The Shining
BFI #88·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.
What critics thought
Critics were sharply divided on first release — many found it slow, cold, and frustrating as both a horror film and a King adaptation — but opinion has swung dramatically over the decades, and it now ranks among the most celebrated horror films ever made. The central argument has always been whether Kubrick's glacial formalism and psychological ambiguity are virtues or evasions, and that argument hasn't fully settled. Shelley Duvall's performance, once mocked enough to earn a Razzie nomination the Academy later officially rescinded, has been substantially reassessed as one of the film's greatest assets.
“a crashing disappointment. The biggest surprise is that it contains virtually no thrills. Given Kubrick's world-class reputation, one's immediate reaction is that maybe he was after something other than thrills in the film. If so, it's hard to figure out what.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“I can't recall a more elaborately ineffective scare movie.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“There are moments so visually stunning only a Kubrick could pull them off, yet the film is too grandiose to be the jolter that horror pictures are expected to be. Both those expecting significance from Kubrick and those merely looking for a good scare may be equally disappointed.”
Kevin Thomas·Los Angeles Times
“Stanley Kubrick's cold and frightening The Shining challenges us to decide: Who is the reliable observer? Whose idea of events can we trust? ... It is this elusive open-endedness that makes Kubrick's film so strangely disturbing.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“This is no simple 'scream queen' performance as Duvall makes Wendy's terror and determination grippingly, movingly real. Did Kubrick push her to extremes to reach such heights? Perhaps, but the accomplishment is Duvall's, full stop.”
Tim Grierson·RogerEbert.com
Genres
Drama, Horror
Cast & Crew
DirectorStanley Kubrick
StarringJack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson
ComposerWendy Carlos, Rachel Elkind
The Shining
BFI #88·National Film Registry
Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.
What critics thought
Critics were sharply divided on first release — many found it slow, cold, and frustrating as both a horror film and a King adaptation — but opinion has swung dramatically over the decades, and it now ranks among the most celebrated horror films ever made. The central argument has always been whether Kubrick's glacial formalism and psychological ambiguity are virtues or evasions, and that argument hasn't fully settled. Shelley Duvall's performance, once mocked enough to earn a Razzie nomination the Academy later officially rescinded, has been substantially reassessed as one of the film's greatest assets.
“a crashing disappointment. The biggest surprise is that it contains virtually no thrills. Given Kubrick's world-class reputation, one's immediate reaction is that maybe he was after something other than thrills in the film. If so, it's hard to figure out what.”
Gene Siskel·Chicago Tribune
“I can't recall a more elaborately ineffective scare movie.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
“There are moments so visually stunning only a Kubrick could pull them off, yet the film is too grandiose to be the jolter that horror pictures are expected to be. Both those expecting significance from Kubrick and those merely looking for a good scare may be equally disappointed.”
Kevin Thomas·Los Angeles Times
“Stanley Kubrick's cold and frightening The Shining challenges us to decide: Who is the reliable observer? Whose idea of events can we trust? ... It is this elusive open-endedness that makes Kubrick's film so strangely disturbing.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“This is no simple 'scream queen' performance as Duvall makes Wendy's terror and determination grippingly, movingly real. Did Kubrick push her to extremes to reach such heights? Perhaps, but the accomplishment is Duvall's, full stop.”
Tim Grierson·RogerEbert.com
Genres
Drama, Horror
Cast & Crew
DirectorStanley Kubrick
StarringJack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson
ComposerWendy Carlos, Rachel Elkind
Rent/Purchase