MOVIEmeter
Top 500
Up 391 this week

The Shining (1980)

R  |   |  Horror  |  23 May 1980 (USA)
8.4
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.4/10 from 546,853 users   Metascore: 61/100
Reviews: 1,279 user | 246 critic | 10 from Metacritic.com

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON TV
ON DISC
ALL

10 Best Action Heroes

We consulted IMDb's Highest-Rated Action-Family Films to came up with 10 scene-stealing action figures your kids can relate to, look up to, and be inspired by.

Visit our Family Entertainment Guide

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 37 titles
created 27 Aug 2011
 
a list of 46 titles
created 02 Dec 2011
 
a list of 40 titles
created 24 Oct 2012
 
a list of 31 titles
created 8 months ago
 
a list of 32 titles
created 5 months ago
 

Related Items

Search for "The Shining" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: The Shining (1980)

The Shining (1980) on IMDb 8.4/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of The Shining.

User Polls

Top 250 Movies #57 | 3 wins & 5 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Crime | Drama | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem - but not all goes according to plan.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

After a simple jewelery heist goes terribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.6/10 X  

A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

Director: Jonathan Demme
Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.9/10 X  

The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
Taxi Driver (1976)
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

A mentally unstable Vietnam war veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feeds his urge for violent action, attempting to save a preadolescent prostitute in the process.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
Mystery | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

Humanity finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, object buried beneath the Lunar surface and, with the intelligent computer H.A.L. 9000, sets off on a quest.

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.6/10 X  

A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did.

Director: Tony Kaye
Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.7/10 X  

Upon admittance to a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients to take on the oppressive head nurse.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X  

A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.

Director: Sam Mendes
Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X  

During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
Alien (1979)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X  

The commercial vessel Nostromo receives a distress call from an unexplored planet. After searching for survivors, the crew heads home only to realize that a deadly bioform has joined them.

Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Danny Lloyd ...
...
...
Philip Stone ...
...
...
...
Lia Beldam ...
Billie Gibson ...
...
David Baxt ...
Forest Ranger #1
Manning Redwood ...
Forest Ranger #2
Lisa Burns ...
Edit

Storyline

Signing a contract, Jack Torrance, a normal writer and former teacher agrees to take care of a hotel which has a long, violent past that puts everyone in the hotel in a nervous situation. While Jack slowly gets more violent and angry of his life, his son, Danny, tries to use a special talent, the "Shining", to inform the people outside about whatever that is going on in the hotel. Written by J. S. Golden

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The Horror is driving him crazy See more »

Genres:

Horror

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Official Sites:

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

23 May 1980 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining'  »

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 6,140,088 (Sweden)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

, ,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

(cut) | (cut) (European) | (original)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the British TV spot for the film, Jack can be seen tearing through the second door panel, a shot that was never used in the final cut. See more »

Goofs

When Wendy brings Jack breakfast in bed, they appear to change sides, but in fact, the first shot is in a mirror. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Torrance: Hi, I've got an appointment with Mr. Ullman. My name is Jack Torrance.
See more »

Crazy Credits

After the 146 minute version of the film was met with poor reviews and weak box office in the US, Stanley Kubrick re-edited the film for European release, removing 24 minutes of footage. Included in the removed footage were the entire performances of Anne Jackson as the Doctor and Tony Burton as Larry. However, both Jackson and Burton's names were still listed in the opening credits despite them no longer appearing in the film. See more »

Connections

Featured in Baby's Day Out Review (2010) See more »

Soundtracks

Kanon for 52 string orchestra and tape
(uncredited)
Music by Krzysztof Penderecki
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

A classic horror from a master director
29 October 2001 | by (United Kingdom) – See all my reviews

When Jack Torrance (Nicholson) is offered a job as winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel he accepts it as an opportunity to work on his novel in an isolated environment. He is told stories of the last caretaker going mad and butchering his family but isn't deterred. He arrives at the Overlook Hotel with his wife (Duvall) and child Danny (Lloyd) and is shown around the hotel by the cook (Scatman Crothers) who has the gift of perception. The cook warns Danny that the hotel can be of particular danger for those with the gift. It's only a matter of time before Jack begins to act increasingly erratic.

This is one of Jack Nicholson's finest roles, his increasingly unhinged character is amusing and terrifying in almost equal measures. Duvall plays the role of the terrorised wife quite well - she does look like she's genuinely filled with fear - but doesn't have much else to do. Lloyd is excellent as the boy, although he doesn't have too much emotion to express. However no doubt that this is Jack's show.

The story doesn't stick to King's novel and is better for it; this is Kubrick's Shining. The film has plenty of genuinely scary moments but manages to keep a creepy atmosphere all through - especially as the ghosts come out and Jack begins to move between his reality and the reality that is gradually claiming him.

Kubrick is excellent here, his cold direction adds to the overall creep factor of the film. It's one of the best examples of his masterful touch.

Overall this is an excellent horror movie - because the focus is on horror and fear rather than gore alone (as with modern horrors). Jack is excellent in one of his best roles ever and the whole package is delivered in a cold creepy manner by a sadly lost director.


118 of 164 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Too many conspiracies thomaswilliamboner
Scariest parts of the film...?? detataandrea
Was The Overlook Hotel haunted, or had Wendy gone insane? rafaytherman
Is this an anti-capitalist film? osprey1987
61 on metacritic ? stormb1337
Alternate ending question. thomaswilliamboner
Discuss The Shining (1980) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?