The Shining

Details

Release year: 1980

Storyline

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence. At the same time, his psychic son sees horrifying forebodings from both the past and the future.

Top credits

Did you know

• Director Stanley Kubrick had a good relationship with the young Danny Lloyd, and since it was his first acting job, he was highly protective of the child. During the shooting of the movie, Lloyd didn't even know he was in a horror film and only realized the truth many years later. In later interviews as an adult, Lloyd mentioned that Kubrick would even play ball with him; for years after the movie, Kubrick sent Christmas cards to the Lloyd family and even phoned Danny to congratulate him on his high school graduation.

• For the scene in which Jack breaks down the bathroom door, the props department built a door that could be easily broken. However, Jack Nicholson had worked as a volunteer fire marshal and tore it apart far too easily. The props department were then forced to build a stronger door.

• Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall have both spoken about the critical reception of the film, which they felt overlooked the intense efforts of the cast and crew. Nicholson described the film as one of the most demanding of his career and has called Duvall's performance the most difficult role he has ever seen an actress undertake. Duvall herself has described the role as the hardest of her life, highlighting the emotional intensity required for the role.

Box Office

Gross (Domestic): $47,194,352

Opening Weekend (Domestic): $622,337 (1980-05-26)