This atmospheric thriller is sure to creep you out with its pacing, eery editing and cinematography (those tracking shots are highly effective), and Jack Nicholson's powerful performance as Jack Torrance. Horror films often tend to divide audiences into genre fans who follow the gore and those who laugh in the face of so-called scares, insisting their own resiliancy to cheap thrills and lamebrain plotting.

Fortunately, "The Shining" doesn't make you take sides, because its chills come from plotting and character study as much as they do from odd sights that will make you jump. It may stray from Stephen King's book and not all of it may make sense, but "The Shining" has so much going for it that you won't mind. It's a gripping and satisfying film experience, and in my opinion, one of the best films of the '80s.

This Warner DVD re-release is definitely the version to get. The fullframe presentation comes at the wishes of Kubrick and the video and audio offer significant improvement over the drab initial release. (Unfortunately, the original Mono audio track has been dropped altogether in favor of an effective 5.1 remix. They could have included both with no problem.)

In the way of extras, there is an engaging half-hour on-set documentary, filmed by Kubrick's daughter Vivian. It provides a candid experience of the film's creation, and interviews with some of the actors. In addition, this DVD re-release includes an audio commentary on the documentary (sort of a "making-of the making-of") by Vivian Kubrick. There's also the spooky trailer, which shows how a movie preview can perfectly pique one's interest in a film, without spoiling (or even saying) much.


Redrum! Redruuuum!   April 14, 2005
 47 out of 62 found this review helpful

Love it or hate it, the horror genre never felt the same after Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." Adapted, as we all know, from a Stephen King book of the same name, the legendary director of such classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Barry Lyndon" created a picture here that leaves a chill running down your spine long after the credits roll. Too bad King never liked the picture. It's been well documented in the intervening years how the author blamed Kubrick for fundamentally altering his vision. I saw somewhere that King believed that Stanley Kubrick thought his novel was inferior material that needed to be elevated on celluloid. Well, everyone has an opinion. For my part, I don't think Kubrick thought it an unfavorable book even though it is. I read "The Shining" and really didn't care for it that much. It is, in fact, one of my least favorite Stephen King novels. Only "Cujo" ranks lower--and in that case the film version didn't ride to the rescue. King is a great novelist capable of producing fine work, but long after he is gone people will forget his novel and remember Kubrick's translation. Of course I could be completely wrong, but I don't think so.

The film opens with the Torrance family--father Jack (Jack Nicholson), mother Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and precocious son Danny (Danny Lloyd)--driving out to the Overlook hotel for the winter. Jack took a job there as the winter caretaker, a big task considering the resort sits high up in the mountains where heavy snowfall virtually assures his family will be snowed in for months. A struggling writer and recovering alcoholic, Jack sees this opportunity as a great way to churn out a novel. It's not as though he has much else to do in the hotel: there aren't any guests loafing about and the staff isn't around to hassle him. All he's got to do is keep the lights and heat on, call in to a ranger station on the radio every few days, and he can sit back and collect a paycheck. Problem is, spending five months cooped up in a hotel in the mountains can bring on a powerful case of cabin fever resulting in...well...bizarre behavior. It happened before at the Overlook, actually, as Jack learns during his job interview with the manager of the hotel. One previous caretaker took an axe and slaughtered his entire family. Fun! Jack doesn't think such a gruesome event will present any problems for him or his family.

Boy, is he mistaken! Jack Torrance has absolutely no idea of the supernatural horrors that lurk in the bowels of the Overlook hotel, but his son Danny does. It seems Danny has the ability to "shine," or read people's thoughts and see things that the rest of us don't see. And what he'll see at the Overlook hotel would give the stoutest among us a massive coronary. Suicides from years past, rivers of blood pouring out of the elevators, and the deceased daughters of the aforementioned caretaker appear as if by magic in front of the terrified Danny. One of the worst horrors resides in room 237, a room a departing employee named Hallorann (Scatman Crothers) tells Danny to avoid like the plague. Hallorann has the ability to shine as well, and is fully cognizant of the powers the Overlook can unleash with ease. As the days turn into weeks, Jack descends into total insanity, terrorizing his stricken wife and son even as he falls under the spell of the spirits in the hotel. There's no sense in dragging this out except to say that the movie unfolds like a relentless, evil dream. "The Shining" isn't so much a film as it is an experience to savor--for those who can stand the terror, that is.

Goodness, where to start! The movie fires on every cylinder. Jack Nicholson is sublime as the mentally unbalanced Jack Torrance, capable of menacing subtlety and raging insanity at the drop of a hat. His line "Hereeee's Johnny" is arguably one of the best-known movie quotes in the history of cinema. Those who hate the film usually cite Shelley Duvall as the primary reason, claiming her whiny and weak personality mars an otherwise acceptable film. Horse hockey. Duvall is supposed to be in a fragile state largely because of her husband's past history and her concern about her son's odd psychic abilities. And when she sees her family falling apart again, she cracks under the pressure. I think she did fine. As amazing as the performances are, however, they pale in comparison to the look and feel of the film. "The Shining" is a cold, detached movie like most other Kubrick films. The dread is a palpable presence in every single frame of the movie, whether we're following Danny's big wheel through the halls of the hotel or watching Jack converse with evil spirits. So many great scenes rise to the forefront of my memory as I write: the chase through the maze, that last soul shattering shot of Jack Torrance, and Wendy's discovery of "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" all exquisitely torture the audience. This is a frightening film, and its one that never loses its impact with subsequent viewings.

The DVD? Surprisingly, we don't get much. The picture quality is quite good, as it should be for a Kubrick film, but extras are lacking. A lengthy documentary about the making of the film with commentary from Kubrick's daughter Vivian does help, yet I can't help but wish for more. I could go on and on about how wonderful a find "The Shining" is for the horror fan, but you probably already know all about this film. If you are one of the roughly five people in the world who haven't seen the movie, I pity you. Get out and see it now!



No, The Shining was NOT shot Fullscreen, that was NOT it's OAR, read and learn something....   September 18, 2007
 38 out of 52 found this review helpful

The Shining was NOT composed for 4x3. It was composed for 1:85-1 for theatrical release. Here is a quote from the editor...

"EDIT: Here's the relevant portion of the interview with Kubrick's editor on The Shining, Gordon Stainforth, that The Omen was referring to:

13/ What aspect ratio was The Shining filmed in?
The entire negative was exposed, meaning that there was no in-camera hard matting so the film was effectively shot in Academy 1.37 but it wasn't intended to be shown in cinemas that way. The film was shot and conceived for 1:1.85 ratio screening (and the camera viewfinders had the 1.85 framelines marked on them) This is the standard ratio that widescreen films in the US are projected in. The 1:185 crop was achieved when the film was projected onto cinemas screens..."

and


there is a book called "The stanley kubrich archives where...


From The Stanley Kubrick Archives, page 452:



Note the faded red marker frame labeled "1-1.85", and the indication top right:

THE FRAME IS EXACTLY 1-1.85
Obviously you compose for that
but protect the full 1-1.33 area.

in regards to The Shining with a storyboard of the hotel exterior shot.
Actual image can be seen at
h ttp://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=395248&page=4&pp=25&highlight=the+shining
(I put a space between the "h" and the "t" in http as Amazon doesn't like links but there you can see it at dvdtalk.com's forum, post #79.

Kubrick HATED the way his films were chopped up and panned and scanned for TV broadcast, early home video which is why he shot "protecting" for open matte. He did not compose The Shining for 4x3 as his editor and Kubrick's own typed notes to the 2nd unit photographer on The Shining can attest.

Now, as far as this release being 20 or so minutes short (which the european releases have always been sincde Kubrick re-edited and tightened the film after mixed critical notices in the US...) this is simply an error in amazon's listing here. The full uncut film is being released.

AVSforum.com, a good website for release info has more details...



Kubrick wanted this to be seen in 4:3 format!   March 6, 2000
 28 out of 34 found this review helpful

First, a special message to all the fools who are chastising the DVD video for being full-frame and the sound for being mono. If you folks had the SLIGHTEST clue, you would be aware that THIS IS HOW KUBRICK WANTED HIS MOVIES TO BE RELEASED! In theatres, The Shining was matted to 1:78 to 1, I believe, so the home video actually shows MORE of the screen than you've seen in the theatre. Full Metal Jacket was the same way - have any of you complainers ever seen a widescreen version of that? Duh!

As for the movie itself, what can you say? It's one of the best horror flicks of all time, and the only people who hate it are usually those who are unable to THINK. With every repeat viewing, you can find some new food for thought. For example, when Jack yells at Wendy for breaking his concentration, after she walks away you'll notice that he suddenly starts typing on a new piece of paper which he DIDN'T put in the typewriter. Is this a blooper? With well-known-perfectionist Kubrick, I doubt it...seems to me like the hotel is giving him paper! And when Scatman Crothers and Wendy are touring the kitchen, how come Wendy is leading the way, even though she's never been there? Watch the scene and you'll see what I mean.

The steadycam shots, and the camera angles in general, especially the one where the camera is looking UP at Nicholson in the storage room, are incredible - it's plain to see that Kubrick was a genius.

As for the DVD, the print used is pretty worn, with reel-change marks, hairs, and who knows what else, but it's still better than the videotape. To me, The Shining always had a grainy, old-looking appearance which is part of it's charm - but the film (hell, ALL of his films) is due for a full restoration.

The only extra on the DVD is Vivian Kubrick's documentary, which is a treasure and well worth the price of the DVD alone...the only other extra I could have asked for is the original theatrical ending, which is probably long-gone.

A must-have!