The Shining (1980)

Year Released: 1980

Runtime: 146 minutes

Directed: Stanley Kubrick

Produced: Stanley Kubrick, Jan Harlan

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Cruthers

Oscars: Literally nothing, which is a shame.

IMDb Plot Summary: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.

Context, Context, Context: What Created The Shining, and Why it’s Still Relevant

King and Kubrick. Stephen King is one of the most renowned authors in recent memory, and The Shining is one of his most famous novels. An immediate hit upon its release in 1977, a movie adaptation was inevitable. Stanley Kubrick had already cemented himself as one of the most visionary filmmakers ever, with works that spanned multiple genres. Following the success of Spartacus (my first-ever review on this site), Kubrick had solidified his reputation enough to begin taking over complete artistic control of his films, which is when his most groundbreaking work began getting produced. 2001: A Space Odyssey was and is one of the most important films ever made, and Kubrick didn’t just blow our minds visually; he stunned the audience by throwing away a traditional narrative structure in order to highlight the artistry and experiential nature of film. As time went on, he began to work less frequently while still producing excellent films – these shoots began running long due to his perfectionism and wish for control of every aspect of every frame. Once he came across The Shining, he knew he had found his next project and a chance to produce another bizarre yet masterful piece of art, but one that might attract more audiences than Barry Lyndon, his previous film, had. Kubrick was able to secure the two lead actors that he always intended to use for the characters, and they set off on a long, difficult shoot. One key new technology was introduced just before they began filming: Steadicam.

The legacy of The Shining. Commercially, Kubrick got the product he was looking for – he even released a further-cut version for Europe to better attract audiences there. As is the case with most of his work, The Shining was met with mixed critical reviews upon release. Much of the film is intentionally disorienting and confusing, and several smaller plot elements don’t fit together – something that critics didn’t like. They also took issue with his slow-burn pacing, changes to King’s novel (as did King). However, within the decade of its premier, critics realized that there was something so special and unique about this film that they kept revisiting, and it has since come to be considered a masterpiece. 2001 had a similar experience, and in all fairness, this is quite an odd film. We spend 2.5 hours with one family, watching them either experience supernatural occurrences or simple hallucinations/cabin fever (the film never tells you which is which) while constantly being subjected to weird noises and soundtrack cues, with occasional title cards that only serve to further disorient. One darker legacy of this film is the treatment of Shelley Duvall – to get the necessary performance, Kubrick literally drove her to the point of insanity. She continues to claim it was worth it, and her performance is a key part of this movie’s impact. However, it’s something that would never happen in the modern age, and for good reason.

Conspiracy Theories. There is an entire documentary, Room 237, devoted to the people who subscribe to some pretty outlandish theories about this movie. I’ll leave it to you to dive down that rabbit hole, but they’re born from a few places: inconsistencies between the book and the film, and deliberate inconsistencies that Kubrick places into the film. If you’re a fan of The Shining, I encourage you to at least explore these theories, and to read the ways that people analyze this film. There are a lot of themes at play here that are worth exploring, and Kubrick has assembled a narrative and visual puzzle that is intended to not be fully understood – just sit back and get haunted.

The Story and its Characters

Supernatural yet personal. As I mentioned before, there are several key themes at play here, one of which is ambiguity. Given the inconsistencies that I mentioned earlier, it’s hard to tell if the characters are simply hallucinating, or if there really are ghosts in this hotel; the answer seems to be both. The “logistics” of what kind of haunting we’re experiencing here, and how “shining” works are both deliberately left unanswered, only increasing our unease. One classic horror trope that’s in play here is the fact that the hotel was built on a Native American burial ground, but the actual haunting and what happens to our characters is the most fascinating aspect. While in the novel, Jack’s downfall and attempted murder of his family plays much more tragically, in the film Nicholson’s Jack Torrance is a sketchy character from the start – perhaps making him more susceptible to the evil temptations that the hotel offers. His encounters with the spirits seem personally designed to prey on his weaknesses: his past alcoholism, sexual temptation, his desire to have a job and purpose, his potential racism, and his frustration with his wife and son. It is a bold statement for the film to make that we may all have the potential to give into our worst instincts if properly pushed. Shelly Duvall’s Wendy is the other side of this coin, having to witness and attempt to survive the ultimate attempted murder by her husband after the hotel turns him evil; thus, the hotel is preying on her worst fear – her husband turning violent against her and her child. For all its supernatural pretenses, this film is so rattling because it explores very base fears and tragic realities. Alcoholism, infidelity, and domestic violence are not supernatural occurrences in our society, and the film successfully gets under our skin by having this be the crux of the horror, as opposed to the ghosts or demonic possession.

The performances. Without some maximalist performances from Nicholson and Duvall, this film would lose some of its impact. This is some of the best work of either of their careers, and the single project that they remain most proud of. I’d also like to give Danny Lloyd a shoutout for playing Danny Torrance, and Scatman Cruthers’ warmth as Dick Hallorann, which makes his death all the more horrific and shocking. If you’re forcing me to pick a favorite performance here, it’ll be Nicholson’s. He’s funny at times, quietly menacing in others, and gives some of the most iconic over-acting I’ve ever witnessed.

Technicalities

Kubrick in control. Kubrick oversaw virtually everything that you see on screen; he demanded multiple takes of his actors until they gave him what he thought was the exact performance he was looking for, or until they were worn down to the point of near breaking. Filling in the producer role, he was able to secure the studios and locations he had in mind, control the budget for materials so every shot and prop looked exactly like he wanted it to, so everything that you see on screen is exactly what he intends. He also worked extensively on the sound design and was in control of what music would play when. We’re constantly under assault from outlandish, bracing sounds and eerie music because that’s exactly what he intended. He also embraced the recently created Steadicam technology, meaning the camera could move freely as if it were handheld without any shake, as if it were on a mount. This created a very creepy effect – the camera is smoothly stalking our characters around the hotel, and we creep along with it, almost as if we’re the ones doing the haunting. At the same time, with every unexpected corner, we hold our breath.

My favorite technical aspect is the production design, especially the sets. The hedge maze, and the entire hotel are incredibly used. I learned a new phobia watching this movie that I definitely have – Kenophobia, the fear of empty spaces that should be full. This film is 2.5 hours of that, and it’s done exceptionally well. I also love the colors that Kubrick employs literally in the set, especially his particular shade of red. There is red in nearly every shot of the film, and its presence slowly gnaws at the viewer’s subconscious, and the scenes were red dominates the frame are also some of the most intense scenes in the film – this is no accident, but a mechanic to wear down and invade the mind of the audience.

John’s Highlight Reel

· Opening Credits/“The Interview”. The helicopter shots of Jack Nicholson’s car, winding through the mountains to his interview, with some of the most dread-inspiring music in movies is one hell of a way to start one hell of a film. It’s that simple.

· Do you like ice cream, doc? The movie deftly explains what “shining” is, while also presenting the layout of the hotel via a tour. However, the view feels a little lost from room to room, and that’s yet another clever trick from Kubrick to put us out of our comfort zones and build dread.

· Tricycle shots. The sequences of the Steadicam following Danny’s tricycle around are some of the first things I think of when I think about this movie. Kubrick isn’t just showing off by orchestrating some long takes – he’s doing what he does best in this film: slowly building dread to a satisfying and scary payoff. “Come play with us Danny” hasn’t aged a day.

· “Little slow tonight, Lloyd”. Is this a hallucination? Is this a real ghost? How does Jack know the bartender’s name? You’ll never get these answers, and some brilliantly creepy acting by both Nicholson and Joe Turkel show that Jack’s fall has begun. The metaphor for alcoholism as a demonic force is very clearly portrayed, very artistically lit/shot, and very well-written.

· Room 237. There is some imagery here that will burn the brain, and not just the decaying old woman. The whole bathroom is such a memorable shade of green, and signals that there is something otherworldly happening here before it happens. When Jack gives into the sexual temptation presented to him, only for the beautiful woman to turn into a literally decaying old woman, both the morality of his character and the audience’s wellbeing are irreparably hurt.

· “Perhaps they need a good talking to.” This is my favorite scene. What starts out as a near-harmless haunting akin to the earlier one with Lloyd turns absolutely sinister through one conversation. The slow-burn nature of this scene is a perfect microcosm of the slow-burn nature of the whole film, and the effect is hypnotic. The bathroom is oppressively red, which matches the intensity of the evil forces that have officially corrupted Jack.

· All work and no play. What an incredible prop, all the pages that say, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. They’re organized into different shapes on different pages and create such an incredibly effective reveal: Jack’s been steadily going crazy the whole time, and these pages are all he’s ever written. The following conversation exchanging threats is slightly tragic, but awfully menacing and wonderfully tense.

· “Here’s Johnny!” The shot of Nicholson’s face in the broken door delivering this line is so iconic, people who haven’t seen this film know it. What they may not know is how great the rest of the scene is – the tension is cranked up to 110%, and the swiveling camera capturing Nicholson swing the axe is still impressive 40 years on.

· Hallorann’s end. The build-up to Dick’s death is insane. We know Nicholson is behind one of those pillars, but we painstakingly follow Hallorann as he walks past each one, his voice echoing throughout the hotel. When he takes the axe to the chest and the music cranks, he screams, Danny screams, and the camera jumps between them in a way that’s jarring and thoroughly upsetting in so many ways.

· Final shot. The tension in the hedge maze is pretty great, and Wendy experiencing the full gamut of hotel spookiness is also pretty awesome. However, the final shot in the film (a slow push on the framed pictures to reveal the 1921 July 4th ball with Jack in attendance) is a prime example of how a movie’s ending can elevate the entire film. The reveal of Jack in a tuxedo in a picture taken in 1921 raises far more questions than it bothers to answer. Masterstroke.

Came for _____, Stayed for ______

The highlights. Of course I was waiting for the most iconic stuff, especially “Here’s Johnny!”. It’s what the film feels like it’s building to, and whenever those moments came, I was excited to see it. I also enjoyed getting to see those scenes play out in their entirety, but as far as the moments themselves are concerned, Kubrick more than delivers.

The experience. This film is an absolute tour de force. Once the family checks into the hotel, we are treated to an essentially nonstop experience of haunting. This movie is simply mesmerizing, and the Steadicam is a huge part of that. Another huge part is how it is very artistic when it wants to be, and the constantly bizarre sound design draws the viewer in. When the haunting begins, and Jack is corrupted into trying to kill his family, it feels natural since we’ve been spending so much time with the characters and have been experiencing the same things they have. For the pacing, look and feel thank Kubrick. For capturing the insanity their characters are increasingly subjected to, thank Nicholson and Duvall.