Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Shining Blu-ray Movie Review

One of Jack Nicholson's defining performances proves all the more menacing in 1080p.

Reviewed by Greg Maltz March 19, 2008

As you probably know, Stanley Kubrick's horror classic, The Shining, is a rewrite of a Stephen King story that helped define the modern psychological thriller genre. The strong direction and acting gives the film broad appeal, but it is too harrowing for squeamish audiences. Stanley Kubrick is a master at getting the most out of his screenplays, sets and actors. The riveting combination of the haunted Overlook Hotel and Jack Nicholson's powerhouse performance as Jack Torrance descending into violent insanity seems eerily authentic.

But the film is far from perfect in conception and execution. It is held back by pacing problems, disconnects in the narrative flow (King was very upset that Kubrick strayed from the novel) and bizarre, often corny visions that only rarely raised the scare factor. Nevertheless, the scenes focusing on Torrance's inner demons and spiralling insanity are brilliant. It is hard to imagine any other actor but Nicholson being able to fit in this roll with such conviction and raw power. Most importantly for this release, the Blu-ray's definition and color are far superior to DVD versions, and the aspect ratio of 1.78:1 is a big plus.

Having signed on as winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) insists that his son and wife will enjoy it there, despite their apprehension.

Beginning with Jack's job interview at the secluded Overlook Hotel in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, The Shining quickly reveals glimpses into its dark and supernatural theme. The hotel must close down every winter due to blizzard conditions and its isolated location renders any inhabitants snowbound. A previous caretaker went crazy from "cabin fever" and murdered his wife and two daughters. But Jack assures hotel manager Stuart Ullman (Barry Nelson) that being snowbound all winter is just the kind of peace and quiet needed to "write the great American novel". Meanwhile, back home, Jack's son Danny (Danny Lloyd), who experiences paranormal images and premonitions, has horrible visions of the Overlook and blacks out. Jack returns triumphant from his job interview only to find his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) questioning the wisdom of moving to the Overlook with their son in a fragile mental state, but Jack grows aggravated and dismisses her concerns.

After arriving at the hotel, Danny is befriended by the hotel chef, Dick Hallorann (Scattman Crothers). The cook has a talent for psychic abilities similar to Danny's. He tells the young boy to not be afraid--that some bad things happened long ago at the hotel. Hollorann explains that all places--especially old places--have a "shine" to them. "The shining" is the residual aura of accumulated experiences. But the Overlook has had a more violent history than most places, and when Danny asks about room 237 from his visions, Hallorann becomes visibly upset. He sternly warns Danny to stay away from the room. The guests already gone, Hallorann and the Overlook management depart, leaving Jack, Wendy and Danny to settle in for the long winter ahead.

As the weeks pass, Jack becomes increasingly psychotic. He can't sleep and seems irritable and incommunicative. He spends his time wandering the hotel's hallways and working on his manuscript. One day, Danny is coaxed into room 237 by supernatural powers and his own curiosity. This immediately sets off a series of events and Jack goes from bad to worse. Wendy hears him screaming. He wakes up disoriented and disturbed, complaining that he had a horrible nightmare in which he chopped her and Danny to pieces. Before Wendy can react, Danny appears with his shirt ripped and bruise marks around his neck. Wendy rushes to her son, inspects his injuries and accuses Jack of attacking the boy since the hotel is empty except for the three of them.

As Jack's psychosis becomes full blown, he has hallucinations of interacting with staff at the hotel. The interactions with former caretaker Delbert Grady (Philip Stone) become all too real as Grady calmly yet forcefully leads Jack to the unavoidable conclusion that he must act against his wife and son. Once Jack's murderous intentions become clear, the film cycles through spooky scenes with Nicholson's gleaming eyes and wicked grin as he bellows for his family. Kubrick's vision is manifest with critical impact as the film reaches its climax. Some of the images work, such as the unabated flowing of blood down the hotel's elevator shaft and flooding out into the lobby, representing the evil spirit and bloody history of the place. Some images don't work. But the 1080p presentation and the full, restored aspect ratio deliver Kubrick's horror masterpiece for a new generation of film fanatics.

The Shining Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Prior to the release of this BD, I owned abysmal, low-quality versions of The Shining on VHS and DVD. The color bleed and poor definition got in the way of enjoying the film, and so did the 4:3 aspect ratio, which was a problem even on Warner's 2001 DVD reissue. Finally, the studio delivers the goods on this Blu-ray version with its VC-1 encode. The picture isn't perfect, and one observes the occasional glitch. The video appears very much "cleaned up", and I suspect digital noise reduction and other processing to have played a role in the outcome. Usually I'm not fond of that kind of scrubbing, but the results here are so much better than any previous home video version of this film, that I'm willing to forego criticism. Overall, the picture is vibrant, solid, rich and highly detailed.

This improvement is apparent from the outset, as the opening credits roll over aerial footage of Colorado's rugged landscape. Watch the 1080p resolution of mountains and trees, and the contrast from the shadows of the pine trees to the white areas of snow. The picture shows good depth and definition. In fact, the detail is a revelation. Watch the wall paper patterns in the hallways of the overlook, or Jack's facial features when Kubrick pulls the camera in tight. Detail in objects, skin tones and black levels are accurate. The picture may not be perfect, but it is an enormous improvement that helps convey the power of the film and ultimately draws in the viewer as never before.

The Shining Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I was pleasantly surprised that Warner included a lossless PCM 5.1 track on The Shining, but at 16 bit and 48 kHz (4.6 mpbs), the track is technically little better than CD quality. Granted, it seems silly to expect a high resolution, engaging multichannel mix from the original mono. The audio offers very little in the way of dynamic LFE and surround content. No one will use The Shining to show off the new speakers in their home theater system--that's for sure.

That said, the voices were well rendered and clear. Even in scenes with a great deal of bustle (which were of course rare in the film), the mix makes each individual sound clearly identifiable. One good example is the ballroom scene, which is populated with a large crowd. All manner of chatter and clinking glasses are audible, as well as the gentle music. Most of the film's music, however, features the compositions of Wendy Carlos, with a spooky, outdated synthesizer score. It sounds fairly poor, with no treble extention or rousing midrange for that matter. But what can be expected from synth music? Frankly, it reminds me of the soundtrack of Scarface. Still, it is very effective in establishing mood and the audio quality of the Blu-ray in no way hinders the film. It may even be a step up from the 2001 DVD version.

The Shining Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Borrowing from the 2001 DVD reissue as well as including new content, the supplementary features of the BD delivers interesting material that fans of The Shining should definitely not miss. Even the audio commentary track is good, featuring steadicam operator, Garrett Brown and Kubrick biographer John Baxter.

The Making of "The Shining" is actually a BBC special produced by Kubrick's daughter, Vivian, for the film's original release. With full access to her father's set, Vivian delivers greater insight into tensions during filming, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at a couple of the most famous scenes. Stanley Kubrick had a reputation for secrecy and he shied away from publicity, so the footage of his work is both interesting and rare. For even greater insight, listen to Vivian Kubrick's Of course, the documentary is in standard definition in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

View from the Overlook: Crafting "The Shining" covers the development, production and release of the film in more than 25 minutes. The highlights include Nicholson and screenwriter Diane Johnson, who do some heavy lifting in discussing Kubrick's vision. The aspect ratio of this and the next two featurettes is 16:9.

Wendy Carlos, Composer is a much shorter interview with the lady who penned the film's score. Considered a pioneer in electronic music for her work with synthesizers, Carlos discusses her conception of the music and her interactions with Kubrick.

The Visions of Stanley Kubrick, clocking in at about 15 minutes, focuses on all Kubrick's work as a whole. It includes important insights from other directors and Kubrick's biographer and is actually not a bad little documentary.

The bonus material also includes an original theatrical trailer in 4:3 NTSC that is hardly worth mentioning.

The Shining Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

To me, the scariest parts of the film lie in Jack's interactions with Danny. Kubrick coaxes magical performances out of both the adult star and the child. When Jack sits Danny down with him to have a talk, we see the chasm that exists between the characters and feel the chill of the words. Talk about poor communication between father and son! Danny wants to leave and Jack says he wants to stay "for ever and ever and ever." A father should never have to tell a child, "you know I would never hurt you", and Nicholson's delivery makes those words stand as menacing despite their meaning. The progression to Jack's pursuit of Danny near the end is handled very well. Aside from this, many viewers may have problems with the pacing of the film. By today's standards it is slow, but no more plodding than Kubrick's other movies. They all march to a much more artistic beat of mood and gravity.