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84%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #75
...out of 16,965 movies
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Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.
--TMDb
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What's scarier than a space alien invasion, a demon from hell, a war between machines and humans, a masked serial killer with a chainsaw or another sequel to A Nightmare on Elm Street? How about a family man gone crazy and sets out to kill his family? That's by far, much scarier. Stanley Kubrick took Stephen King's bestseller The Shining and made a realistic horror movie about it. This film paints a visual picture of the horrors of isolation and insanity. Ever since 1980, this movie has earned it's spot in the all time best horror films.
Jack Nicholson, Jack Torrance, stars as a struggling writer who agrees to become the caretaker of a summer resort hotel during the winter season. His wife, Shelly Duvall, antagonizes him and his work. The longer he is there, the crazier he becomes. Eventually, he sets out to kill his wife and his son. With the help of some "special guests", Jack sets out to take care of the burdens on his life in the harshest way possible.
The directing here is insane. It's pure genius, what Kubrick had done with this movie. Some scenes in here are the best scenes known to the world of thrillers and horror (ex. The Elevator / Lobby Scene). The acting is also very superb. Everything seems so well fit and perfect in this movie, there's hardly any criticizing that could be done. Some people hate the fact that it's extremely long, but I feel that it was only nessecary that it was that long (146 minutes). This has truly changed the way we think about and make horror movies.
Bottom line - excellent acting, excellent story, excellent directing, excellent scenery, excellent everything. A true gem in filmmaking and in horror movies. A must for any horror or thriller fan. Even if you're not, just check this movie out. 10/10
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#1:
Optimus Prime
- added 12/27/2004, 08:19 PM
Classic movie. One of my favorites.
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#2:
Deadwired2
- added 07/03/2005, 06:19 AM
I love this movie, but could someone please tear
Shelly Duvall's vocal chords out.
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#3:
crAckerr
- added 07/24/2005, 09:36 PM
Definately one of the best horror movies of all
time.
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#4:
.
- added 09/13/2005, 09:09 PM
If you don't like this, there is something wrong
with you.
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#5:
bluemeanie
- added 10/07/2005, 08:32 PM
Without a doubt, one of the most overrated horror
films ever made. Don't get me wrong -- it is a
good film, but it is very overrated. This film
did not scare me...ever...not even as a child. It
still does not scare me. Nicholson is way too
over-the-top in the lead role, and Shelley Duvall
is almost painful to look at. I know what Kubrick
was going for, and I admire that, but I thought
the finished product was far too long, not scary
enough, and highly overrated. 7.5/10.
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#6:
Dametria
- added 04/24/2007, 11:04 AM
Meh, I was never very impressed with this movie.
THe remake was actually better but too painfull to
sit thru for 6 hours....
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#7:
Ginose
- added 07/26/2007, 12:21 PM
This is a masterpeice, but, honestly, I say that
about all of Kubrick's flims. Okay, this is a
HORROR masterpeice. Take it as you will, it has an
incrediblly long runtime, it's dreafully confusing
at parts and Shelly Duvall is terrfying to look
at, but in the end, that helps define this movie
into a classic. As sidefriction says in his
review, all the directing, imagery, acting, plot
speed, everything is flawless. That's because it's
a Kubrick movie. If King didn't like it, tough
shit. The book was boring. Kubrick took the source
material and improved on incredibly. He seemed to
be a master of any genre he aimed to direct.
9.9/10 from me.
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#8:
Wes
- added 09/29/2008, 07:21 PM
This is not only the first epic horror film made,
but as far as directing and acting goes, it is by
far the best epic horror film ever made.
Absolutely perfect.
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#9:
Tristan
- added 09/29/2008, 09:19 PM
Sorry, but this isn't the "best epic horror
movie ever made". It's a damn fine film - all
of his are - but it's far from perfect. Still, it
was nice to see a director with such a reputation
tackle a horror film.
9/10
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#10:
Greg Follender
- added 09/30/2008, 12:43 PM
I'd guess that a lot of the folks that are saying
that this film didn't scare them are under 35
years of age...
Too much imitation and
visual emulation have dulled our perception of
this film. When it was first released, there was
very little out there like it in scope or
execution.
A horror classic... and
one of the few that I still find fairly
captivating, regardless of it's shelf life.
Not many screenwriters (or audiences for that
matter) have the patience for accurate slow-burn
insanity in film anymore... it's always the rush
for the body count that permeates modern horror
these days.
Too bad.
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#11:
bluemeanie
- added 09/30/2008, 01:37 PM
Your point is a good one, but none of that
explains why I didn't like it. This is typically
the type of horror film I go for, but I could not
stand Jack Nicholson in the lead role, nor Shelley
Duvall. I loved the book with a passion, and
thought Kubrick's vision was interesting and
well-executed, but with few scares and little in
terms of genuine horror.
I still
give it a 7.5/10 for execution and because it's
beautiful to look at, but as a horror film, I find
is a little dull.
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#12:
johannesfaust
- added 02/27/2009, 07:54 PM
not so scary but Nicholson gave it that quality of
madness that I really like...8/10
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