Rating: 
Summary: not so great
Review: the movie is scary but it does not follow the book well at all if you have not read the book though i recomend this for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Psychotic and horrifying... A hotel from Satan's franchise
Review: As far as I am concerned, this is a finely honed horror story, scary as hell... with incredible performances by Duvall and Nicholson... and the hotel and the music. Since so many reviewers cover the plot so well, I'll concentrate on some other points... Kubrick's masterful use of brilliant lighting to convey the horrors, the wonderful sets, and the music. One of the high moments of sheer horror for me was when Shelley Duvall found Jack's writing. No blood, no axes, no knives, no shouting, no threats... nothing but her realization that the husband she loves almost to the point of worship is insane.Until this moment, even we in the audience didn't realize how psychotic Jack is, but this punches that fact right into our souls. Maybe, we can think, at an earlier time, that he doesn't want his wife to see the wretched manuscript because it isn't any good, or because he isn't satisfied with it. Once seen, it's clear that the man not only has become insane, but that he's always been insane, maybe even before he stepped through the door. Mother and son have been living with a madman, maybe all their lives. I think Danny realizes this. Tony has misgivings about the place, and leaks these premonitions into Danny's mind. I take it that Tony is a manifestation of his Shining, not a figment of his young mind. Is Tony trying to guard little Danny? Or is there a fight to see who controls Danny's body? Does Danny have both his father and Tony to fear? I don't think so. Tony does `take over', but Danny comes back. The kid shows a feisty nature and comes through with flying colors in a horrible situation. Shelley's character is no match, it seems, for the raw, uncaring brutality of her sot of a husband, but she comes through for herself and her child. Wendy comes across extremely strongly as being ineffectual and weak, thanks to the wonderful performance of Shelley Duvall. Wendy is hysterical, and it's clear how much she wants to love him, in spite of Jack's cold hatred. When push comes to shove, however, she stops him cold, as much as it's within her power to do- then it's Jack who's seen to be the weakling, as shown by his `final' meeting with Delbert Grady. Speaking of Grady... he's only in a small part of the film, and is such a polite man; servile to the point of being sickening. However, his hatred is chilling. Grady is a ghost, but has the attitudes of a demon, hateful and intolerant. In spite of the fact that Jack was caretaker long before him (See the photo Kubrick slowly zooms in on at the end.), Grady is clearly the Boss and is calling the shots. He might as well be Satan, with the Overlook Hotel as his earthly abode, during the winter months. The bartender is part of the horror. In spite of the fact that he looks entirely human, Kubrick's masterful lighting brings something of the outer dark to what at first seems to be a throwaway character. The music, from the first ominous bars of Dies Irae, sets the mood for the story and takes the spare plot into the upper stratosphere of horror. I've seldom heard such scary and horrifying compositions in any movie. The Dies Irae is familiar to me, and is an old piece of music, going back at least into the nineteenth century. The other horrifying pieces sound very modern to my ears; discordant and creepy. They just point out Kubrick's genius in setting the mood. Without it, I don't think The Shining would have worked out as well as a horror film as it did, in spite of Jack Nicholson's incredible performance as Jack Torrance. The man-in-a-bear-suit scene was frightening because of its sheer inanity, and the hints of sexual perversity. What were those people doing? Under many circumstances, whatever they were doing could be viewed as being entirely harmless- a sexual liaison in costume. Big deal. I don't think Delbert Grady's ax murdering of his family was the only atrocity committed and the film hints strongly at this. With that in mind, a viewer can easily expect to see another murdered child or parts of her. Jack Nicholson always turns in wonderful work. He's a total professional and physically fits the role of Jack Torrance like a glove. Thanks to Nicholson's work, we can seriously wonder if Jack Torrance ever was truly sane. And, since the family seems so normal on the surface, it's a frightening thought for the rest of us. The Scatman is affecting, and brings a human perspective lacking in the rest of the cast. Danny, thanks to Tony, almost seems non-human, as though he's a spirit visiting this world from the Other Side. Wendy is hysterical, obviously distraught by their financial situation, then torn asunder by Jack's horrid betrayal. The hotel owner is a cypher, just a necessary plot item needed to explain the Overlook to Jack, and thus to the audience. Delbert Grady and the bartender are ghosts, and rather demonic, at that. The twins can scarcely be seen as human, considering how they stand so still, and work to ensnare little Danny in the Overlook's hellish homicidal insanities. Scatman's character, the chef, seems to provide that human element of caring and love, while keeping sane under a weight of knowledge that would overwhelm a normal person. All in all, The Shining, under Kubrik, is a cinematic gem. I do not mention King's version, either book, or televison version, for a simple reason... I have not read the book, nor have I seen the show. When I do, I can compare them. The Shining is probably one of the greatest horror films of the 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: The dullest [and most boring] horror movie I've ever seen.
Review: "The Shining" from Stanley Kubrick is probably the biggest disappointment I've had in watching a movie. I had heard about how extraordinarily scary and terrifying it was, and when I saw it, I was so disappointed. It seemed to drag on forever... and ever... and ever. Even the two great actors Jack Nicholson and Scatman Crothers couldn't save it. The wife Shelley Duvall looks like a walking-dead skull, and the son Danny Lloyd is mostly just a blank-faced zombie. I didn't really feel for him when he was in danger, which made me very angry. There were a few memorably creepy moments, but mostly nothing interesting or scary happens during the movie. My patience was a bit worn-out by the one-and-a-half hour mark, and I had one hour left. Most people who find it so scary don't realize how much of a chore it is to watch, because of the ponderously slow two-and-a-half hour running time. For this reason, "The Shining" is one of the more overrated films ever made, and the most overlong.
Rating:
Summary: Horrifying (in a good way)
Review: Jack and Wendy Torrance (Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall) with their young son Danny agree to become caretakers of the remote Overlook Hotel during the winter months when it is snowbound. Jack is a recovering alcoholic who seems none too stable to begin with. Before long, the sinister haunted hotel has begun to influence his mind in disturbing ways. This film really gets under my skin. In many ways, it is completely overblown. Nicholson's performance is way over the top, as is Duvall's, and the soundtrack becomes overwhelming by the end of the film. Yet it all seems to work, raising the horror of the situation to operatic heights. Director Stanley Kubrick knows how to frame and light a shot so that the desolation and chill of the environment seeps right off the screen. Perhaps it is the basic horror of the situation that affects me so strongly. The nuclear family should be the last bastion of trust and security, yet here we have a man stalking his family with an ax through the dim, deserted corridors of the cavernous hotel. The final shot is intriguing and frustrating and made me wish that Kubrick had found a way to include more backstory about the Overlook.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Jack
Review: THE SHINING is adapted from a Stephen King novel about a family whose father serves as caretaker of a summer resort hotel in Colorado during the winter. Jack Nicholson has the role of Jack Torrance, the slightly manic dad who goes completely insane as his life and those of his wife and son systematically spin out of control. To say that Jack Nicholson dominates the movie is an understatement. The only relief is provided by Scatman Crothers who furnishes a welcome counterweight to Nicholson. Scatman is a tower of strength and stability who almost saves the film from becoming too much Jack. Another memorable character is the hotel itself which takes possession of Nicholson and drives him crazy. It is hard to imagine a more forbidding and desolate place. Additional members of the cast include Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Barry Nelson. THE SHINING received no Oscar nominations. The big award winners in 1980 were ORDINARY PEOPLE, RAGING BULL and COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER.
Rating: 
Summary: I am too unhappy
Review: that Stanley Kubric decided to make a movie out of one of best horror stories around and this was the pure lack of luck for King. I read the book 15 years ago and it is a cornerstone in my fondness to King. Having heard that it was a movie directed by Kubric (one of the directors I respect(ed before this movie) although I have not watched many of his works) I waited for years to find a very high quality version of it. For what? Just to see one of the worst book adaptations ever made. Jack is already crazy from the beginning...his wife, Wendy, is a hysterical silly thing that makes you want to grab the ax and cut her screaming tongue into two just to silence her...Danny, one of the most original characters in King's pallette, was turned into a shadow doing nothing but just cringing... a black cook who travels hundreds of miles just to get knifed as soon as he enters the hotel... sinister bush animals turning into silly labyrent...and worst of all, lots of unnecessary blood pouring from elevators (then why do you people hate Friday the 13th and Evil Dead because of lots of gush of blood) and two silly little girls supposed to be horrifying and foreshadowing. If you tell this summary to anyone and then make him read the book, he will say this has nothing to do with it...In itself alone the movie may be a nice and little horror movie with nothing exceptional...but as an adaptation, it is disgusting...just a reflection of Kubrick's unbearable arrogance trying to hint that he does anything and everything better. To sum up: I am so much disappointed and disgusted with the movie that I woved never to see any other Kubric film in my life. If you have read the book, never attempt to see the movie;
If you have not watched the movie and read the book, then first see the movie and then read the book just to see what torment you have undergone. If you have seen the movie but not read thebook, please read it and see how unashamedly Kubrick was wrong with everything.
Rating:
Summary: Nicholson's best performance. Stephen King's best movie.
Review: This movie is a gem. A very polished diamond that everyone can see and have. I don't quite understand the ending, though. I also enjoyed the 'Making of The Shining' documentary by Vivian Kubrick, who I'm assuming is either Stanley's wife, but I really don't know. I would compare this movie to other Stanley Kubrick works, but I've only seen one other one, and I didn't even really paid all that much attention to it when I saw it (A Clockwork Orange). The theatrical trailer is weird. It's not like any other theatrical trailer that I've seen. Most of them show clips from the film and tell what it's about, but this one had no voice, and it only showed the blood pouring out of the elevator. Very weird.
Rating:
Summary: A good film, but there are some problems
Review: This film would be great if they had not made such a horrible editing mistake at the start of the film. As you see the main character's VW Bug driving to the hotel during the opening credits, there are several great helicopter shots. In one shot, you can see the shadow of the helicopter on the side of the mountain. It makes the film appear cheap and not well made. If they would fix this short shot, and edit that out, then the film would be wonderful. I understand this film is good, don't get me wrong, but little mistakes so obvious take away from the overall effect of the film, and make it look like no effort was put into production.
Rating:
Summary: A Movie With No Story To Tell
Review: Kubrick wants to be a genius. In some regards he may be, but in many regards it is his film making techniques that excel, but not his sense of story telling. There is a rule in literary fiction: if it does not progress the plot, throw it away. Kubrick excels in such excess. So many scenes in this movie have nothing to do with the plot. It is understandable that Kubrick's tale is not the same as King's tale, and King himself is not the best writer in a literary sense, but he can write horror well. If the plot of this movie is to illustrate Jack's insanity, then whole sections of the tale are unnecessary. We don't need background information on Mr. Darby (the Overlook's last killer/caretaker), the whole 1920's theme of the Gold Room is horribly unnecessary, and Danny's "Shine" (the basis of King's tale) is totally excessive. If the point were to illustrate Jack's insanity, the story would focus on his inability to write. Kubrick ultimately wanted a different story then the one he started with. To add insult to injury, some scenes serve no purpose at all, but to confuse the audience. When Shelley DuVall runs into the room with the man in a bear costume doing "something" to a ghostly patron, well, what on earth does that have to do with anything? That scene makes me laugh every time I see it. Are we supposed to think that this hotel was some kind of Sodom and Gomorrah?(And a bizarre one at that) The whole film hints at a long horrible history to the hotel, but Kubrick never evolves that. This is an interesting film and true to Kubrick's style, different. At the end of the day, it is not a good story. Kubrick tends to revel in visual stimulation versus plot stimulation (think 2001, A Clockwork Orange, etc). And sadly, more to the point, this movie is just not that scary. See it once, to be sure, but even the 1997 made for TV remake does a much better job of telling a story.
Rating:
Summary: Another Kubrick Masterpiece
Review: As most of us learned in high school English class, Shakespeare made a living out of taking the stories of others and turning them into high art. Kubrick has done the same here. Stephen King's The Shining is a great story, there's no question about that, but it's not great art. The movie, however, is. Kubrick takes a story about cabin fever, alcoholism, and writer's block and turns it into a study about the claustrophobic nature of marriage. Men often feel imprisoned by marriage and children. Jack Torrancecertainly does. He loves, but resents his family at the same time. He further resents the relationship his wife has with their son. (Remember that amazing shot of Jack enviously looking down at the maze as his wife and son walk through it.) Let's face it, men are rarely as close with their children as women. That's often because men can't express themselves emotionally the way women can. This can send mixed signals to a child (remember the scene with Danny in the bedroom when Jack feebly expresses his love) leading him or her to naturally gravitate to the one who can express themselves and their love so much more easily. Of course, Jack goes through the other things married men often go through'fantasies about other women (rising nude out of a bathtub, in this case) and feelings that the demands created by having a family can interfere with one's life goals (like writing a novel, in this instance), etc. Of course, we can see that these things are just illusions and have no real meaning (at least compared to the greater purpose of procreation). The beautiful woman turns into an old hag and the novel is about nothing. Of course, Jack blames his situation, not himself and his resentment turns to anger--and eventually evil. In an alcohol-fueled frenzy he sees only one way out of what his warped perception sees as a bad predicament. But in the end, his attempt at the maze is considerably less successful than his wife and child's. The mother/child relationship is too strong. His attempt to sever it (literally) is futile. Great movie.
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