Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson Directed By: Stanley Kubrick Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Original recording remastered, NTSC Label: Warner Home Video Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 12, 2001 Running Time: 143 minutes Theatrical Release Date: May 23, 1980
Product Description: Opening with spectacular aerial shots of a beautiful, mountainous landscape, Stanley Kubrick's horror classic THE SHINING sucks the viewer into his frightening tale with quiet, relaxing visuals--but the ominous soundtrack warns that all is not right at the gorgeous Overlook Hotel. Based on Stephen King's best-selling novel, the film stars Jack Nicholson at his eyebrow-raising best in his portrayal of Jack Torrance, a Vermont schoolteacher working at the Overlook as a winter caretaker. The glorious early-20th century resort only operates in warm weather because the snowy roads deny access in the colder months, so Jack brings his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), with him, as well as his young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), who possesses some unique psychic powers. As the Torrances settle in for the long, lonely months ahead, strange, unexplainable things start occurring in the hotel--and in every scene Jack seems to be growing a little more evil and dangerous.... Cinematographer John Alcott (who also worked on BARRY LYNDON and A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) allows his Steadicam to float eerily through the deserted halls and corridors of the hotel, creating a creepy air of tension as Jack plummets into madness. Kubrick's obsessive eye for detail is prevalent throughout; the famous scene where Danny rides his toy buggy through the hotel is remarkable for Alcott's gliding camerawork and the desolate sound of the wheels alternately scraping across the hardwood and carpeted floors. Nicholson and Duvall are outstanding throughout, with both actors running the full gamut of human emotions as the film races towards a thrilling conclusion. Supplemented by an oddball cast of dead twin girls, suicidal ax-murdering ghosts, Scatman Crothers as the hotel cook, and many other weird and wonderful figures, Kubrick's film is a pulse-racing treat that is among the best in his inimitable body of work.
Amazon.com essential video: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel than a complete reimagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's movie is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer, who's settled in for a long winter's hibernation. As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him--all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demands for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying--but not in the way fans of the novel might expect. When it was redone as a TV miniseries (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there--but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... --Jim Emerson
Amazon.com: Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's bestselling horror novel than a complete reimagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's movie is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer, who's settled in for a long winter's hibernation. As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him--all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demands for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying--but not in the way fans of the novel might expect. When it was redone as a TV miniseries (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there--but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... --Jim Emerson
Aspect ratios Kubrick said to his photographer on the Shining, "the frame is exactly 1.85:1." "Obviously, you compose for that but protect the full 1.33:1 area." Hence, the new dvd and blu-ray are the closest to being correct. Why closest? They're slightly blown up to 1.78:1.
Jack Nicholson at His Best in One of Stephen King's Best This is a great horror movie that could give you insomnia. I actually visited the hotel in Estes Park, Colorado where Stephen King stayed that inspired this book. I also heard an interview with King where he talked about working in a Laundromat and living in a trailer, being shut in the trailer with his screaming children while it was snowing. Jack Nicholson is fantastic in this movie as an alcoholic father cooped up with his kids while snowed in as a caretaker in a haunted hotel. He literally goes stir crazy and starts drinking and battling his demons. When he comes down the hall with the ax in his hand, I think it is one of the best scenes ever in a psychological horror film. This is a classic horror film and should not be watched anywhere near Father's Day. Power Path to Love
Blu Ray is the only way for this masterpiece. Okay, I must say. The Shining is an amazing film, it's suspenseful and scary. I will say that the way the atmosphere and and cinematography was really brought up on the Blu Ray transfer. It added more to Kubrick's horror masterpiece. It also has a lot of bonus material to keep the viewer happy. Not only that, it also has a play back option so when you take the disc out and put it back in the movie will play back where you left off which is convenient. The picture could not be any better/ clear. If you want to get the shining, get it on Blu Ray!
Classic! Well this is probably hands down the best psychological thriller ever put to film with the exception of psycho. At any rate if you have never seen this masterpiece....shame on you! The newer two disk versions second disk has some cool btsi with Jackie and goofy Shelly Duvall which are hilarious! And ahhh. Kubricks shots in the film make the movie that much creepier! Turn the lights off, turn the sound up, and scare the hell out of yourself!
Perhaps the Best Horror Ever Not much to say. Even though its an old movie by today's standards, this is the ultimate horror movie. Must be seen, owned and appreciated.
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