The Shining (film)

The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. It is based on Stephen King's 1977 novel and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers. The film presents the descent into insanity of a recovering alcoholic and aspiring novelist (Nicholson) who takes a job as winter caretaker for a haunted mountain resort hotel with his wife (Duvall) and clairvoyant son (Lloyd).

Production took place almost exclusively in England at EMI Elstree Studios, with sets based on real locations. Kubrick often worked with a small crew, which allowed him to do many takes, sometimes to the exhaustion of the actors and staff. The then-new Steadicam mount was used to shoot several scenes, giving the film an innovative and immersive look and feel.

The film was released in the United States on May 23, 1980, by Warner Bros., and in the United Kingdom on October 2 by Columbia Pictures through Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors. There were several versions for theatrical releases, each of which was cut shorter than the preceding cut; about 27 minutes was cut in total. Reactions to the film at the time of its release were mixed; King criticized the film due to its deviations from the novel. The film received two controversial nominations at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards in 1981—Worst Director and Worst Actress—the latter of which was later rescinded in 2022 due to Kubrick's alleged treatment of Duvall on set.

The film has since been critically reappraised and is now often cited as one of the best horror films and one of the greatest films of all time. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 2018. A sequel titled Doctor Sleep, based on King's 2013 novel of the same name, was adapted to film and released in 2019.