The Shining [P&S]

Overview

In legendary director Stanley Kubrick's chilling adaptation of Stephen King's horror novel, Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance, a struggling writer who accepts a job as caretaker of The Overlook Hotel, a luxurious but remote resort closed for the winter, where Jack, his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and their son Danny (Danny Lloyd) will be the only residents for several snowy months. Jack hopes that the solitude will give him a chance to focus on his writing; problems with alcohol have made him abusive and cost him more than one job. While giving the Torrances a tour of the Overlook, Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers) senses that Danny shares his gift of "shining," the ability to read thoughts and see the spirits of the dead. And there are malevolent spirits aplenty at the Overlook; soon Jack is seeing them as well, and he falls from his shaky stability into full-blown murderous madness, with Danny's powers offering the family's only hope of survival. Nicholson's over-the-top performance is never less than compelling, and it's amusingly appropriate that Jack, bitterly sarcastic while sane, would turn into a gleefully wisecracking murderer while mad. And Kubrick offers ample evidence of his genius as a visual stylist; once seen, such images as Danny's winding through the Overlook on his tricycle, a river of blood pouring forth from an elevator, and the beautiful but dangerous woman in room 237 cannot be forgotten. The Shining was remade as a 1997 TV mini-series, scripted by Stephen King, who objected to Kubrick's version; more faithful to the book, it didn't achieve this film's unnerving power.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/2010
UPC:	0883929091614
Original Release:	1980
Rating:	R
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	2:22:00
Sales rank:	12,969

Special Features

Closed Caption; Behind-the-scenes documentary the making of The Shining with commentary by director Vivian Kubrick; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jack Nicholson	Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall	Wendy Torrance
Danny Lloyd	Danny Torrance
Scatman Crothers	Dick Hallorann
Barry Nelson	Stuart Ullman
Philip Stone	Charles Grady
Joe Turkel	Lloyd
Anne Jackson	Doctor
Tony Burton	Durkin
Lia Beldam	Young Woman in Bath
Billie Gibson	Old Woman in Bath
Barry Dennen	Watson
David Baxt	Forest Ranger 1
Manning Redwood	Forest Ranger 2
Lisa Burns	Grady Daughter,Grady Daughter
Robin Pappas	Nurse
Alison Coleridge	Secretary
Burnell Tucker	Policeman
Jana Shelden	Stewardess
Kate Phelps	Receptionist
Norman Gay	Injured Guest
Pauline Chamberlain	Woman in Black Gown in Ballroom
Jana Sheldon	Stewardess

Technical Credits

Stanley Kubrick

Diane Johnson

Stanley Kubrick	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Jan Harlan	Executive Producer
Diane Johnson	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

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