The Shining (film)

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The Shining
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stanley Kubrick
Produced by	Stanley Kubrick Jan Harlan Martin Richards
Written by	Novel: Stephen King Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick Diane Johnson
Starring	Jack Nicholson Shelley Duvall Danny Lloyd Scatman Crothers
Music by	Wendy Carlos Rachel Elkind
Cinematography	John Alcott
Editing by	Ray Lovejoy
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	May 23, 1980
Running time	Original cut 146 min. Cut version 142 min. European cut 119 min.
Country	United States and United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$22 million
Gross revenue	$64,984,856
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Shining is a 1980 horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Kubrick co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Diane Johnson. The film stars Jack Nicholson as tormented writer Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as his wife, Wendy, and Danny Lloyd as their son, Danny.

The film tells the fictional story of a writer, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), and his wife and son, who move into a reclusive hotel as caretaker. While there Torrance plans to write his new novel, but is distracted by mysterious occurences in the hotel and slowly goes crazy, going after his wife and son with an axe. Initial response to the film was mixed, but it did well at the box office. Subsequent critical assessment of the film has been more favorable.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 3 Cast 4 Reception 5 Music and soundtrack 6 Versions 7 Differences from the book 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Plot

The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

Jack Torrance interviews for a job at the Overlook Hotel. It is at an isolated location and features a massive hedge maze. Jack plans to write his novel while working at the hotel. The hotel manager, Mr. Ullman, tactfully informs Jack that years earlier the caretaker, Charles Grady, went crazy while performing the same job and brutally killed himself, along with his family. Jack's son, Danny, has an imaginary friend named Tony, he uses a strange voice to vocalize what Tony tells to him. Tony warns Danny about the hotel. Jack gets the job and the family arrives at the hotel as it is being shut down for the season. Danny sees two girls for a few moments but they say nothing and exit. The head chef Dick Hallorann recognizes that Danny is telepathic. When alone with Danny, Hallorann explains that he has a gift known as "shining". He tells Danny that not only do people shine, but sometimes places also shine. Danny asks about Room 237, but Hallorann sternly warns him not to go in the room.

The first month passes without incident. The Torrances enjoy the serenity of the hotel and the mountains. Jack is busy typing in the spacious Colorado room, but he is quite irritable and guarded about his book and declares the room off-limits. He soon develops writer's block and grows frustrated and depressed. On Tuesday, Danny finds the door to room 237 is locked. On Thursday, while Wendy and Danny play in the snow, Jack starts to slowly become deranged. On Saturday, a storm knocks out the phone lines. Danny again sees the two girls, but this time he sees that they were murdered. Although Danny is terrified, Tony tells him that these visions are merely like pictures, so he does not tell his parents.

The rest of the film happens on the following Wednesday. Danny, wandering around the hotel, finds the door to room 237 again, this time it is open and he enters. Immediately afterwards Jack has a terrible nightmare in which he uses an axe to chop Danny and Wendy to pieces, which he then recounts to Wendy. Soon Danny appears with his sweater ripped and bruises on his neck. Wendy accuses Jack of abusing Danny and takes him back to their suite. Jack is furious about the accusation, and storms out of his room, making his way to the Gold Room. When he goes to the bar, he sees a bartender, who serves him a drink. Wendy enters to find Jack asleep at the bar. She says that Danny claims to have encountered "a crazy woman" in room 237. Wendy locks herself and Danny in their suite while Jack goes to investigate. He sees a naked and attractive woman in the bathtub. She steps out of the tub and they kiss, but then Jack sees her, in the bathroom mirror, as a naked old woman with rotting skin. He escapes, locking the door. Jack denies to Wendy that anything is amiss in room 237. Wendy now wants to leave for Danny's sake, but they argue and Jack leaves to wander about the hotel. Jack returns to the Gold Room, which is now the scene of a posh 1920s style New Year's party. After getting another drink, he spills advocaat on his jacket, and goes with a butler to the bathroom to clean up. The butler introduces himself as Delbert Grady. Jack recognizes his name. Grady tells Jack that Danny has "a great talent" and is using it to bring an outsider — Dick Hallorann. Grady refers to how he "corrected" his family and advises Jack to do the same.

At about the same time as Danny goes into Room 237, Hallorann, who is spending his winter in Florida, has a horrible vision of bloodshed related to the hotel. The vision is of an elevator door opening and a flood of blood pouring forth. This vision is later repeated several times to other characters. Dick tries to contact the Torrances and after finding no way to do so, he books the next flight back to Colorado. He is slowed by the storm, but he manages to borrow a snowcat and slowly drives up to the hotel that night.

Wendy arms herself with a bat and goes to talk to Jack about leaving. Jack is not in the Colorado room, but Wendy looks at the page in the typewriter. She sees the entire typed manuscript is just repetitions of a single sentence, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". Jack appears and asks: "How do you like it?", but Wendy is now terrified. Jack continues to taunt her and approach and threaten her. She hits him hard on the head with the bat and he falls unconscious down a flight of stairs. Wendy drags Jack to the large pantry and locks him inside. Jack wakes up and it becomes clear that Jack has hurt his leg during the fall. Wendy arms herself with a large kitchen knife. Jack tells her he has already sabotaged the radio, as well as the snowcat, stranding them at the hotel. Wendy goes to confirm this.

By the evening, still trapped in the pantry, Jack falls asleep on the floor. Roused by the sound of Grady's voice, Jack has another conversation with Grady, and the pantry door unlocks.

Wendy and Danny have locked themselves in their suite. Danny, who since visiting Room 237 has only been speaking in Tony's voice, has been having visions of the word "redrum". While Wendy is asleep, Danny uses her lipstick to draw the word on the bathroom door. Danny then wakes Wendy, who sees the word in the mirror and sees "murder" spelled backwards. At that moment, Jack arrives with an axe and starts to chop down the door to their suite. Wendy and Danny lock themselves in the bathroom. Danny is able to escape through the window but Wendy cannot fit through it. After chopping away one of the door panels with his axe, Jack sticks his hand through the gap to turn the lock. Wendy slashes his hand with the knife and he recoils. They then both hear the rumble of an approaching snowcat engine, as Hallorann arrives. In the entrance hall Jack ambushes Halloran and kills him with the axe. Danny, hiding in a kitchen cabinet, cries out as Hallorann dies. Jack hears Danny's scream and searches for him, limping and armed with his bloody axe.

Wendy starts to search the hotel and has several ghostly encounters. Danny has run outside, so Jack turns on the outside lights, including the hedge maze. Jack then follows Danny into the snowy maze. Danny realizes he is leaving a trail of footprints in the snow for Jack to follow and he retraces his steps, then hides nearby in the labyrinth. When Jack arrives, he finds that Danny's footprints suddenly end, but he continues wandering and searching. Danny takes this opportunity to follow his own footprints back to the maze's entrance. Wendy makes her way out of the hotel just as Danny emerges from the maze. They get into the snowcat and drive away. Jack hears the engine start and then fade, realizing that he has lost, he sits down, exhausted. In the morning Jack is shown frozen to death.

Just before the end credits, the audience sees a photograph of a lavish ball which had been hanging in the hotel the entire time. In the center of the picture is a young Jack; the caption reads: "Overlook Hotel, July 4th Ball, 1921".

[edit] Production

Filming took place at both Pinewood Studios and Elstree Studios in England. The set for the Overlook Hotel was then the largest ever built. It included a full recreation of the exterior of the hotel, as well as the interiors. A few exterior shots were done at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon. They are noticeable because the hedge maze is missing. The interiors are based on those of the Ahwahnee hotel in Yosemite National Park. The Timberline Lodge requested Kubrick change the sinister Room 217 of King's novel to 237, so customers would stay in their own room 217 fearlessly.

The massive set would be Kubrick's first use of the Steadicam. The door that Jack breaks down with the axe near the end of the movie was a real door. Kubrick originally used a fake door, made of a weaker wood, but Jack Nicholson, who had worked as a volunteer fire marshal, tore it down too quickly. Kubrick did not include the topiary animals of King's books in the hedge maze, which come alive at the novel's end, due to a lack of interest in them and limitations of special effects. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, The Shining holds the record for the film with most retakes of a single scene (with spoken dialogue) at 127 takes. The participant in those retakes was Shelley Duvall.

Jack's line, "Heeeeere's Johnny!", is taken from the famous introduction for The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson, as spoken by Ed McMahon. The line was ad-libbed by Nicholson. Carson later used the Nicholson clip to open his 1980 Anniversary Show on NBC.

The opening panorama shots (which were used by Ridley Scott for the closing moments of the original cut of the film Blade Runner) and scenes of the Volkswagen Beetle on the road to the hotel were filmed in Glacier National Park in Montana. These scenes were filmed out of a helicopter, which can be seen briefly in the open matte version of the film in the lower right-hand corner of the screen and whose blades can be seen when first shown the exterior of the hotel.

Stanley Kubrick allowed his then-17-year-old daughter, Vivian, to make a documentary about the production of The Shining. Created originally for the BBC television show Arena, this documentary offers rare insight into the shooting process of a Kubrick film. The documentary, together with full-length commentary by Vivian Kubrick, is included on both DVD releases of The Shining.

[edit] Cast

• Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
• Shelley Duvall as Winifred "Wendy" Torrance
• Danny Lloyd as Daniel "Danny" Torrance
• Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann
• Barry Nelson as Stuart Ullman
• Philip Stone as Delbert Grady
• Joe Turkel as Lloyd the Bartender
• Anne Jackson as Doctor
• Tony Burton as Larry Durkin
• Barry Dennen as Bill Watson
• Lisa Burns as Grady Twin #1
• Louise Burns as Grady Twin #2
• Vivian Kubrick (uncredited) as Smoking guest in ballroom

[edit] Reception

The film opened to mixed reviews, but did very well commercially with audiences and made Warner Brothers a profit. For example, Variety staff criticized Kubrick for destroying what was terrifying in Stephen King's novel.^[1] As with most Kubrick films, subsequent critical reaction reviews the film more favorably.

Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 86%.^[2] Stephen King has been quoted as saying that although Kubrick made a solid film with memorable imagery it was not a good adaptation of his novel.^[3] He thought that his novel's important themes, such as the disintegration of the family and the dangers of alcoholism, were ignored. Kubrick made other changes that King disparaged. King especially viewed the casting of Nicholson as a mistake and a tip-off to the audience (due to Nicholson's identification with the character of McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) that the character Jack would go mad.

As noted by Roger Ebert:

“

If Jack did indeed freeze to death in the labyrinth, of course his body was found -- and sooner rather than later, since Dick Hallorann alerted the forest rangers to serious trouble at the hotel. If Jack's body was not found, what happened to it? Was it never there? Was it absorbed into the past, and does that explain Jack's presence in that final photograph of a group of hotel party-goers in 1921? Did Jack's violent pursuit of his wife and child exist entirely in Wendy's imagination, or Danny's, or theirs?... Kubrick was wise to remove that epilogue. It pulled one rug too many out from under the story. At some level, it is necessary for us to believe the three members of the Torrance family are actually residents in the hotel during that winter, whatever happens or whatever they think happens.

”

Ebert also notes in his review of the film that, whenever Jack sees or communicates with spirits, a mirror is always present, and, given the themes of madness and isolation, suggests he may be speaking with himself.

King finally supervised a television adaptation of his original novel in 1997, which received lukewarm reviews.

References to The Shining are prominent in U.S. popular culture, particularly in movies, TV shows and other visual media, as well as music.^[4][5][6][7]

Over the years the film has become widely regarded as one of the greatest films of the horror genre and a staple of pop culture. In 2001, the film was ranked 29th on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list and Jack Torrance was named the 25th greatest villain on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list in 2003. It was named the all-time scariest film by Channel 4,^[8] Total Film labeled it the 5th greatest horror film, ^[9] and Bravo TV named one of the film's scenes 6th on their list of the 100 Scariest Movie Moments. In addition, film critics Kim Newman and Jonathan Romney both placed it in their top ten lists for the 2002 Sight and Sound poll. The film has been parodied a number of times, for example by The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror V" during the segment called "The Shinning".

[edit] Music and soundtrack

The film features a brief electronic score by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, including one major theme in addition to a main title based on Hector Berlioz' interpretation of the "Dies Irae", used in his "Symphonie Fantastique", as well as pieces of modernist music. The soundtrack LP was taken off the market due to licensing issues and has never appeared as a legitimate compact disc release. For the film itself, pieces were overdubbed on top of one another.^[10]

Carlos and Elkind had composed a great deal of music for the film, with the expectation that it would be used. However, Kubrick decided to go with classical music from other sources, as he has done on previous occasions. Some of Carlos' unused music appears on her album Rediscovering Lost Scores, Vol. 2.

The non-original music on the soundtrack is as follows:

1. Lontano by György Ligeti, Ernest Bour conducting Sinfonie Orchester des Südwestfunks (Wergo Records)
2. Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Béla Bartók, Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon)
3. Utrenja- excerpts from the 'Ewangelia' and 'Kanon Paschy' movements by Krzysztof Penderecki, Andrzej Markowski conducting Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic, Warsaw (Polskie Nagrania Records)
4. The Awakening of Jacob (Als Jakob Erwacht) and De Natura Sonoris No. 1 and 2, by Krzysztof Penderecki, the Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer (EMI)
5. Home by Henry Hall and the Gleneagles Hotel Band (Columbia Records)
6. Midnight with the Stars and You by Jimmy Campbell, Reginald Connelly and Harry Woods performed by the Ray Noble Band with Al Bowlly
7. It's All Forgotten Now performed by Al Bowlly.
8. Masquerade by Jack Hylton and His orchestra (not on the soundtrack album)

The stylistic contemporary art-music chosen by Kubrick is similar to the repertoire he first explored in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is little known that, although the repertoire was selected by Kubrick, the process of matching passages of music to motion picture was left almost entirely at the discretion of music editor Gordon Stainforth, whose work on this film is notable for the attention to fine details, and remarkably precise synchronisation without excessive splicing. ^[11]

[edit] Versions

There are several versions of The Shining. After its premiere and a week into the general run (with a running time of 146 minutes), Kubrick cut a scene at the end that took place in a hospital. The scene had Wendy in a bed talking with Mr. Ullman, the man who hired Jack at the beginning of the film. He explains that her husband's body could not be found, thus raising several questions and implications. This scene was subsequently physically cut out of prints by projectionists and sent back to the studio by order of Warner Bros., the film's distributor.

The European version runs for 119 minutes due to Kubrick personally cutting 24 minutes from the film as mentioned above.^[12] The excised scenes made reference to the outside world.

[edit] Differences from the book

• In the book, Danny's premonitions about the murders in the hotel and the subsequent events all centred around Jack murdering he and Wendy with a roque mallet, possibly as a reference to the nature of the hotel (roque being a rather old-fashioned sport, and a former guest in the hotel having collapsed of a heart attack on the court. In the film, however, Jack attempts to kill Wendy and Danny with an axe.

• The living topiary animals have been omitted and a hedge maze has been added. The maze plays a fairly critical role in the structure of the film plot. It acts as a refuge for Danny from Jack's pursuit of him, and as a final trap for Jack Torrance.

• In the novel, the motivation of the ghosts to possess Jack Torrance is to get him to kill Danny so that as a ghost they will have access to Danny's "shining" ability, thus making the ghosts far more powerful. In the film, the motive of the ghosts seems to be to reclaim Jack Torrance who is apparently a reincarnation of a previous caretaker of the hotel. However, this is merely suggested by the film which is ultimately ambiguous about the ghosts' motive.

• Although Danny has supernatural powers in both versions, the movie makes it clear that "Tony" really is an imaginary friend of Danny's, a projection of hidden parts of his own psyche. In the book, it is revealed that Danny Torrance's middle name is "Anthony". Thus, "Tony" is an alter-ego of Danny, not a separate entity.

• The book contains repeated references to Jack's alcoholism, whereas it is only briefly touched on in the film. Indeed, the book uses it as a metaphor for his lack of control over what is happening; Jack's mouth often becomes dry when he feels unable to deal with a situation. The book portrays him as a flawed character who is reluctant to embrace the hotel's evil forces but finally becomes overwhelmed by them; in the film, however, his madness often appears to be of his own volition.

• In the book, Jack attacks and injures Hallorann but does not kill him; he helps Wendy and Danny escape after the hotel explodes with Jack inside. In the film, Jack kills Hallorann with the axe shortly after he arrives and interrupts Jack's attack on his family.

• In both the film and the book Jack is completely consumed by the evil of the Overlook. However, towards the end of the book the "real" Jack momentarily shows through to Danny in the third floor corridor when he says, "Doc, run away. Quick. And remember how much I love you." In the film version, this does not happen.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Shining at the Internet Movie Database
• The Shining at Allmovie
• Complete synopsis of the movie
• Extensive FAQ
• List of scenes cut from European version

v • d • e Stanley Kubrick Short films Day of the Fight (1951) • Flying Padre (1951) • The Seafarers (1953) 1950s Fear and Desire (1953) • Killer's Kiss (1955) • The Killing (1956) • Paths of Glory (1957) 1960s Spartacus (1960) • Lolita (1962) • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 1970s A Clockwork Orange (1971) • Barry Lyndon (1975) 1980s and 90s The Shining (1980) • Full Metal Jacket (1987) • Eyes Wide Shut (1999) See also World Assembly of Youth • Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001) • Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) • Colour Me Kubrick (2006)

v • d • e American films of the 1980s 1980 · 1981 · 1982 · 1983 · 1984 · 1985 · 1986 · 1987 · 1988 · 1989