Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2431 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-09-10
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is less an adaptation of Stephen King's best-selling horror novel than a complete re-imagining of it from the inside out. In King's book, the Overlook Hotel is a haunted place that takes possession of its off-season caretaker and provokes him to murderous rage against his wife and young son. Kubrick's film is an existential Road Runner cartoon (his steadicam scurrying through the hotel's labyrinthine hallways), in which the cavernously empty spaces inside the Overlook Hotel mirror the emptiness in the soul of the blocked writer settled in for a long winter's hibernation. As many have pointed out, King's protagonist goes mad, but Kubrick's Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is Looney Tunes from the moment we meet him--all arching eyebrows and mischievous grin. (Both Nicholson and Shelley Duvall reach new levels of hysteria in their performances, driven to extremes by the director's fanatical demand s for take after take after take.) The Shining is terrifying--but not in the way fans of the novel might expect. When it was redone as a TV mini-series (reportedly because of King's dissatisfaction with the Kubrick film), the famous topiary-animal attack (which was deemed impossible to film in 1980) was there--but the deeper horror was lost. Kubrick's The Shining gets under your skin and chills your bones; it stays with you, inhabits you, haunts you. And there's no place to hide... --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.33 Full Screen
DVD 9
French
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English French
Dolby Digital 5.1
Vivian Kubricks Behind The Scenes Documentary The Making Of The Shining With Optional Commentary By Vivian Kubrick
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Trailer
Arabic\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Spanish

Synopsis
Opening with spectacular aerial shots of a beautiful, mountainous landscape, Stanley Kubrick's horror classic THE SHINING, based on Stephen King's best-selling novel, sucks the viewer into his frightening tale with quiet, relaxing visuals - but the ominous soundtrack warns that all is not right at the gorgeous Overlook Hotel. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson at his eyebrow-raising best), a Vermont schoolteacher, accepts a job as the winter caretaker of the glorious early-20th-century resort that operates only in warm weather because the snowy roads deny access in the colder months. Jack brings his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), with him, as well as his young son, Danny (Danny Lloyd)--who brings with him a little boy named Tony who lives in his mouth. As the Torrances settle in for the long, lonely months ahead, strange, unexplainable things start occurring in the hotel--and in every scene Jack seems to be growing a little more evil and dangerous...
With superb camerawork (the Steadicam follows the evil through narrow hallways and ornate rooms), extraordinary sound detail (the scene in which Danny rides his Big Wheel across the Overlook's hardwood and carpeted floors is an aural classic), and a terrifying score (based on the work of Bela Bartok), THE SHINING is an unforgettable masterpiece, a psychological supernatural thriller featuring outstanding performances from Nicholson and Duvall--and a cast of dead twin girls and suicidal ax-murdering ghosts, among other bloodcurdling figures.

Customer Reviews

all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy...
Though not Kubrick's best, "The Shining" is a true horror classic: full of atmosphere, haunting backdrops, chilling soundtrack, masterful camerawork (especially low-angle tracking shots are excellent), and Jack Nicholson's razor-sharp acting are combined with Kubrick's perfectionism and his keen eye for detail. The result is an awesome experience, you'll never forget.

Even at the very beginning you expect something sinister will happen. A creepy music on the background, a yellow Volkswagen meanders along road at threatening Colorado Rockies. Mesmerizing aerial shots and overall atmosphere here are beyond all description. Really, really perfect. Kubrick begins to display his unique skill and vision at the very first scene.

Actually the story is quite simple: a recovering alcoholic Jack finds an off-season caretaker job at an isolated, mountain-locked hotel in the middle of nowhere in Colorado Rockies so that he can make some money as well as write in peace. Because the hotel is inaccessible during winter, he takes his family to the hotel too. Once the family is alone in the hotel, Jack begins suffering from writer's block and cabin fever. Also, the hotel seems to be replete with all sorts of evil vibes and horrible legacies. Under these circumstances he slowly disintegrates, descends into insanity and inflicts an unbearable terror on his skinny wife and psychic son, Danny.

Although it seems so plain and simple, actually this is not the case. The fact is that all Kubrick films are open to many different interpretations, because they contain lots of symbolism and cryptic meanings hidden deep in the plot and visuals. This is true here. My theory is that the film is about alcoholism and its devastating effects on family. The hotel symbolizes how unbearable a home can be for those who have to live there.

It enjoys some of the most unforgettable shots in motion picture history, such as the amazing chase scene in snowbound topiary maze, Jack's shattering of door with ax, blood pouring out of elevators, looming details of hotel interior as Danny rides his Big Wheel through empty hallways, and haunting look of Grady twins. There are plenty of them, all neatly distributed and absolutely wicked.

Different running times for R1 & R2 editions of THE SHINING
A note for the curious. Ever since the film was first released, THE SHINING has existed in multiple versions. The film originally ran for a little over 2h25 but a single scene in the epilogue to the film was cut by Kubrick after the opening week-end (never to be seen again). Thereafter, the film has existed in TWO distinct editions. The first is just under 2h25. It is available on R1 DVD and Video but has not (to my knowledge) ever been available in the UK on either video or DVD. The second edition is approx 1h50. It is the version released outside the US in cinemas in 1980 and is available on video and now on DVD.
The differences between the two versions are principally scenes deleted from the first half of the film although there appear to be some occasions when some shots in some scenes appear to have been re-edited using different camera angles. The majority of the deleted material either sets up in greater detail the situation or the characters or both. [This will explain why ANNE JACKSON appears on the opening credits of the 1h50 version whilst her character (a doctor who treats Danny after his first "shining" of the Overlook Hotel) does not appear at all. Her role was deleted in its entirety from the 2h25 version].
Why Kubrick made the changes (and it was Kubrick who made them), I do not know. Why there are two different versions available commercially (albeit in different marketplaces), I don't know. Should you want the 2h25 version, see Amazon.com in either their video or DVD sections.

Essential Viewing
'The Shining' on DVD is essential viewing, not only because the film itself is one of the most beautifully shot horror classics of all time, but also because it comes accompanied by a wonderful documentary. 'The Making of The Shining' provides a rare insight into director Stanley Kubrick ('A Clockwork Orange') and also features actors Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall at work on set, both in and out of character. From this invaluable footage, you will learn to admire those who do the business behind the scenes and gain a good appreciation for what it takes to create a masterpiece.

As a movie, The Shining is thoroughly watchable from start to finish. Jack Nicholson steals the show as the ex-alcoholic, ex-teacher who is looking for solitude for a 'writing project', and the Overlook Hotel appears to be just what he is looking for as he pitches in as caretaker during the snowbound winter months. Joining him at the Overlook are his wife Wendy (Duvall) and his talented son Danny (Lloyd), whose special ability to 'shine' causes him to fear (and rightly so) the dark secrets of the hotels past.

With The Shining, director Stanley Kubrick has thankfully created an intellectual horror movie rather than merely played it for shocks. His superb pacing builds the tension up gradually, and with so many memorable scenes here, there is enough to make you return time and again, where you will always find something new.

I cannot recommend this film enough; if you haven't seen it, what are you waiting for?