Cactus Classic Cinema: ?”The Shining?” starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall

Cactus Classic Cinema:  “The Shining” starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

2:20 pm  Matinee screening

The Shining is a 1980 horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with novelist Diane Johnson. The film is based on Stephen King‘s 1977 novel of the same name and stars Jack Nicholson, Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall and Scatman Crothers. Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, a writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a new position as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. Lloyd plays his young son Danny, who has psychic abilities (“the shining”), which he learns about from head chef Dick Hallorann (Crothers). Danny’s imaginary friend Tony warns him the hotel is haunted before a winter storm leaves the family snowbound in the Colorado Rockies. Jack’s sanity deteriorates under the influence of the hotel and its residents – and Danny and his mother Wendy (Duvall) face mortal danger.

Production took place almost exclusively at EMI Elstree Studios, with sets based on real locations. Kubrick often worked with a small crew, which allowed him to do many takes, sometimes to the exhaustion of the actors and staff. The new Steadicam mount was used to shoot several scenes, giving the film an innovative and immersive look and feel. There has been much speculation about the meanings and actions in the film because of inconsistencies, ambiguities, symbolism, and differences from the book.

The film was released in the United States on May 23, 1980, and in the United Kingdom on October 2 by Warner Bros. There were several versions for theatrical releases, each of which was cut shorter than the preceding cut; about 27 minutes was cut in total. Reactions to the film at the time of its release were mixed; Stephen King criticized the film due to its deviations from the novel. 

In 2012, The Shining was ranked the 75th greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound directors’ poll. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. In 2013, King published a sequel novel to the original book and then, thirty-nine years after the original film, a sequel, Doctor Sleep, was released on November 8, 2019.

This film is rated R; modern horror thriller

no one under 17 admitted without a parent or guardian;
Running time: 2 hours, 24 minutes

2:20 pm Matinee screening

Note: Vintage shorts begin at 2 pm.

Tickets:  $7 or included in series pass available through Sept 30
General Admission Seating