thank you Jack Nicholson for your role on Jack Torrence.
are you kidding me!! this is one of the best acted horror films of all time…nevertheless the king of horror, Stephen King, writes an incredible tale that is as fucked up as usual for him…
That goddamn music in the movie will make a man insane in the membrane! One of the scarriest films of all time of course you already know that, without even using loud noises and cheap trick scares this one freak of a perfected flick like noneother. The scares and insanity creep into you like a bug in your sleeping bag. Fuckin’ blood in the elevator and that room Wendy comes across..spook your mind with this stuff!
This movie is very scary.
3.5 stars? This is recognised as one of the greatest horror movies of all time! EVERYThing (including Shelley Duvall) in this movie is fantastic.
Oh yeah, but this is the website which gave the barely average Friday the 13th remake 4 stars.
Cough*Platinum “scumbags” Dunes* Cough.
The most suspensful/creepiest/scariest movie I have ever seen in my life. Very well done, and has extremely good acting. It is very captivating and an overall amazing horror movie.
a classic. one of my two personal favorites (psycho being the other). i would definitely say this is one of the most unnerving films i’ve ever seen. i’ve never really scared from a movie, not even as a child, but this movie (especially the last half hour) instilled fear into me. and the music for the scare scenes is perfect. i’m really surprised bd only gave this 3.5 skulls. definitely a 10 in my book.
How the fuck was this only given 3.5 stars??
It’s one of the greatest films of all time.
The Shining shows what Stephen King is made of. This is a pure movie of pure terror. From director Stanley Kubrick, brings The Shining. Right from the begining, you get a sense of fear in the movie. The depressed farther of the wierd son, and the wife and mother that is trying to escape from the noise of city life. The haunted looking hotel, and the eree atmosphere around Jack’s character gives you a real sense of realism. The Shining is a slow movie, which is the only downside I may add, but once it get’s going, it’s a masterpiece. The rather amazing acting, the great camera work, the well scripted plot and script, the great atmosphere, all in The Shining. Up until the end, it leaves you puzzled and wanting more, which most horror movies don’t do. Creepy, suspensful and eree, The Shining is worth a watch for anyone! “Here’s Johnny!”.
9/10
Eww! What a gross film so dull and boring.
Such an amazing movie. It’s so eerie and interesting and brilliantly made that I can watch it 100 times in a row and not get tired of it. Ok, I exaggerated but this is seriously a great movie but it does have it’s faults. I saw the movie before I read the book and I knew that the book is better than the movie almost 100% of the time. That being said after I had finished the book and thought about the movie, I was a little disappointed about how the film differed from the book but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the film is still powerful without being 100% true to the book. The acting is fantastic (although I hate Shelley Duvall). Any scene with the hotel ghosts is fantastic! My favorite part is the ending, with the eerie song and picture. Like I said before, great film! It is a must see for any horror fan.
i’m 13 and just finished the book. i thought it was fuckin creepy, and much doesnt creep me out! i havent see the movie yet but soon….
Twisted, especially the blood that comes out from the end of the hall!!
The best horror movie ever made. I will still stop to watch it for the umpteenth time when I see it on tv.
One of the best horror films ever. I was never a huge Kubrick fan, but he, and the actors, really knocked this one out of the park. I am so glad that this movie exists.
This movie was genuinely terryfying. The camera work was perfect, Jack Nicholson played an amazing role. He made you feel eerie and uncomfortable and thats what made it such a great role for him. The infamous scene where jack is shredding the door with the ax made me creeped out. All in All, The Shining was a terrific movie that is definitely one of the best stephen king adaptions ever.
the only Stanley Kubrick movie i’ve ever seen, but a good one at that.
Jack Nicholson was really convincing as Jack Torrance and he’s extremely intimidating.
hasn’t Jack Nicholson played enough characters with his name? In ‘The Shining’, he’s Jack Torrance, in ‘Batman’, he was Jack Napier/Joker and so on.
still, this was a good movie, but i’m not surprised at how Shelley Duvall won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor. she was so unconvincing i’d wonder if Paris Hilton could do a better job.
great great great movie, ending wasn’t weak, but wasn’t fullfilling. I actually looked it up online after re-watching it to see if what I thought it ment was correct. Nearly perfect movie.
I just watched The Shining for the first time( a little late in the game, i know) but it was about what i expected. Personally i never felt that Stanley Kubrick was all that great and i never understood why he is considered one of the best filmakers of all time. That being said, I greatly respect the man and his body of work. The first act of Full Metal Jacket is spectacular, and a Clockwork Orange is wonderful too. But this is beside the point, though i think this movie overall is medicore, Jack Nicholson’s performance is what stands out. Futhermore, he should’ve got an Oscar nod( although im not sure who the compition was so…). I also love the beautifully strange images, i may even read the book to figure out whats the deal with the bear costume.The cinematography was amazing too, when Jack chases Danny through the maze stands out in my mind.6 or 7
Good movie. love seeing it late night on TV unexpectedly. Jack Nicholson is an amazing actor.
not one of my Favorites..but i will give this movie a whooping 10.becasue it is a really awesome stephen king flick which i’ve seen and read all the stuff he has put out!
very creepy atmosphere
Why is the official score only 7/10?
Classic masterpiece of horror by the master Stanley Kubrick.
Terrifying movie and a masterpiece! The movie confuses and scares the crap out of you! Even the tour of the hotel at the start is really eerie, and creepy… specially the part with the gift, told by the cook. The Acting is Amazing, Jack Nicholson is really terrifying in this one! The ghost parts, was unbelivable creepy,and i don’t get scared easliy!
The Shining and The Thing, are my number 1# Favorite horror-movies of all time!
of course, a classic!
make sure you read the novel, its 10 times creepier!
This is my all time favorite movie/book. I love Jack Nicholson and how well he plays this character. Every time I Watch this movie I feel this little touch of fright in my gut. I’ve loved this movie for years, when I was younger I used to run around saying ‘REDRUM’ to my friends in Danny’s voice. Whenever people ask my favorite movie and I reply, ‘The Shining’, they always say things like, ‘That movie? Oh that’s a really boring one.’ People just don’t know how to appreciate a classic sometimes. I really hate these ‘horror movies’ today where it’s a bunch of naked chicks running away from some dude wearing a costume and whoops! They fell and broke their leg. *sigh* We need people to smarten up and make some really decent, horrifying, disgusting horror movies. Or some bland, but scary in your gut horrors like this one.
Well I’m off to go watch The Shining now!!
my second favorite Kubrick movie. in my top 10 horror
This film was suspensful. It’s well known now and Horror Fans love it. like Me! It brings up hype and makes you want more. Minimum Gore but who cares? It’s creepy and suspensful. The Caretaker is messed up in the head. The most memrobal scenes are the ‘Here’s Johnny!’ scene, The Chase through the Maze scene, The scene in room 213 where the dead women rises out the bathtub and the two girls in the hallway where they talk to the little boy. This film is a definate Horror Classic!!! Here’s Johnny!!!!
REDRUM..REDRUM…REDRUM….
This is the only case that I liked the movie more thatn the actual novel that it was based off.Stanley Kubrick displays absolute mastery over his use of atmosphere. Also the music is very creepy and ominous, I love Stephen Kings novels, but I really feel kubricks touch was the icing on the cake for this,also one of my favorite performances by Jack Nicholson…10/10
One of the most pathetic films ever made. The acting is horrible. Especially by Nicholson who seems to think he’s making a slapstick comedy not a horror film. Shelley Duvall is an actress I really like but she is so miscast here I have to guess that it was some kind of joke on Kubrick’s part. The kid who plays Danny is alright, but you can’t help cracking up every time he makes his finger talk. Since they clearly make Jack insane from the first frame there is no suspense at all. The movie goes on and on with nothing happening and the only times it gets interesting are when they use scenes taken from the book. Unfortunately, very little of the book makes it into this picture. I saw this movie when it came out (I was only 12 but my sister got me in) and couldn’t believe how horrible it was. Everyone kept saying I had to read the book so I did. I couldn’t believe they took such a masterpiece and dumbed it down to the piece of garbage I had just witnessed. It does have one good thing going for it. The cinematography is gorgeous. That is it’s one saving grace.
Right up there with The Exorcist! The Shining sticks to the mind long after viewing. This movie still scares the hell out of me! I am a huge fan of Shelley Duvall’s performance in this film. You can feel the nervousness of Kubrick’s Wendy. Jack is great and this is my favorite performance by him. Oddly enough The actor who plays Danny is a professor less than an hour away from where I live. I work with a guy who took his class.
One of Kubrick’s best films, and the best adapatation of Stephen King’s material. Other directors should take lessons from it: Just take the base story, and build a tense, disturbing, and truly frightening movie around. Seems simple enough, you’d think.
Saw this last night. Great suspense, and very beleivable acting from Jack Nicholson – I genuinely believed he was a psychopath. I think 8/10 does ‘The Shining’ justice, because I felt there were a few loose ends running through my mind when the credits began rolling, like:
*SPOILER ALERT*
”What’s with the bear costume?”, and: ”Who’s the guy in the photo at the end – Jack’s Grandfather or what?”
Anyway, I also felt the film could have done with lasting longer – perhaps delving deeper into the relationship with Jack and his wife, or a couple more creepy scenes like the naked woman one, or maybe more killings. I see, though, that lengthening the film could go either way – it could make it more creepy, or on the flipside, make it boring. Nonetheless, in spite of my criticism, a horror classic.
Worthy of 8/10
Beyond good. Probably one of the creepiest, most suspenseful movies ever made.
i like thaT. creepy
One of my favourites films ever, one that can be watched many times. Scary and disturbing
9/10
A great film. One of the few movies that are better than the book. I hope they never remake it.
I don’t think this needs a lot of explanation….The Shining is obviously iconic. The atmosphere created with the music and slow creeping cameras have as much to do with the terror as Jack Nicholson with the ax, and I think that’s what makes it work so well. It’s a beautiful film. FAVORITE SCENE: Discussion with Mr. Delbert Grady.
the reason why i am scared if Jack Nicholson.
A very scary movie, slow, trippy, disturbing, and its all wraped with great acting. Seldom do find a movie that is so perfect, Jack Nicholson is one of the most nefarious characters in cinematic history
Jack Nickelson’s acting is excellent. The film itself is very good. I love the scenes with Danny riding his trike down the hallways.
this is one of the best classics ever:)
Love it.
My most fav film of all time, so weird and creepy …. I love it!
i know i gave a review on this bfor WTF but this is simple One of the Greatest movies made Period.I hav to watch this atleast once a month
Stanley Kubrick rules!!!!!
that’s my all time favorite movie
it is fast,brutal,scary and suspenseful
i’ve never seen an actor make so realistic the insanity like Jack Nicholson
and the directing of Stanley Kubrick made that movie the greatest horror movie ever made
and after all these years it isn’t remade,because it is very good even for our present-day-standards
perfect
`The Shining’ is a 1980 psychological Horror/Thriller/Mystery film directed by Stanley Kubrick, adaption for Stephen King’s novel with the same name in 1977, about a writer with a wife and young son who accepts the job of off-season caretaker at an isolated hotel. The son, who possesses psychic abilities, is able to see things in the future or past, such as the ghosts in the hotel. Soon after moving in and after a paralyzing winter storm that leaves the family snowbound, the father becomes influenced by the supernatural presence in the haunted hotel; he descends into madness and attempts to kill his wife and son. (The Movie is also a popular culture, with the Movie begging classed as a Cult Classic Movie, with a very famous parody Halloween episode which is the Treehouse of Horror V, segment The Shinning on The Simpsons, which I love that one.)
The Movie opens with a spectacular aerial shots of a beautiful, mountainous landscape showcase of American nature & once your find out it’s `The Shining’ you know you’re in for a good old horror treat, it starts out a little gently & granule gets to all the terror & horrific showcase of Overlook Hotel, the sound/music is so eerie & creepy it really scares me but its soo cool it will stick in my head like other classic theme tune for Horror (e.g. Halloween, Friday the 13th & many more), it’s such a tense spooky haunted hotel movie that never seem to stop freighting & shocking me every minute of the movie is heart pounding & quit terror shocker from start to finish of the film and Room 237 plays a big parts as that is where the last family staid in as it was terrify & horrific room that is full of horrible vision from what happen in overlook hotel in the past of the murders & sown storm to begging alone with your family for five months Idyllic in the sown can make you go absolute crazy.
The Movie to me is an memorable horror movie expression for its style of thrills & mystery (at first it confused me but I got most of it & when I see it again I’ll get the full understanding) & the texture, acting, format, directions & likes of shocks, the little special effects that it has, make-up artist, blood & freighting flashback for that poor little boy that has the power psychic abilities (e.g. the Shining), the storyline/plot was a excellent pierce of crafted showcase material of Stephan Kings novel & had fanatics performances by the whole of the cast & well the directions were just fucking beautifully taken, lovely, amazing & horrific in every great way of capture of this movie for what it is & is a serious test of time masterpiece well done Stanley Kubrick’s (what a director for this Movie & our time & his era, One of his very best Movie that I think).
The directions by Stanley Kubrick (is a very gifted director & this Movie really shows his talents & unique style) was making this movie for what it was had he did a super perfect job of it ( and shouldn’t have be nominated for a Razzie for worst director 1981, what a load of crap Razzie are.) the acting was absolutely fanatics performance by the whole cast (but Shelley Duvall did do a great performance but seemed a bit of keys to me) by Jack Nicholson (another greatest Performance as a mad, crazy man & loved his mad creepy smile, you just got love Jack Nicholson, what a true performer for his character) , Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd (what a lovely little boy to have troubled flashback of the Hotel past excellent performance for his age), Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone & Joe Turkel and the outcome of the ending was mainly odd, weirdo, strange, crazy & I very, very clever ending as a lot & lot of people I think won’t understand or get it, but I did & it places all the pierce of the puzzle for me, as for me it one of the tense haunted Hotel ending I’ve ever seen & is frankly one of the best psychological Horror/Thriller/Mystery Haunted House Movie ever made (end off Stanley Kubrick’s did a super job of adaption Stephen Kings Novel, I respect this Movie very much soo & will be my memories for a long, long time).
(The Famous saying the “Here’s Johnny” Quotes & the famous scene of the blood coming out of the elevator (it show the whole of the trailer of that scene) & the axe though the door where he says his famous Quote, which are my entire favourite too.)
A classic.
i absolutely love this movie, one of my favorites. the first time that i watched this movie, i was really young and with some of my uncles at their house down the street from mine, and when it was over they made me walk home by myself in the dark late at night. i was fucking terrified. all i could think about was the old rotting hag coming to get me. Nicholson plays one of his best roles ever in this movie, i mean he really comes off as mad and insane as hell. still think that Duvall should have been nominated for her role as the wife. Kubrick masters the suspense through out the film, and i love how trippy he makes the movie. and the music is fucking nuts! overall an excellent movie that needs to be viewed by everyone, including sara palin, at least once a week!!
Scary!!!
A classic! Scary as Hell! Recommended!
This is, without a doubt, one of the creepiest movies i have EVER seen.
This movie was amazing, The cast was great besides Shelly Duvall who was ugly as shit and she did a bad job in her performance but everything was well done. This movie will make you want to watch it again and again it’s a classic no wonder it’s so popular?
love,love,love
One of the greatest horror movies ever made.
I can’t believe someone below gave this movie a one star rating. You need to leave Bloody-Disgusting and never return, you are not welcome here.
This is one of the greatest horror movies of all time, period.
really good. its a enjoiable mvie through the whole but it just feels like there is something missing
A classic, directed by the great Stanley Kubrick, suspense from beginning to end, and a couple of wonderful and memorable scenes.
This movie is the example of the perfect horror film, But any movie with a badass like Jack Nicholson playing the best role of his life is destined for GOD status. 10000 thousand skulls are not enough for this holy grail of hell.
DeathRay87…. i agree with you on this one. next to the Exorcist and The Thing one of my favorite movies.
One of the best horror films of all time-both clever and really scary, but watch the european version, it’s much better paced than the american version.
Some of the best films are the ones which provoke us to return to their often questionable realms for a second coming, not long after we’ve tried to – or succeeded in – absorb every last bit of information that we possibly can. Perhaps we come back because we still have questions left unanswered, or maybe we just want to experience it all again. The places that I speak of are sometimes pleasant (the beach resort of “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday”), and other times intentionally unpleasant (the Bates Motel and House of “Psycho”). “The Shining” is such a film that contains a place where we find a disturbing sense of solace. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on a source novel written by the talented and exquisite Stephen King. This “place” that it presents is one that we enjoy even though terror and fright is most certainly around every corner, and at all times. It’s an admirable film and more; a landmark for the horror genre, which was and forevermore is a relatively new genre for Mr. Kubrick. He hadn’t worked there before. But…much like the film’s central character, you never know where you’ve been and what you’ve done; maybe hidden (genre) talent rests in illusions. Kubrick had made thrillers before he made “The Shining”. So he had crafted pure suspense, thrills, and now all he needed to master was atmosphere in the way of stunning imagery that was both fascinating and frightening. Some feel he missed his mark; I think he made a film that was, as usual, way ahead of its time.
King did not think favorably of it. I don’t believe he ever will. Those who read the horror master’s novel felt that the film was not faithful enough to be called a solid adaptation; many found it to be extremely mediocre at best. But then, there are those who can take a few steps back and see the film as its own story; its own work of art. Kubrick does indeed leave out a few plot details from the book, while in the process, adding a few new ones; but such actions are, as I feel, what make it such a special film. It’s pure cinema; visually unforgettable and surprisingly witty. It’s slow, suspenseful, and grotesque; it does the job and delivers every single one of the “goods”; unless you consider the usual sadism and abundance of repulsive gore among such things. I don’t.
Stephen King’s location of memorability was a hotel; but not just any old hotel. There’s something ominous about it; as if a tragedy had once struck, thus plaguing the place with mad, evil forces. We know that something isn’t quite right, yet Kubrick directs the film in such a way that it becomes hypnotic; addicting, even. We can’t stop watching, we can’t look away, and no matter how we may try to deny it, we are engaged.
So with the location given, the characters shall be properly introduced. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and his family, which includes his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Llloyd), have just made a big move to a large hotel in Maine known as the Overlook Hotel; where Jack has found work as the new caretaker. It is revealed that the previous caretaker had mysteriously gone on a psychotic and murderous rampage; killing his entire family and eventually ending it all by offing himself via bullet-to-head. This very fact does not discourage Jack, who initially comes off as a relatable, healthy, recovering father figure who shares a troubled past with his young son, who himself has some problems of his own. Either Danny isn’t coping well with the change of location, or what he claims to see through his eyes only truly is existent. The hotel cook informs him that he has a strange ability that he refers to as “shining”. Such an ability comes with telepathic communication; something which Danny most certainly possesses.
The cook also mentions that the hotel itself has a “shine” to it. What does he mean by this? We don’t wonder this for too, too long. In time, things begin to unfold; but not as quickly as we may anticipate. Jack seems to be going mad. Like Danny, he is “seeing things”. While Danny sees the ghosts of two young girls who were brutally killed in that earlier hotel incident, Jack is greeted to visions of melting, deformed, initially whimsical naked women and various other hallucinations. He’s a recovering alcoholic, and King’s original story focused plenty on the dangers of such a past life-style as Jack’s, although I still feel that the film touches such subjects fairly skillfully. There are scenes where Jack approaches the hotel bar in a dream-like state. The scene itself is presumably a dream. He drinks up; and he keeps on drinking. There’s a clever little conversation between him and the bartender in that very moment; and it makes up one of my favorite scenes of the film. But I’m getting off track.
It isn’t my job to spoil “The Shining”. There’s plenty to look into when it comes to the film itself, which is on the surface, just an entertaining, creepy, atmospheric chiller that aims to shock as well as please genre fans. However, underneath, it’s something more. There are characters that we truly like here; from jolly ol’ Jack to his wife, to his kid to the all-knowing cook. Every character has a personality. Even the hotel walls seem to speak as many words and tell as many stories as any of these people do. When a film achieves something like that, you know it’s great. And in spite of where you personally stand, I feel that “The Shining” IS great. It’s 80′s horror as it should have always been done. It makes you wait for things to happen, sure, but it’s often more fun to anticipate the coming of future events than for them to actually happen. I’ve learned this from several years of watching this genre closely; and I’ve finally observed it enough to fully appreciate something like this film. It’s one of Kubrick’s best, and whether it’s faithful or not, one of the best Stephen King adaptations as well. Through a maddeningly masterful performance from Nicholson, a delightfully playful sense of insanity, and a disturbing feeling of pitch-perfect surrealism, “The Shining” is a knock-out. It asks us to follow the distant music and keep on following. I wonder if I’ll get to rest one of these days.
Great film, isolated atmosphere and creepy characters and other “goings on” that make it enjoyable on more than one level. I don’t find it as entertaining as a lot of people do, but I can see why it appeals to so many. I definitely appreciate it for what it is. It had a truly malicious tone to it. Almost a “clockwork orange” sort of ghost story.
Watched this last night. Has been years since I first saw this … needless to say the Shining holds up to the test of time. One of my all time favorites. Excellent atmosphere, story, tension, and climax. Solid acting. Hard to beat.
Very spooky.
Who doesn’t love The Shining this is a classic horror movie, and Jack Nicholson’s performance was incredibly awesome.
This is a horror movie that you’ll watch time and time again.
This is more about my experience than an actual review. OK here we go….I read the Stephen King novel twice before I finally got to see this movie at a late night showing in Southend, Essex,UK in the 80âe(TM)s. Stephen King had a problem with Stanley Kubricks interpretation, other websites go into this in more detail but to be fair if you want the actual version of the book, Stephen King remade it in 1997 as a TV mini series, and that version is pretty good. It has a couple of moments in Stephen Kingâe(TM)s film version of ‘The Shining’ which I wish was in Mr Kubrickâe(TM)s version. ‘The Shining’ has influenced me throughout my life. I remember in the 80′s when I used to say it was my favourite film of all time, people would look down their noses in disapproval or laugh. Nowadays when I say âe~The Shiningâe(TM) is one of my all time favourites people agree…My instinct was correct all those years ago.
For me there is nothing more scary than having Jack Nicholson chasing you down long corridors with an axe in a hotel isolated in the middle of bloody nowhere. Period. (OK, I lied, if you have played games âe~Dead Spaceâe(TM) and ‘Dead Space 2′ on Xbox 360 thatâe(TM)s not scary, itâe(TM)s bloody terrifying!). I took my film club buddies to a special screening of âe~The Shiningâe(TM) at the REX Cinema in Berkhamsted, a beautiful red and gold art deco cinema, unmatched by any other venue here in the UK.
The atmosphere of The Rex was perfect to see âe~The Shiningâe(TM). The icing on the cake, which was unexpected, was that Kubrickâe(TM)s daughter introduced the film. âe~Wow, it doesnâe(TM)t get better than thisâe(TM) I said at the time. It was a dream come true to see this film for the second time on the big screen. My good friend Wayne had never seen it before, he said afterwards…âe(TM)I dunno what to say, I canâe(TM)t say I liked it because it was an experience. It blew me away. Iâe(TM)m speechlessâe(TM). Wayneâe(TM)s totally right, the film is an experience and one that Iâe(TM)ve cherished.
The film had an ongoing impact with me, ‘Jack Torrence’ would be the part I was born to play, but damn, Stanley made it when I was too young to play a recovering alcoholic father. Years ago when we went to Canada and crossed over to Maine, I enquired about the location of the âe~Overlook Hotelâe(TM). At the time I didnâe(TM)t know the inside scenes were film sets. And I was way off target to travel to the actual Timberline lodge which is an hours drive from Portland. The lodge is featured in the film as the outside of the âe~Overlook Hotelâe(TM). So eventually a video shop owner in Maine (with a shelved wall dedicated to only Stephen King videos) told me where the man himself, Stephen King, lived… I was going to press the button on the open security gate to Stephen’s home, but my bottle went, I chickened out. The home was huge, red with iron fencing with three serpent headed iron bats resting on the gate entrances.
My friend Guy has an actual framed print from the film which is very cool, I have a Blu âe” ray copy I bought overseas which is the full version. A long time ago I had the idea for a film âe~Shining 2âe(TM). The story; a group goes on a trip to see where âe~The Shiningâe(TM) locations and influences are ….and one of the group actually has some kind of breakdown similar to the Jack Torrence character. I remember seeing a similar idea in the sequel to ‘The Blair Witch Project’. I missed the boat on that one, I had a good idea and someone else not only thought of it as well, they had the means to implement it.
Nicholson is spectacular in the role of Jack Torrence, Shelley Duvall is an absolute wreck as the story develops. The making of âe~The Shiningâe(TM) by Kubrickâe(TM)s daughter is enlightening, especially about Kubrickâe(TM)s demands on Shelley. The film is way ahead of its time, especially with the Steadicam work that enables the camera operator to run smooth following the actors, most notably the child on the cycle Go Kart rolling over wood and carpet, in turn creating the distinct changing floor thud sounds. Awesome stuff. I also remember seeing the soundtrack available on record once in London, I didnâe(TM)t buy it and boy do I regret it now because itâe(TM)s unavailable. So many film makers have been influenced by this film and deservedly so. Kubrickâe(TM)s obsession with attention to detail is crazy or genius; everyone has their own take on this. I think itâe(TM)s a bit of both. However, it is the end result that matters.
I wonder what people in their twenties and thirties feel about the film. Maybe itâe(TM)s not on their radar or they have their own personal film thatâe(TM)s made a mark. Who knows. Itâe(TM)s inevitable one day âe~The Shiningâe(TM) will be remade. You could research so much about this film online, it really is that interesting. I remember reading that Simon Cowell almost worked on it but decided not to. I hope this film holds itâe(TM)s value in the future, itâe(TM)s so unique. Terrific.
bleedingcritic
bleedingfilms.com
This is one of the greatest and the best horror movie ever made & Jack Nicholson performance is just perfect.
A great, classic movie.
There are no words that can describe a masterpiece like this.
Comment
It is undeniable that The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrik, is a fantastic horror film. Anyone who watches it is sure to be terrified by the strange hotel and the story of a family’s spiral into madness. But the question is just what type of horror film is The Shining? Is it a ghost story? Or is it just a story about a family that is locked up in a hotel and goes mad? In the book The Shining, Stephen King makes this much clearer, but Kubrik decides to let the audience interpret the film in their own way.
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) gets a job as the winter caretaker for The Overlook Hotel. He and his family, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd), will be staying at The Overlook while it’s closed for the winter. Danny isn’t an ordinary five year old. He has a psychic gift that is called the “shining”. He sees things that have happened in the past and things that may happen. Jack also sees things. There are parts in the movie that leave the audience questioning if what Jack and Danny are seeing is real. Are these really visions of the past? Ghosts? Or is the family just going crazy? These questions aren’t really answered in the movie.
Despite these questions, The Shining is still a great movie. The cinematography in this movie is amazing. When Danny rides around the hotel on his bike, the camera follows behind him and gives the audience an eerie feeling. With every corner he turns, the audience is on the edge of their seat waiting for something terrifying to happen. The camera angles emphasize how huge and empty The Overlook is, but still manages to give a claustrophobic feeling. When Danny has his visions, the camera switches back and forth from what he’s seeing to his face. It emphasizes his visions and makes the scene scarier. The music in this movie is at times a bit distracting and over-the-top, but it definitely makes even small scenes much more terrifying. The music and sounds used throughout the movie are very well done.
The actors were also chosen well. Jack Nicholson is known for his dark, dramatic characters and he does not disappoint. From the beginning of the movie, his character gives off a strange vibe and we get the feeling that he may not be quite right. He does a great job of slowly escalating that vibe and really taking the audience through his descent into madness. When he bashes in the bathroom door with an axe and screams “Here’s Johnny!” the audience really see a man that has gone completely and utterly insane. Shelley Duvall plays the perfect role of the obedient wife and mother who is secretly terrified of her husband and maybe even of her child. When Jack rudely yells at her to not interrupt him while he’s working, she timidly answers “al-alright”. Danny Lloyd also does a great job as a little boy with a strange gift. Even his own parents don’t understand him. Together they play the perfect dysfunctional family.
If one were to watch this movie expecting an adaptation of the book or try to make sense of every detail, they would be disappointed. The truth is, a lot of things in this movie don’t make very much sense and aren’t well explained. However they don’t have to be, it leaves the movie open to be interpreted many different ways. Is the Overlook haunted? Was the whole movie just the imagination of a family’s descent into madness? The world may never know.