Synopsis

Jack Torrance takes a winter caretaking job at the isolated Overlook Hotel, bringing his wife Wendy and son Danny along. As snow cuts the family off from the outside world, Danny's psychic sensitivity exposes the hotel's violent history. Jack's writing stalls, his behavior grows increasingly unstable, and the building's supernatural forces begin turning the family against one another.

Factoids & Trivia

• The Overlook's interiors were built mainly on soundstages at EMI Elstree Studios in England. The production created one of the largest sets ever constructed there, including a full-scale exterior section.

• The Colorado Lounge set was seriously damaged by a fire in February 1979. Rebuilding it delayed production and required the crew to reconstruct major portions of the set.

• The film helped establish the Steadicam as a major filmmaking tool. Its smooth tracking shots through the hotel and hedge maze became an influential demonstration of the system's potential.

• Vivian Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick's daughter, filmed the behind-the-scenes documentary Making The Shining while still a teenager. It later became a notable companion piece to the feature.

• The production was known for extensive retakes. The scene of Wendy retreating up the stairs while holding a baseball bat was reportedly filmed 127 times.

• Jack Nicholson destroyed a lightweight prop door too quickly during the bathroom sequence because of his experience as a volunteer fire marshal. A stronger replacement had to be built.

• The American theatrical release originally ran significantly longer than the version later distributed internationally. The shorter cut removed approximately 24 minutes.

• The exterior of the Overlook Hotel was represented by Oregon's Timberline Lodge, while most hotel interiors were fictional recreations rather than interiors filmed at the lodge.