The Shining starring Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall

Director: Stanley Kubrick

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Reclusive perfectionist Stanley Kubrick may not have been prolific (he directed only three films between 1975 and 1999), but his movies have a way of penetrating the public consciousness. In the case of 1980's The Shining, it's obvious that Kubrick's movie has achieved greater cultural resonance than the Stephen King bestseller it's based on. The image of Jack Nicholson axing through a splintered door and snarling "Heeeeere's Johnny!" is an all-time highlight of cinematic horror. A 1997 TV miniseries followed King's book more closely, but it pales in comparison to the chilling effect of Kubrick's interpretation. It's a grandiose haunted-house tale in which Nicholson takes his wife (Shelley Duvall) and young son to the secluded Overlook Hotel to serve as off-season caretaker, and proceeds to suffer a psychological breakdown that can't be attributed to cabin fever alone. The Overlook has a violent past that echoes throughout the building, and while young Danny (Danny Lloyd) senses this frightening legacy through the prescient gift of "the shining," his father deteriorates into a state of homicidal psychosis. Defying the cheap-shock traditions of 1980's horror, Kubrick chooses instead to emphasize a study of mental decay and the timeless homicidal impulse; the film's technical innovation (through astonishing set design and pioneering use of the Steadicam) serves an increasingly unsettling collision of past and present horrors. It's more of an intellectual horror film than a conventional fright-fest, but it's still effectively creepy, and as he turns into a sneering killer, smilin' Jack makes a fine addition to Kubrick's rogue's gallery of memorable movie psychos.

Additional Features
Available on VHS and DVD editions of The Shining from the 1999 release of the Stanley Kubrick Collection, The Making of "The Shining" is a 30-minute documentary directed by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian, who would later provide the eerie, mechanical music for Full Metal Jacket (credited as Abigail Mead). Rarely seen since it was originally broadcast on British television in 1980, this behind-the-scenes film eschews narration in favor of casual encounters with Kubrick, Jack Nicholson, and other members of the cast. It's one of the only audio-visual records of Kubrick at work, and offers a fascinating glimpse of the director's personality and its influence on his actors and crew. Particularly revealing is a confrontation between Kubrick and Shelley Duvall, who later explains that the filming was intense and often difficult but always rewarding. Nicholson is shown to be insightful, devoted to his craft, and mischievously energetic (this is Jack, after all!), and Scatman Crothers is moved to tears when describing the privilege of working on the film. There's a splendid moment when Kubrick's mother visits the set and gets a quick lesson on the rigors of script revision, and James Mason (who starred in Kubrick's Lolita) also stops by for a visit, still wearing his costume from Murder by Decree, which was being filmed in a nearby studio. For Kubrick fans, this is a "home movie" you don't want to miss.

 

 

 

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