The Shining (40th Anniversary Extended Edition)
Digitally restored version of Kubrick’s legendary take on the horror genre, with a superbly psychotic Jack Nicholson in the role of creatively disabled writer Jack Torrance.
Together with son Danny, Jack and Wendy Torrance leave the city to look after the secluded Overlook Hotel in the wintertime. Jack, haunted by a persistent writer’s block, hopes to find inspiration in isolation. He doesn’t want to hear about rumours of evil spirits in the hotel. Danny, however, has a strange feeling. Tony, the voice inside his head, strongly advises against taking up residence in the Overlook Hotel. Tony’s premonitions turn out to be quite accurate.
It’s been forty years since THE SHINING was released and this wonderful digital restoration is a birthday gift to the world. Amongst others, Stephen King, writer of the book, helped produce this restored version. In 1980, however, King wasn’t so pleased with Kubrick’s cinematic take on his horror tale, and often compared the film to ‘a fancy car without an engine’. THE SHINING nevertheless acquired a legendary status, and rightly so. The film is still a dazzling piece of directorial artistry, a testament to Kubrick’s unique vision and perfectionism. It’s also a pop-cultural phenomenon, of course: who’s never had nightmares of the terrifying twins, room 237 or Jack Nicholson and his axe?