The Shining

Struggling writer Jack Torrance takes up a job as caretaker for the Overlook Hotel with his wife and son, but after they are snowed in by a fierce blizzard someone or something begins to mess with their minds. Jack Nicholson brings his A game while he chats with ghosts, shows the audience what “all work and no play” will do to a man, and generally loses his mind. While Stephen King may not have been too fond of this adaptation of his beloved novel the rest of the world was, leaving The Shining beloved not only as one of Kubrick’s most recognized films but as one of the most iconic horror films of all time.

Production

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Produced by Stanley Kubrick

Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson

Based bon The Shining by Stephen King

Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd

Music by Wendy Carlos, Rachel Elkind

Cinematography by John Alcott

Edited by Ray Lovejoy

Production company: The Producer Circle Company, Peregrine Productions, Hawk Films

Distribution & Stats

Distributed by Warner Bros.

Release date: May 23, 1980 (United States,) October 2, 1980 (United Kingdom)

Running time: 146 minutes (premiere,) 144 minutes (American,) 119 minutes (European)

Country: United States, United Kingdom

Language: English

Budget: $19 million

Box office: $46.2 million