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When Jack Torrance finds a job as a
caretaker for an old abandoned hotel during the winter,
he thinks of it as the perfect place to focus on his
writing. Even his son's misgivings about the move don't
deter him. But soon after the
Torrances arrive, strange things start happening...and
it looks as if the spooky hotel has a plan of its own
for Jack and his family. Opening with
spectacular aerial shots of a beautiful, mountainous
landscape, Stanley Kubrick's horror classic THE SHINING,
based on Stephen King's best-selling novel, sucks the
viewer into his frightening tale with quiet, relaxing
visuals--but the ominous soundtrack warns that all is
not right at the gorgeous Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance
(Jack Nicholson at his eyebrow-raising best), a Vermont
schoolteacher, accepts a job as the winter caretaker of
the glorious early-20th-century resort that operates
only in warm weather because the snowy roads deny access
in the colder months. Jack brings his wife, Wendy
(Shelley Duvall), with him, as well as his young son,
Danny (Danny Lloyd)--who brings with him a little boy
named Tony who lives in his mouth. As the Torrances
settle in for the long, lonely months ahead, strange,
unexplainable things start occurring in the hotel--and
in every scene Jack seems to be growing a little more
evil and dangerous....
With superb camerawork (the Steadicam follows the evil
through narrow hallways and ornate rooms), extraordinary
sound detail (the scene in which Danny rides his Big
Wheel across the Overlook's hardwood and carpeted floors
is an aural classic), and a terrifying score (based on
the work of Béla Bartók), THE SHINING is an
unforgettable masterpiece, a psychological supernatural
thriller featuring outstanding performances from
Nicholson and Duvall--and a cast of dead twin girls and
suicidal ax-murdering ghosts, among other bloodcurdling
figures. Filmed at EMI
Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, England, and at the
Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon.
The shoot lasted from May 1978 through April 1979.
Estimated budget: $10-15 million.
Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick clashed over the
production of THE SHINING. One surreal anecdote records
a telephone call from Kubrick to King in the wee hours
of the morning in which the director asked the author,
"Do you believe in God?" Upon answering yes,
Kubrick responded, "I thought so," and hung
up. For years King railed against the film but said he
came to appreciate the psychological style of horror
that Kubrick was mining. A television miniseries based
on the novel follows the original story much more
faithfully--the screenplay for the miniseries was
written by King himself.
The topiary from the book was too difficult to
reproduce, so the hedge maze was created in its place.
The ominous snow was actually a mixture of Styrofoam and
salt.
The use of the Steadicam, invented by camera operator
Garrett Brown, was revolutionary in its ability to get
moving shots never before possible.
Cowriters Kubrick and Diane Johnson read works by
Sigmund Freud and Bruno Bettelheim to prepare for the
psychological nature of THE SHINING.
Of horror films, Kubrick said, "I think the
unconscious appeal of a ghost story, for instance, lies
in its promise of immortality. If you can be frightened
by a ghost story, then you must accept the probability
that supernatural beings exist. If they do, then there
is more than just oblivion waiting beyond the
grave."
The interior of the Overlook Hotel was actually a huge
set built in a British studio.
Philip Stone also appeared in Kubrick's BARRY LYNDON and
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE; Joe Turkel also appeared in
Kubrick's THE KILLING and PATHS OF GLORY.
The film was originally shown with a final hospital
scene, but Kubrick quickly edited it out five days after
the release, sending editors on bicycles to the theaters
to cut the scene.
The Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon, served as
the Overlook in exterior shots.
In the book, room 217 holds some evil secrets; the room
number was changed to 237 for the movie because there is
no room 237 at the Timberline Lodge--and the owners felt
that no one again would have ever stayed in room 217
after they'd seen the movie.
The book that Wendy Torrance is reading in the beginning
of the film is J.D. Salinger's THE CATCHER IN THE
RYE--which deals with mental instability and the urge to
save a child.
The documentary MAKING "THE SHINING" was
directed by Vivian Kubrick--Stanley Kubrick's
daughter--who, among other things, followed around Jack
Nicholson as he prepared for the "Here's
Johnny!" scene and interviewed the actors.
In the film Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers) describes
the shining as the special ability to see the past and
the future.
Shelley Duvall described her time making the picture as
"tumultuous"; she was in and out of ill
health, partially because of the stress of the role and
being away from home for so long. Despite several
flare-ups with Kubrick, she was wholly satisfied with
the final film, and she said she learned more from
Kubrick during this shoot than she learned in all her
other films.
About his detail and technical proficiency Kubrick has
said, "Eisenstein does it with cuts. Max Ophuls
does it with fluid movements. Chaplin is all content and
little form. Nobody could have shot a film in a more
pedestrian way than Chaplin. Nobody could have paid less
attention to story than Eisenstein. ALEXANDER NEVSKY is,
after all, a pretty dopey story. POTEMKIN is built
around a heavy propaganda story. But both are great
filmmakers!!" |
