Cebalord
Very best movie i ever watch
Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Tayloriona
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"The Shining" is one of the most famous horror movies of all time and in this 35-minute documentary, we gain a good insight on what life on set was like. Both this and the movie were shot 35 years ago. This is actually a prime example of what a making-of should look like. Behind-the-scenes documentaries sometimes are fairly uninteresting if they keep interviewing the assistant sound editor about very specific matters. But this one here is not like that. It's really about the core players. Basically, for the entire thing, there is hardly no scene which does not include at least one of director Stanley Kubrick, lead actor Jack Nicholson oder lead actress Shelley Duvall. And the director here is Vivian Kubrick, Stanley's daughter who also played very small roles in Kubrick's movies. Maybe she being the director is the reason why we got right into the heart of the set and see the actors so close that we feel we are almost watching them on-stage. I enjoyed this documentary and it is a very nice watch if you also like the film, especially as you see Nicholson and Duvall, who are both retired today, the way they really were.
Michael_Elliott
Making 'The Shining' (1980) **** (out of 4) Most of the time when you see "making" in the title you immediately skip over it because you expect it to be some sort of weak promo piece but if you skipped over this film then you'd be missing one of the greatest documentaries ever made. I'm certainly not going to sit here and say this contains the greatest filmmaking ever but considering what we get to see here this thing is a real masterpiece. The greatest thing it has going for it is that it gives us a behind the scenes look at Kubrick, how he made movies and what it could be like when he wasn't happy with you. If you know anything about Kubrick then you know how demanding he could be with multiple takes that would put the actors through Hell. Here Shelley Duvall is the victim in a couple terrific sequences where she doesn't do what she's suppose to and it sets the director off. Another great sequence is some of the scenes where we see Kubrick on the set not only directing but in one terrific sequence Nicholson and Duvall are practicing their lines with the legendary director just sitting at his typewriter coming up with new dialogue. The film gets off to a terrific start as Vivian Kubrick crashes in on Nicholson and then he begins playing with her and the camera. Fans of Nicholson are going to love this look at him off the camera and it's a lot of fun seeing him here. The film itself is extremely raw but I think this is what makes the thing so special. It's as if you're a fly on the wall just picking up all of this stuff and I think it adds to the entertainment value. Nicholson, Duvall, Danny Lloyd and Scatman Crothers are all interviewed as well. Fans of THE SHINING are really going to love this film because you get to see how it's made. Fans of Kubrick are going to love it because you get to see the master work. Even those unfamiliar with the film or the director will find themselves having a great time simply because of the footage we get to see and how it gives you a great idea of what goes into making a movie.
Lee Eisenberg
Stanley Kubrick, usually known as a nearly dictatorial perfectionist, comes across as pretty low-key in his daughter Vivian's documentary "Making 'The Shining'". Focusing on the production of Kubrick's movie version of Stephen King's novel, this isn't much different from the average documentary (although it was the first time that I had ever heard Kubrick speak).Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd all get instructed by the famous director, while Leon Vitali (Lord Bullingdon in "Barry Lyndon") assists in the production. Meanwhile, James Mason and Kubrick's mother visit the set. It looked like quite an experience. Probably the most fascinating scene in the documentary is when they sweep the blood. Not a great piece of work, but OK.
lorne-2
Offers a rare look at Stanley Kubrick at work, for which the world owes Vivian Kubrick a debt. Probably only his daughter could have that kind of access, though true to form, Kubrick Sr. is the only principal who doesn't submit to a sit-down interview. We do get to see him at work, giving notes to Jack Nicholson, sniping at Shelley Duvall, telling Danny Lloyd to look scared.Unfortunately, we don't get much more than that. This lacks the insight of Eleanor Coppola's "Hearts of Darkness", which was a full-scale memoir about the making of an important film. Ultimately this is just a home movie that happens to be on a Kubrick set. The only real revelation about the making of the film is going backstage at the hedge maze set. But the main reason to watch it is Nicholson, who never met a camera he couldn't charm.