The Shining (45th Anniversary)

1980’s The Shining is simply one of the most enduring and iconic horror films of all time. Famously, author of the original novel Stephen King disliked director Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation; but the film’s power and legacy is undeniable, inspiring sequels, numerous parodies and homages, and countless obsessive fan theories. 

Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, a writer who moves his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) out to a remote hotel where he has taken a job as a winter caretaker. Nicholson’s performance is one of his most memorable and intense; he cuts a frightening figure long before anything supernatural happens. As is to be expected from Kubrick, the Overlook hotel is stunningly designed - it would be impossible to count the number of times the carpet pattern alone has popped up in other films, television series and videogames. 

There have been varying reports on the emotional, physical and mental toll that the role exacted on Shelley Duvall as she was called on to perform take after take of extreme emotional distress for the famously perfectionist director. Duvall, who died last year, is every part Nicholson’s equal in the film; both actors delivering performances of ferocious intensity. 

There have been a few different cuts of the film over the years. This re-release is the 144-minute ‘US Version’, which was largely unseen by UK audiences until the last decade or so.