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The Shining (1980)
Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. Cinematography by John Alcott. Edited by Ray Lovejoy. Produced by Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards, and Stanley Kubrick. Written by Diane Johnson and Stanley Kubrick. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Though the films of Stanley Kubrick have always explored the dark side of the mind, he had yet to specifically focus on the genre most well known for its images of madness… horror. Steven King’s third novel, The Shining, provided Kubrick with a template for an intriguing story, but before seeing production it was given a round of serious revisions by Kubrick and American novelist Diane Johnson. Many of the book’s supernatural details were removed by Kubrick and replaced with material more internalized and cerebral. Instead of focusing on the spooks and specters that haunt the rooms of the Overlook Hotel, Kubrick’s The Shining uses psychological archetypes to explore elements of sexual fantasies, unsatisfied desires, hunger for immortality, and evolutionary regression (all well known Kubrickian themes). The film also wisely tiptoes around images of violence and gore, generally a genre backbone, saving most of these elements for the unnerving climax. What is left is one hundred and forty six minutes of underwear soiling terror that finds its way into your mind and picks at every available anxiety. The Shining is one of only a handful of films to deliver effectively on both a conscious and unconscious level. It truly is the thinking man’s horror film.
For one of the few times in his career, the reclusive Kubrick actually allowed cameras to capture him working behind the scenes of The Shining. The short documentary, simply titled “Making ‘The Shining’”, was shot by his daughter Vivian Kubrick. The thirty five minutes of footage allows the viewer a small insight into filmmaking processes of the legendary auteur on his ambitious project. But despite Kubrick’s unprecedented work on the film, his alterations to The Shining went unappreciated by both King and many of his fans. This displeasure prompted King to reacquire the rights to write his own cinematic version of his story; this time in the form of a four and a half hour mini-series. King’s four part adaptation played on ABC in April of 1997. Both variations are now available on DVD.
For a rare look at Stanley Kubrick at work, one can view the short documentary, "Making ‘The Shining’" by Vivian Kubrick, Kubrick’s daughter. She gets in where only Kubrick’s daughter could go and gets the raw feel of his filmmaking process. The documentary is now available as a special feature on The Shining DVD.
The film is based on a series of doubles - doppelgangers
“Challenges it’s audiences expectations of the genre”
Excessively complicated and deep. Satisfying.
Budget: $19,000,000
Total US Gross: $44,017,374
Genre: Horror
Runtime: 146 Minutes
US Release Date: 5/23/80
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 (intended ratio)
Awards: none
Tagline: A Masterpiece Of Modern Horror.
Quote: “I dreamed that I… that I killed you and Danny. But I didn't just kill you; I cut you up in little pieces. Oh my God, I must be losing my mind.”
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