The Shining (1980)
95%RT Audience Score: 93%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 8 nominations
Though it deviates from Stephen King’s novel, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is a chilling, often baroque journey into madness — exemplified by an unforgettable turn from Jack Nicholson.
The Shining is a classic horror movie that will leave you feeling both terrified and confused. Kubrick’s unique style of storytelling and visual imagery will keep you on the edge of your seat, wondering what will happen next. And let’s not forget about Jack Nicholson’s iconic performance as the deranged Jack Torrance. It’s a must-watch for any horror fan, but be warned – you may never look at a hotel the same way again.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Hawk Films, Peregrine
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Timberline Lodge, Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for disturbing violent content and behavior, bloody images, graphic nudity, and strong language
Year of Release
1980
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:2h 22m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States, United Kingdom
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 23, 1980 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2007
Genre(s)
Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, Philip Stone, directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson, horror, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Denby, Matthew Rozsa, Lee Lescaze, Adam Nayman, Bob Thomas, Bruce McCabe, Cody Dericks, Brian Eggert, Ray Pride, Tony Black, Brian Gill, Kent Garrison, R, Warner Bros Pictures, Robert Fryer, MPAA rating, Overlook Hotel, Colorado, writer’s block, psychic premonitions, homicidal maniac, family, dislocation, haunted-house movie, gallows humor, visual images, suspense, terror, cinematic maze, atmosphere, tension, family drama, production design, cinematography, soundtrack
Worldwide gross: $47,299,460
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $177,767,410
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 762
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 19,385,759
US/Canada gross: $45,634,352
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $171,509,370
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 446
US/Canada opening weekend: $622,337
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $2,338,953
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,187
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $19,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $71,408,443
Production budget ranking: 594
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $38,453,447
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $67,905,521
ROI to date (est.): 62%
ROI ranking: 1,092
Shelley Duvall – Winifred “Wendy” Torrance
Danny Lloyd – Danny Torrance
Scatman Crothers – Dick Hallorann
Barry Nelson – Stuart Ullman
Philip Stone – Delbert Grady
Director(s)
Stanley Kubrick
Writer(s)
Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson
Producer(s)
Robert Fryer, Stanley Kubrick
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 8 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (99) | Top Critics (23) | Fresh (83) | Rotten (16)
There are a few terrific thrills, and some eerie moments of dislocation that only Kubrick could achieve, but most of the movie is unfelt, unscary, and bizarrely heavy-handed. It’s the first pompous haunted-house movie.
June 17, 2022
David Denby
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
The classic Stanley Kubrick film isn’t just scary – it is also, in its own odd way, defined by a hopeful perspective on life and death.
November 6, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
Matthew Rozsa
Salon.com
TOP CRITIC
It’s an interesting movie, but not the ultimate work in its genre that some expected from one of the great directors.
September 24, 2019
Lee Lescaze
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
[It] Kubrick’s gallows humor, which was always about confronting and critiquing his audience’s baser impulses: reinventing The Shining as a slapstick comedy about murderous patriarchal insecurity is a daring move.
September 5, 2019
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
Kubrick is master of visual images, and many of the scenes display his brilliance. But much of the suspense ends in anti-climax, and Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall seem over-extended in trying to maintain the terror.
July 17, 2019
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
When you sit down to The Shining, you sit down with normal expectations of being diverted, perhaps even being gripped, but not being undermined. But the film undermines you in powerful, inchoate ways.
April 26, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
An unending roller coaster of terror that knows exactly how to get under the skin of anyone who watches it.
July 5, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Cody Dericks
Next Best Picture
The terrifying aspect of The Shining, and its most enduring quality, is how Kubrick has trapped us in his cinematic maze to search without hope of ever discovering an adequate answer outside of our own making.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
He’s always been the caretaker. Yet he’s not fully aware, unlike Phil in Groundhog Day, who improves himself over what could be millions of years. (An aside from Harold Ramis about that story’s duration.)
December 19, 2021 | Rating: 10/10
Ray Pride
Newcity
A true masterpiece.
February 16, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Tony Black
Cultural Conversation
Each viewing reestablishes The Shining as one of the greatest horror movies of all-time.
February 10, 2021 | Rating: A+
Brian Gill
Mad About Movies Podcast
I have never watched The Shining and not been blown away. It’s an absolute clinic in atmosphere, tension, family drama, production design, cinematography, and so much more.
December 26, 2020 | Rating: A+
Kent Garrison
Mad About Movies Podcast…
Plot
Haunted by a persistent writer’s block, the aspiring author and recovering alcoholic, Jack Torrance, drags his wife, Wendy, and his gifted son, Danny, up snow-capped Colorado’s secluded Overlook Hotel after taking up a job as an off-season caretaker. As the cavernous hotel shuts down for the season, the manager gives Jack a grand tour, and the facility’s chef, the ageing Mr Hallorann, has a fascinating chat with Danny about a rare psychic gift called “The Shining”, making sure to warn him about the hotel’s abandoned rooms, and, in particular, the off-limits Room 237. However, instead of overcoming the dismal creative rut, little by little, Jack starts losing his mind, trapped in an unforgiving environment of seemingly endless snowstorms, and a gargantuan silent prison riddled with strange occurrences and eerie visions. Now, the incessant voices inside Jack’s head demand sacrifice. Is Jack capable of murder?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jack Nicholson’s performance as Jack Torrance in The Shining is described as “unforgettable” by Fresh Kernels.
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