Rating: 
Summary: Very Good. The Book And The Movie Are Both Very Different.
Review: Stanley Kubrick's popular (although not critically acclaimed) film, The Shining, based on Stephen King's third novel (his other two being Carrie and Salem's Lot) is an extremely controversial film. It is hated by Stephen King, who thought that Mr. Kubrick transffered the movie poorly to the screen, leaving large plot holes that were not in the novel (or the television miniseries, Stephen King's The Shining), but others, and Kubrick fans call it a masterpiece of horror that stands the test of time and still succeeds at being wonderfully scary and quite a thinker movie. The movie starts with a disturbing score accomponying a scene where we watch a yellow voltswagon drivivg to the montains. This scene goes untill the end of the credits were we see a large (and unattractive) hotel. The next scene is titled The Interview. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) has and interview with Mr. Stuart Ullman (Tony Burton) who informs him that if he takes this job as caretaker at the Overlook Hotel, he will be living for six months in a hotel were a grisly murder once took place. A man named Delbert Grady killed his beloved wife and two little twin girls with an axe and preceded to shoot himself in the head with a shotgun. Jack remains undisturbed by this story, and still aggrees to take the job. Meanwhile, his wife (Shelly Duvall) and young five year old boy, Danny (Danny Lloyd) wait at home to see if he got the job. When the news comes that he did, Danny begins seeing awful things from his imaginary friend, Tony. The next week, the Torrance family drives to the Overlook for the six month job. Danny is told by the friendly black cook, Dick Holloran (Scatman Crothers) that he has a magnificent gift, The Shining, allowing him to read peoples minds. Danny sees things that happened at the hotel, things happening, and things to happen in the near future. What awful fate awaits the Torrance family in their six month stay all alone at the Overlook??? I'll give you a hint. Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johney!!!!!!!!!!
I really like The Shining. I don't really think it's a masterpiece, because it is quite confusing, and dosen't follow the novel (which I consider much more frightening) very well. I can't really judge this film by the director. I've only seen two Kubrick films (The Shining and 2001 A Space Oddysey, which I loved) but I must compliment Kubrick's directing talent. The film has an eerie feeling which is absent from the novel or mini-series. I enjoy the steadicam shots and Jack Nicholson's performance is looney and hilarious. But, the only real thing that remains the same as the book are the names of the charecters, while the rest departs and goes in another direction. The only person in the film that I thought really seemed like the charecter in the book was Holloran, played very well by Scatman Crothers. I think one of the reasons the movie works is his performance. But Shelly Duvall was a weak charecter, while in the novel she was a fighter. Danny Lloyd is usually accused of being a bad actor, but I think he just has bad lines. In the novel he was a main charecter, but in this film he's more of a co-star. I am rating the movie and not the DVD so I have no comments for this disk. Now, I suggest that you read the novel, see Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and then watch Stephen King's The Shining, the remake. And judge which version is best. If you enjoyed Stanley Kubrick's The Shining I also recommend Carrie, Scream, or any other Kubrick film.
The Shining is Rated R for Some Violence, Gore, Brief Language, and Strong Nudity (In Only One Scene).
Please vote for my review if you found it helpful!!!!
Brett Michael Roberts
Rating: 
Summary: why do so many people like this movie ??
Review: i just dont know why everyone thinks this movie is a classic. i think it was just plain DUMB and stupid. i got to say this movie was a little scary... but it was annoying and very boreing for me. i really did not want to finish it but since i wasted my money on renting it i would just give it a chance. 1 thing i like about this movie is the REDRUM thing. thats a classic !!!!! so if you are looking for a nice great scary movie with a great plot and horror. i WOULD NOT buy this movie. but you should probably give it a chance and rent it to see if you like it.... anyways i HATED IT.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliantly crafted masterpiece of horror
Review: "The Shining", despite being based on Stephen King's novel, is Kubrick's work, not King's. So many elements have been changed that it is pointless to compare the book to the film. That said, it is a brilliantly crafted film. Kubrick has created something that is creepy the whole way through and truly terrifying in parts. It isn't a slasher movie, despite the fact that Jack Nicholson is running around with an axe for the last twenty minutes. Kubrick spends almost two hours establishing the atmosphere, then finally allows all hell to break loose. The long tracking shots through the massive hotel are terrific. A scene in which Jack Torrance talks to Delbert Grady takes place in a bathroom decorated in bright red and white, the culmination of a series of rooms and hallways that are less and less subtly decorated in the same colors, is suitably chilling. Probably the most admirable thing about the film is the way completely mundane images seem frightening. The image of the two little girls, wearing nice little dresses and with their hair in ribbons, is one of the scariest things I have ever seen. The sight of the ball rolling down the corridor is also terrifying, showing as it does that the things in the house are not just "pictures in a book", the phrase the young Danny uses to comfort himself, but are actually real entities capable of affecting the real world. The simple sound of the lock turning as the long-dead Delbert Grady unlocks the storage room door is frightening for just the same reason. Nothing in "The Shining" is stale - when it tries to be scary it is. The word "REDRUM", scrawled in blood-red letters across a door, is scary just because of the context. If you look at the word out of context and puzzle over what it means, it is easy to figure out that it is "MURDER" backwards. Yet this is not evident in the film until Kubrick wants it to be evident. The famous scene in which Shelly Duval's character reads her husband's "book" is still frightening. The hundreds and hundreds of pages of "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" tells us that this man is quite mad, and has been for some time. It is then that we realize that these two people are trapped in a house with somebody who cannot be reached, and who is perfectly willing and capable of chopping them up into little pieces."The Shining" uses the deep-rooted fears that we all have - the fear of isolation, the fear of insanity, and most of all, the feeling of helplessness that we get when we find that the father figure, the person whom we rely upon when we are frightened, is the person whom we should be frightened of. All of these are used by a film that has one primary purpose - to frighten you. And it accomplishes this purpose more effectively than any other movie I've ever seen. As an endnote, I should say that the DVD isn't the greatest. The picture is still scratchy, and it's Kubrick, which means that we're not getting widescreen. It does have a "Making Of" film that Vivian Kubrick shot, which is great fun and perhaps a lot more revealing than the average making-of fare on DVDs. Watching Jack Nicholson say "Now I have to get into my character. Arr - axe murderer! Kill!" is great.
Rating: 
Summary: This DVD is a beautiful thing.
Review: I can't say enough about this new transfer. The video/audio on this "Digitally restored and remastered" edition are simply amazing. The video in perticular is light years better than the older DVD. Buy this DVD no matter what!
Rating:
Summary: Forget about "The Sixth Sense" -this is the REAL thing!
Review: If you thought "The Sixth Sense" was scary, forget about it. Although good, it's nowhere as this suspense thriller brilliantly directed by the late Stanley Kubrick, and even more brilliantly starred by Jack Nicholson. A concierge, and his wife and kid are bound to spend the wort part of the winter at a mountain resort all by themselves. There is a 'legend' that such a task in the past drove a previous concierge crazy. Nicholson then embarks with his family on a ride they will never forget. There is little I want to say to you, other than: please believe me and get this movie. In line with other Kubrick movies, an even more brilliant underlying meaning, beyond the 'apparent' plot, goes in line with all the details, camera moves, and parts of the script. Unless you're weak of the heart (in which case, it might not be the best idea to see it), you will deeply enjoy the genius of Kubrick at its best. One final piece of advice: see it until the final titles are over... You'll discover something interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A moody but flawed classic of the horror genre.
Review: "The Shining" was Stanley Kubrick’s first, and only, film in the horror genre. While not the masterpiece that "A Clockwork Orange" or "2001" was, "The Shining" represents a terrific effort by Kubrick and is one of his more recognizable films. Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel differs, widely, from King’s story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; the novel and film were both good in their own way. Kubrick did, thankfully, edit down the vast amount of material presented in the novel. The performances are reasonable for a horror film. Jack Nicholson is effective but occasionally a little over the top. Shelley Duvall comes off as being quite annoying when she shrieks in her high, shrill voice. Danny Lloyd is believable as the troubled child, Danny Torrance. John Alcott’s cinematography is superb, particularly, his use of the steadicam in the opening title sequence and in the hallways of the haunted hotel, the Overlook, provides an eerie calm which is quite a contrast to most horror films which tend to be very loud in style. The moody, unnerving musical score is VERY good at getting one uncomfortable. A good example of its ability to make the audience uneasy is the piece of music played during the beginning title sequence, which provides a real sense of impending doom. The set design adds greatly to the eerie atmosphere of "The Shining;" the striking brightness of the Overlook’s walls contrasts nicely with the dark, heated colors of its chaotic-patterned carpets. "The Shining’s" pacing is rather poor, especially for a horror film. Also, the last 10 or 15 minutes of the film betray the style that was set up by the beginning of the film. The beginning of the film contained very quiet, subdued terror, towards the end Kubrick uses cheap thrills and jack-in-the-box type terror. This DVD doesn’t boast a large amount of extras but I suppose what is given is adequate for this film. The trailer is particularly interesting and quite unlike any trailers you see today. The documentary, while not very long, provides an insightful look as to what went on behind the scenes of "The Shining." "The Shining" is definitely one of the more effective horror films that I’ve seen; that’s not saying much, though, because lately most of the horror genre has been plagued by ill-conceived films such as "Scream 3" and "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later."
Rating:
Summary: Shelley Duvall
Review: The first few times I watched this film I found Shelley Duvall's performance annoying at best. After many subsequent viewings I have changed my mind. I now rate her performance as high as, if not higher than, Jack Nicholson's. She is absolutely perfectly cast and her performance is awesome to behold. I am more impressed with each viewing. Perhaps the strength of Nicholson's performance, a real high-wire act across the abyss of over-the-top, at first overshadows Ms. Duvall's effort. Perhaps once I got used to Jack Torrence and his ragings I began to see the other characters. For so long I looked at this film as a Jack Nicholson movie. But in the end it is a Stanley Kubrick movie and everybody carries the exact wieght HE intends. Everyone talks about the stairway scene as if were the only scene Shelley Duvall is in. What about the apartment scene at the beginning of the movie? What about the conversation between her and crazy Jack locked in the storage room. Without Shelley to play off of Nicholson's performance would lose a lot of it's depth and perhaps it would be over the top. I know that Kubrick gave her a lot of grief during filming. I know he did what he had to do to get this performance from her. I don't think she dissapointed him.
Rating:
Summary: the shining
Review: If you are reading this review to see if it will pursuade you to buy the shining then i know you are going to buy it anyway. i first saw the shining when i was about 13 at this age it scared me senseless but still i found the film throughly enjoyable. then i saw it again later on, quite honestly i was shocked. Although i had seen this film before at 13, i didn't appreciate it. This film is without doubt the best film made. just one word of warning.......get the 1980's version as this is the best all other versions are very poor and do not do the film any justice.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Tale of Terror that Will Haunt Your Dreams!
Review: I used to think this movie was terrible - overproduced, overlong, and cursed with some of the worst performances in cinematic memory. Then one night I rented it for a lark and found myself unexpectedly swept up by it. After the film was over, I went to bed and had one of the worst nightmares of my life, dreaming that I was trapped within the hedge maze and running frantically from a screaming Jack Torrance like Danny in the movie, only I was unable to find my way out of the maze. I woke up drenched in sweat and didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Any movie that could do something like this to me must be great! I have since watched it again, and am astounded by the film's tension, general atmosphere of unease, and I have come to greatly admire the fine acting of all the principals. Kubrick's Overlook Hotel is one of the great sets in the history of filmmaking. The photography, camera work, and compositions are all spectacular, and the film gains greatly from a truly exquisite use of music (a soundtrack was released very briefly, but it is long out of print). This film has the simple yet compelling structure of a fairy tale, and some of its images have become mythic in themselves - the unnerving bird's-eye views of Jack's car driving through the forest, Danny cycling through the endless corridors of the hotel and suddenly being confronted with vision of the dead girls, the scene between Jack and the non-existent bartender, the horrific scene where Jack threatens Wendy on the staircase, and of course the final bathroom and maze sequences. This DVD offers the film in stereo for the first time, and having a stereo soundtrack greatly improves the viewing experience. And by the way, there is no widescreen version available because this film was not shot in widescreen to begin with - it was filmed in the traditional 1:33 aspect ratio and "masked" by Kubrick into a horizontal format when it was released. What we are seeing now is actually MORE of the total image than was originally seen in theatres, as can be noted if you take a close look at the great opening sequence, where the shadow of the helicopter supporting the camera is quite clearly visible in the lower right corner of the screen for a few seconds. So stop griping about the widescreen issue, folks, because it isn't going to happen! This is a very great film that richly rewards repeated viewing - it is my personal favorite of Kubrick's after 2001. Heeeeree's Johnny!
Rating:
Summary: Scary scary!
Review: All those years, you thought you were married to a fairly normal guy with a few problems here and there, then all of a sudden, you find out he's a NUT! I could not have cared less about the axe... If the thought of stumbling upon pages and pages and pages of what you thought was blood sweat and tears of your spouse's work only to find that all it says is ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY doesn't scare the pants off you, I don't know what does! THAT alone was the scariest part of the film. I had the same scared reaction to WHAT LIES BENEATH. For me it's the whole psychology thing, not the bloody violence and "Oh there's an axe murderer after me"... It's the realization that someone who was so close to you, that you OBVIOUSLY thought you knew turns out to be a first class freak...AND wants to kill you to boot...
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