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.
Where to Watch The Shining
- Tom BennettJuly 3, 2026A shining example This film is a timeless classic, a Stanley Kubrick shining star of achievement. My all-time favourite and number one horror movie. Flawless performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall with a special guest appearance by Scatman Crothers, based loosely on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The ‘Shining’ in both works is a special kind of telepathy. Stephen King did not like this movie adaptation. He claimed it wasn’t true to the book, and I agree it wasn’t, but what movie adaptation ever is? Some of the scenes, still to this day, make the hair on my arms stand up. Very scary, but not in the cheap sadistic way that modern horror movies are scary, instead done with grace and style using true Hitchcockian suspense tactics. Artistically shot in a fictional hotel based on a real hotel in the Colorado mountains. Nicholson’s character slowly loses his mind in this career defining role. Duvall, Jacks wife in the movie, actually experienced emotional trauma during filming and she had to get therapy for it after filming concluded. It shows in her raw performance. Both their performances are etched in my mind as archetypes now. The musical score by Wendy Carlos, a longtime collaborator, is so good it feels like another character in the story. The opening shots and particularly the score alone are scary enough to shock the timid and are iconic on their own. You’ll swear you’ve heard the music before. Definitely worth a watch, whether you like horror movies or not and in my opinion … no - just a fact - that it is one of the greatest films of all time. 
- Pascal BollierFebruary 3, 2026its a classic for a reason. an absolute masterpiece. this is not for the jump scare crowd, but for people who enjoy watching, you know, an actual scary movie. pay attention to how every single scene is a setup or a resolution. nothing is there without reason. Kubrick's direction is as effortless as it is flawless. performances are superb, the music is iconic. highly, highly recommended!
- Michael SurberMay 7, 2025Yet another instance where the book was better. So much better. Admittedly, very few of King's novels have gotten close to a decent film adaptation and King himself hated this one. Kubrick still produced a masterpiece but it fails to match the level of King's original horror. Tons of classic scenes that are guaranteed to chill viewers though, especially the scenes with Danny alone in the hotel. Truthfully, I preferred the sequel, Doctor Sleep. Now THAT was a great film!
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The Shining was released on May 23, 1980.
The Shining was directed by Stanley Kubrick.
The Shining has a runtime of 2h 23m.
The Shining was produced by Stanley Kubrick.
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.
The key characters in The Shining are Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall), Danny (Danny Lloyd).
The Shining is rated R.
The Shining is a Horror, Thriller, Drama film.
The Shining has an audience rating of 9.3 out of 10.
The Shining had a budget of $19M.
The Shining has made $50.3M at the box office.