The Shining

A masterpiece. Kubrick chose a perfect cast and uses the timing and music to create a greatly opressing atmosphere. Nicholson is superb, but Duval and the kid are not less good.

John Chard

November 1, 2015

8/10

This rum is red, man! In spite of author Stephen King not being happy with Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of his novel, The Shining (1980) has proved to be a critical and commercial darling. It may not be in the spirit that King wanted, but it's undeniably a skillful piece of film making, a mixture of beauty and terror, of bravura techniques and simple but effective scares. With quality acting performances to match as well. The story unfolds at a deliberately slow pace, claustrophobia oozes …

JPV852

October 5, 2019

8/10

Probably my favorite of the Stephen King adaptations (though not much for many of the others save for a one or two) but not amongst Stanley Kubrick's, watched this one for the first time in many years (maybe a decade) and while I did immensely enjoyed it, and really liked Nicholson towards the end, I never really bought into him early on. Still, atmospherically it was amazing and at times creepy. But can't place this as some sort of classic in my book, anyway. **4.0/5**

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) With Doctor Sleep, an almost 40-year sequel to The Shining, being released this week, now it’s the perfect time to revisit one of the greatest horror movies of all-time, as well as one of the most influential directors ever, Stanley Kubrick. I know, I know… Spoiler-free? For a movie released in 1980? Well, first of all, there’s always someone who still didn’t watch it. Secondly, as deeper we get into the 21st century, the …

Repo Jack

November 26, 2020

9/10

"Darling, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just gonna bash your brains in." <i>The Shining</i> is a great example of how musical score and cinematography can elevate a movie to the best-of-the-best. I tend to agree with Stephen King that Jack Nicholson looked like a crazy loon from the beginning, making his decent into madness less dramatic. But that can be forgiven by all the iconic scenes masterfully weaved into a horror classic.

Repo Jack

November 27, 2020

9/10

"Darling, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just gonna bash your brains in." The Shining is a great example of how musical score and cinematography can elevate a movie to the best-of-the-best. I tend to agree with Stephen King that Jack Nicholson looked like a crazy loon from the beginning, making his decent into madness less dramatic. But that can be forgiven by all the iconic scenes masterfully weaved into a horror classic.

CinemaSerf

June 7, 2023

7/10

"Jack Torrance" is a writer who suffers from a chronic lack of inspiration. To help overcome his block, he takes a job as a winter caretaker and relocates his family to the remote, huge, "Overlook Hotel" where he hopes he can focus! Gradually, the bleak Arctic conditions outside and the never ending, brightly lit, corridors and rooms long since abandoned start to affect his mind. When he ventures towards the expressly off-limits room 237 it all begins to get truly out of hand. Shelley Duvall is …