One of the All Time Greats

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2018)

The Shining (1980) ****
Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece has writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) taking his wife (Shelley Duvall) and young son (Danny Lloyd) to a mountaintop hotel where they are going to take care of it for the winter. Before long Jack begins seeing things that may or may not be real.
To me THE SHINING is a film that I really didn't care too much for the first time I saw it. In fact, it took several viewings before I'd even call the film good. It took several more for me to love the film and now I'm at the point where I call it one of the greatest movies ever made. I could honestly write thousands of paragraphs about the greatness of this film but I think theories on its meaning and various ideas are already all over the place.
For my money what's so amazing about this movie is the sheer terror and atmosphere that Kubrick creates. The entire movie has a very claustrophobic feel to it and no matter how many times you watch it you can sink back into it as if it was your first time seeing it. You may know the story, the twists and what happens but no matter how many times you see it you always feel as if you're seeing something for the first time. That's a huge compliment and I think that's the reason Kubrick's films always work the more times you watch them.
I think the film manages to be one of the scariest pictures ever made and especially the scenes with Danny riding around on his bike and running into the twin girls. The creepiness of what Jack finds in one of the rooms is just as good. The various ghostly images that are seen throughout the picture are incredibly effective. Even more impressive is that Kubrick has made a horror film that takes place during the day, in the light and doesn't try to use darkness to build up any horror.
Nicholson is one of the greatest actors of all time and for years people debated his performance here. Many found it to be over-the-top and I used to be one of them but over time I've come to realize that the performance is just flawless. Does it make sense all of the time? No but neither does the story and the two work perfectly together because you mind can go into overdrive trying to find out why things are happening. Duvall, Lloyd, Joe Turkel, Barry Nelson and Scatman Crothers are all very good as well.
THE SHINING isn't the easiest movie to watch and there's no question that you must pay attention to it throughout the long running time. With that said, to me it's one of the greatest films ever made and it's one that continues to get richer and better no matter how many times you see it.